My Go-To Online Resources for Music Teaching

Tomorrow is the first day of March and that means Music In Our Schools Month! I hope you are able to celebrate and advocate for the importance of music education this month and have tons of fun in the process! I have a few special plans to celebrate with all of you as well, all designed to make the job of music teaching a little less stressful and...

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Rainbow Party Ideas

As many of you know I'm a big fan of rainbows, so when my daughters decided on a rainbow theme for their latest birthday party I was pretty excited! There are lots of great reasons to throw a rainbow party, no matter your age, gender, or occasion, so find an excuse and party on! Just seeing the rainbow colors all over the house kept me happy all day...

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Sign Language in the Music Room

I have always felt strongly about the benefits of using sign language in the elementary music classroom, and over the years it has become a regular part of my teaching, especially in the younger grades. Today I want to talk a little about why and how I use sign language in my music teaching, along with some resources to help you get started with sign...

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DIY Family Game: Rainbow Scavenger Hunt

I'm always looking for new ways to have fun with together with my 5-year-olds at home this time of year. Whether we're home because someone is sick, or stuck in the house during a snow storm, I love to find things to do together that we can all enjoy, but so often end up getting tired of doing the same things over and over again! I threw this game...

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Music In Our Schools Month: more ways to celebrate!

After 4 years at my current school, I'm ready to make some updates to the ways I celebrate Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM). Although I have loved the things I've been doing, there were a few things that I knew I could do better, and some new ideas that I wanted to try just to keep things interesting! If you missed my original post describing...

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Party Popcorn: a fun snow day (or any day!) snack

We had several snow days last week and my 5-year-old daughters and I had a lot of fun spending some time relaxing together! One of my favorite things to do when we have a snow day is to make something yummy, and I was pretty excited to bring back one of our favorite snacks from last year this past week: Party Popcorn! Next time you have a snow day,...

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Froggy Gets Dressed: music lesson to review classroom instruments

I love using storybooks in my elementary music lessons, especially with my younger students, and I'm so excited about my newest lesson using the book Froggy Gets Dressed. I am using this lesson with kindergarten to review proper playing technique on our classroom instruments. This lesson could also be used to introduce and explore the concept of timbre. *this...

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Appropriate Chores for 5 Year Olds

I have always made sure my daughters are an integral part of the upkeep of our home, partly because I want them to develop an appropriate work ethic, a sense of responsibility, and learn how to clean and take care of stuff, and partly because I just can't do it all myself! I've often found people are surprised when they hear how much the girls are...

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Small Goals: February 2017

It's amazing how quickly a month can fly by! I love taking the time each month to reflect on the past month and look forward to the next- it helps me stay motivated and focused on the most important things I want to accomplish. I'm linking up with Jennifer from The Yellow Brick Road to do just that- I hope you'll join us in taking a moment to...

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January Favorites 2017

Another month has flown by, and we are now truly in the thick of 2017! I'm taking a minute today to reflect on some of the things I especially enjoyed this past month. I hope you'll leave a comment at the end with your "January favorites" as well, so we can all find new things to enjoy in February! :) 1. The Rubber Band Method As most of you...

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