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Choosing repertoire for your choir
This past week, I sat down to choose my choir's repertoire for the spring. I got to thinking about the variety I wanted for the program, and what makes a great selection, so I decided to write with...
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Three favorite folk dances
With the start of the new year, many of us are thinking about being more healthy and getting more exercise. As music teachers, we are very lucky that we aren't sitting behind a desk all day and can get...
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Helping all students feel welcome, part 1
There will always be students who, for one reason or another, might not feel welcome in our classrooms, perhaps because of something happening at home, or because of some of the students in the class,...
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Helping all students feel welcome, part 2
In my last blog post, I discussed how there will always be students who, for one reason or another, might not feel welcome in our classrooms, but that we as music educators can ensure that students...
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Melodic Intervention 101
This past week, with my second graders, I have been doing centers to practice sol, la, mi, and do. Typically when I do centers (which you can read more about here), I choose the groups and tell...
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Social Media for Music Teachers
The way that social media is used has changed tremendously over the last few years. In the past, I used social media as a way to simply catch up on the lives of friends, follow celebrities, or look at...
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Reflecting on your year
I know it seems crazy to think of the school year in past tense, but with only seven weeks remaining in the school year, I'm already thinking about what worked well this year, and what I'd like to...
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End of the Year Music Teacher Checklist
It is May...which means it's already time to start thinking about the end of the year! In my district, our last day is May 25, so we have just a few weeks left. There is SO much to do at the end of the...
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Third Grade Program: You Belong Here
Need ideas for a third grade program? In today's blog post, I'm writing about my program, "You Belong Here."I created the program based on the beautifully illustrated book by M.H. Clark and Isabelle...
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Special Effects for Performances
If you've ever directed a musical program, you know how those "little" things can really add to a performance. In today's post, I'll discuss some special effects that I've tried for various...
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Flexible Seating in the Music Classroom {Part Three}
This past year, I implemented flexible seating in my music classroom. Earlier this year, I wrote about which seats I bought, and a few months after that, I wrote this post about how I introduced...
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Choosing a Theme for Your Music Classroom
For many years in my classroom, I did not use a theme in my classroom...I simply decorated with whatever fun, colorful decor I had in my closet. But a few years ago--probably through Pinterest--I...
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First Day Music Lessons {BTS Blog Hop}
I have been super busy lately preparing for the new school year in my music room! Since Back-to-School has been on everyone's mind lately, I am teaming up with a group of great music bloggers for a...
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Classroom Reveal 2017-2018
After many hours of working in my room, I'm FINALLY ready to reveal my music room for this year!Here is a view of my room as you walk into it. I am super lucky to have a pretty big room!Here's a...
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Music Teacher Finds at IKEA
I am VERY excited that a new IKEA store just opened in Columbus, only about 15 minutes away from me! If you've never been to IKEA, it's quite the experience...kind of like going to a museum and going...
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Specdrums: A fun techie tool for your music room!
I am SUPER excited today to blog about a new piece of technology I have in my music room...a Specdrums ring! I first learned about Specdrums from Katie Wonderly's awesome Instagram page. Then I found...
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Using the SeeSaw App to assess
Are you looking for an app to both assess students AND communicate with parents? Check out SeeSaw!I heard about SeeSaw a couple years ago and had it installed on my ipads, but it wasn’t until this past...
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Sandy's Mill: A fun song for upper elementary
Today, I'm sharing one of my favorite songs for fourth and fifth grade...a fun song called "Sandy's Mill."I learned this song while in Kodaly Level III at Capital University, with Joan Litman. Here's...
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Liza Jane: A great song for upper elementary
Today, I'm sharing another one of my favorite songs for fourth and fifth grade...an old standard called "Liza Jane."I learned this song while in Kodály Level II at Capital University, with Bruce Swank....
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Beat passing games
I've been posting lately about great games and hand jives for upper elementary, and in today's post, I'm writing about beat passing games, which are also a favorite of upper elementary students!So what...
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