Teacher Tuesday: teacher goals 2016

Yesterday I shared my new year's resolutions as a parent for 2016. Today I wanted to talk about my new year's resolutions as a teacher. Do you set goals for yourself each calendar year? I do the bulk of my reflecting and goal-setting as a teacher over the summer, but it is nice to have a mid-point check-in over the holiday break as well. If you haven't...

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Mommy Monday: mommy goals 2016

Can you believe 2015 is ending this week? I certainly can't. I'm pretty sure my daughters' first day of preschool in September was, like, a week ago. And it definitely hasn't been a month since we moved into our new house. I know some people grow cynical of making resolutions at the beginning of each calendar year, but I actually enjoy the opportunity...

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Happy New Year- a planner giveaway!

It's almost 2016- can you believe it?!? I'm hosting a giveaway to help you get organized for the new year. It will only be open for a few days so act quickly!! If you haven't already, this is the perfect time to get organized for the new year with one of the Entire Life Planners. If you haven't seen them yet, here's an overview of what's included: Here's...

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Fermata Fridays CHRISTMAS EDITION: free ideas and resources for music teachers

Welcome to this week's installment of my weekly linky party, Fermata Fridays! This week's party is a special Christmas party- I'm inviting music teachers to share a freebie or two as special Christmas gift. They can be free items from your blog or another website, but they must be free and they must be your own creation. It doesn't have to be a...

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Teacher Tuesday: holiday break teacher tasks

Well, I'm sure many of you have started already, but my holiday break officially begins tomorrow afternoon. I know as a good teacher and mommy blogger I'm supposed to tell you to focus on your family, relax and recharge, and don't even think about school over the holiday break. I plan to do (almost) all of those things and I encourage you to do the...

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Mommy Monday: teaching the joy of giving

This past weekend I took the girls on our second annual trip to the dollar store to buy presents for them to give to other family members and friends. Although many of the gifts are still pretty random, I was pleasantly surprised with how appropriate and thoughtful many of the items the girls picked out actually were! I thought today I would share...

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Fermata Friday: December 18. 2015

Welcome to this week's installment of my weekly linky party, Fermata Fridays! This is a chance for music education bloggers to share blog posts with readers and bloggers alike, so we can all mingle and learn from each other. Readers, you are going to love all of the awesome blog posts that are out there- I hope you discover some new blogs to follow...

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Teacher Tuesday: the psychology of preparing young students for performance

My choir students will have their first concert of the year tomorrow. They are all sounding great and are well-prepared, but I also know that most of my students struggle with performance anxiety, mostly because for the majority of the students in my Title I school, this is their only experience performing in front of others, let alone an audience...

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Mommy Monday: fresh start checklist 2016!

With Christmas getting closer and December almost halfway over, is anyone else starting to look ahead to the new year? The beginning of the school and calendar years always bring out my most reflective side, and it's also a great time for me to get in some good cleaning and organizing time. I created some checklists for getting a "fresh start" at home...

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Fermata Friday: December 10, 2015

Welcome to this week's installment of my weekly linky party, Fermata Fridays! This is a chance for music education bloggers to share blog posts with readers and bloggers alike, so we can all mingle and learn from each other. Readers, you are going to love all of the awesome blog posts that are out there- I hope you discover some new blogs to follow...

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Teacher Tuesday: sticky notes organization

Sticky notes are awesome. Let's just start there. I unashamedly use them all the time, both at home and at school. But they can easily become just another messy pile if used haphazardly. Today's post is both an ode to the wonders of sticky notes, and tips for using them effectively so they work for you, not against you ;) Here are 5 ways that...

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Mommy Monday: helping children through a move

My almost-4-year-old daughters and I moved houses just over a week ago (over the Thanksgiving weekend). The logistics of moving don't actually worry me that much- I grew up moving quite a bit (and often moving not just to a new house but to a new continent), so I've learned most of the tricks of the trade. Not to say that I didn't get stressed out...

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Teacher Tuesday: holiday music lesson ideas

December is always a crazy time of year for music teachers (if you want to read my top tips for making the holiday season less stressful, go to this post). The students get more and more hyper, your schedule is unpredictable, and it's hard to keep up with effective lesson planning when you are trying to prepare for concerts, sing-alongs, and musicals....

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Mommy Monday: Christmas activities bucket list with preschoolers

Last week I shared my top tip for handling the holiday season: plan ahead for lots of little things to get you in the holiday spirit and spend time with your family without getting stressed and overwhelmed. I am going to be using my DIY advent calendar again that I made last year to put pieces of paper in showing the day's little activity. Today I...

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Fermata Friday: November 27, 2015

Welcome to this week's installment of my weekly linky party, Fermata Fridays! This is a chance for music education bloggers to share blog posts with readers and bloggers alike, so we can all mingle and learn from each other. Readers, you are going to love all of the awesome blog posts that are out there- I hope you discover some new blogs to follow...

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Teacher Tuesday: handling the holidays

Yesterday I shared my top tips for enjoying the holiday season (and not getting stressed) at home with your family and children (you can check out that post here). But music teachers face just as much (if not more) stress over holiday events at work, between caroling, concerts, and everything else we are expected to do (and oh yeah, teach)! Today I...

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Mommy Monday: handling the holidays

The holiday season is officially upon us. The thought can strike both dread and joy in every parent's heart! It is a vicious cycle: we want to make sure we savor the special moments, especially with our young children, but in order to fully accomplish that we have quite the list of things we want to do, which makes us so busy that we can't enjoy them...

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Fermata Friday: November 20, 2015

Welcome to this week's installment of my weekly linky party, Fermata Fridays! This is a chance for music education bloggers to share blog posts with readers and bloggers alike, so we can all mingle and learn from each other. Readers, you are going to love all of the awesome blog posts that are out there- I hope you discover some new blogs to follow...

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Teacher Tuesday: the phrase I want to stop using in my classroom

Last week one of my daughters came home from preschool repeating a phrase she had learned from her teacher. It is one that I use quite often in my own teaching, but when I heard it come out of my 3-year-old's mouth (with the R's sounding like W's and the cute, high-pitched tone), it gave me pause. The phrase? "Worry about yourself". I think it...

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Mommy Monday: my favorite planner supplies

It's about that time of year when everyone starts thinking about calendars and planners for the new year. It's enough to make this planner girl squeal with excitement! I've been in love with my planner for several years now, but only started decorating it (somewhat) this school year. I've finally gotten to the point where I am happy with the way my...

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