February Favorites 2018

Another month has flown by! Before I get too caught up in all of my exciting plans for Music In Our Schools Month, it's nice to take some time to look back on the highlights from February- in truth it's easy to think back and only remember the negative, but there were a lot of great things that happened as well that I don't want to lose sight of! I...

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Music In Our Schools Month: 2 (more!) easy and engaging ideas

Music In Our Schools Month starts in just two days- can you believe it?!? I have always loved celebrating with special activities and advocacy projects that keep all the wonderful aspects of music education at the forefront of everyone's minds. I've shared lots of ideas for everything from in-class activities to bulletin boards and everything in between...

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5 Ways to a More Musical Home

With Music In Our Schools Month fast approaching, I've been thinking more consciously about how integral music is in all of our lives and how important music is for children in particular. As an elementary music teacher, incorporating music into my everyday home life comes naturally, but I've talked to so many parents of young children who wish their...

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Teaching Recorder: 4 ways to structure instruction

Teaching recorder, or any instrument for that matter, to a full classroom of students working at different paces and with different levels of motivation can be tricky. Throw in popular curricular resources like Recorder Karate and other methods that encourage differentiation/ leveling in a large group setting, and things can get even more confusing!...

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Stress Reducing Strategies

With winter dragging on and on, holidays past, germs spreading everywhere, and daylight still in short supply, this time of year can get stressful. Today I'm sharing some of my favorite ways to manage my stress levels at home and at school and make sure I'm taking care of myself. Most of these are quick and easy things I can do in the middle of the...

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Teaching Recorder: troubleshooting

One of the biggest struggles of teaching recorder is dealing with all the squeaks and squawks, especially in the beginning. After teaching recorder for over a decade I've learned to spot some of the most common issues beginners deal with, and the most effective ways to address them in the classroom setting. Obviously I won't be covering every problem...

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Snow Day Activities

We have definitely had more than our fair share of snow days this year, and if my friends' comments are any indication, many people around the U.S. are having similar experiences! Yes, being able to sleep in is nice, but getting cooped up inside, especially with young children, can get old really fast! Today I've got 3 ideas for things to do with elementary-age...

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Teaching Recorder: establishing fundamentals

Let's talk some more about teaching recorders! Over the last few weeks, I've written about logistical considerations for getting a recorder unit started, and about what I teach on the first day of recorders. Today I want to talk about how I teach the next few lessons after the first day to make sure students are starting with good habits that will...

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Two Things to Stop Saying to Parents of Elementary-Age Twins

There are a lot of amazing posts that have already been written about annoying things people say to mothers of twin babies and toddlers- that is definitely the toughest stage in terms of stranger comments because you're so much more conspicuous with a double stroller and a giant bag full of enough supplies to keep multiple infants alive long enough...

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