2018 Rewind: Top Planner and Home Life Posts

I love taking some time for reflection at the end of each year, so today we're taking a look back at the content from 2018 related to planners and home life! If you missed last week's "rewind" post on music education content, be sure to catch up on that one right here. But life outside of the classroom is just as important to talk about as our work...

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2018 Rewind: Top Music Education Posts

On this last full week of 2018, I want to stop and look back on all of the content we have covered this year on Organized Chaos. What a year it has been! Lots of opportunities to dig deeper into improving our practice as music teachers, as well as continuing to share practical advice for those aspects of music teaching with which many of us struggle...

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The Right Way to Play Freeze Dance in the Classroom

I'm going to go ahead and claim it: I am the master of freeze dance in the classroom. After running the game with my students from preschool through 9th grade over many years of teaching, I have figured out what rules and procedures help the game run most smoothly and keep everyone having the most fun. Ready to learn all the tricks of the trade? The...

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Music Incentive Day Ideas

I love using a "reward day" or "music choice day" as an incentive for whole class behavior management, and I know many other general music teachers do as well. It's a great way to keep class time meaningful while taking some time to explore the joys of music-making without the pressure of a traditional lesson format, and it gives students some agency...

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Dry Erase Home Organizer

I have always told myself that organization systems only work until they don't, and that I should never become so attached to one system that I continue using it when my organizational needs have changed and my system is no longer the best way to address those needs. I realized a month or so ago that my old command center (which was perfect for me...

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Now What? Steps to Anti-Oppressive Music Teaching

So like me, you've come to recognize the many ways that society, our education system, and your own teaching practices are biased against certain people groups and perspectives. You want to do something to create a more just classroom. But what can you do? Today I want to share some of the steps I am committing to take as I continue on this journey...

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November Favorites 2018

It is such a helpful practice to stop and reflect on the small victories and moments of joy in our everyday lives! I have made it a habit to share my highlights each month using pictures from my Instagram account, because that's where I tend to share those little snippets from home and school most often- here are some of my "favorites" from the month...

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Reflecting, Responding, Respecting: aren't we all the same?

Over the last few months I've been sharing my thoughts on ways we can better reflect, respond to, and respect traditionally marginalized people and perspectives in the music room. I've learned so much already through my research, experiences, and conversations and I want to continue to reflect on this topic in my professional and personal life as I...

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Students with Special Needs: Strategies for Inclusion

As I continue my focus on reflecting, respecting, and responding to marginalized people and perspectives in the music room, I'm focusing again today on students with differing abilities. I wrote previously about ideas for reflecting people with special needs in the visuals, stories, and materials that we use (read that post here), but today I'm talking...

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24 Low-Stress Family Advent Activities

The Christmas season as a parent of young children is a two-sided coin. On the one hand it is the most magical way to experience the holiday, but on the other hand it can get overwhelming trying to fit in all the things you want to do with your kids! My solution for the last several years has been a low-key list of small things to do each day in December...

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