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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