Music Classroom Tour: 2017-2018

Woohoo, it's that time of year again! I honestly didn't make a ton of changes to my classroom this year, but I decided to personally take you around my classroom and give you some more explanations about things as I go along. Of course if you have any questions about anything you see or hear me mention, ask away in the comments! Here's my video...

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My Morning Playlist to Help the Kids Get Ready for School

Mornings can be tough when you're trying to get yourself plus several tiny humans out the door with all of the necessary belongings, full bellies, preferably fully-clothed, and hopefully not smelling too bad. Inevitably I find myself turning into a nagging machine, because I have to remind my kids of every single thing they need to do, and my daughters...

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August Favorites 2017

I know I say this a lot, but this month I really can't believe it's the end of the month. Seriously, this is ridiculous. How is it about to be September?!? Classes start tomorrow (Monday) for me, so this is officially the end of any semblance of summer vacation..... time to kick things into high gear! If you're looking for some inspiration to...

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Problem- Solving Circles in Elementary Music: Giving Students Ownership

I'm returning to the topic of circles today to explain how I plan to implement "problem-solving circles" in my elementary music classes to help students take more ownership in dealing with larger group issues that negatively impact our classroom climate and/or the smooth running of our lessons. If you missed it, be sure to go back and read last week's...

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Parenting Preschoolers: opportunities for choice

Parenting preschoolers can definitely be a challenge! With 2 preschool girls to parent mostly alone, the biggest thing I've learned is the importance of choice. One of the best ways to give young children a sense of independence and empowerment is to give them choices. And I've found that with my girls, the more choices they have, the less tantrums...

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Making Every Voice Heard in Elementary Music: the benefits of circles

In any classroom with more than, say, 12 kids, it's a challenge to make sure every child feels heard- feels that they are an important contributor to the class and that their opinion is important. This challenge is only magnified when you factor in the short and infrequent classes that elementary specialist teachers tend to have, not to mention the...

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Craft Supplies for Home Decor: paper cutouts

I hope you've been enjoying my little series on using craft supplies to make easy, cheap, home decor! Today I have a few simple projects using paper cutouts. I've used paper flowers for all of these, but if you go to your local craft store you'll find paper cutouts / die cuts in all different shapes and colors (or of course you could make your own)....

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3 Books for Back to School Music Class

I love using children's literature in the music room. It brings ideas to life and sparks kids' imaginations! This summer I discovered a few new books at our local library that I can't wait to use to kick off the school year with my elementary music classes. This post contains affiliate links. Each of these books is perfect for motivating students...

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Craft Supplies for Home Decor: Paper

Scrapbook paper has got to be one of my favorite things! And it is wonderfully easy to use in so many different projects, even home decorating. If you missed it, last week I shared my favorite ways to use washi tape for home decor. Today we're talking about my favorite home decor projects using paper! These are all easy and budget-friendly, so I hope...

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My Favorite Warm-ups for Children's Choir

With limited rehearsal time, finding warm-ups that 1) can be learned quickly, 2) are actually effective in warming up the voice, 3) teach important skills or concepts, 4) are easy enough for very beginning young singers, and 5) aren't boring for the students can be a real challenge! Over the years I've settled on a few favorites that I love for beginning...

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