The Power of Positive Visuals

I'm not much of a touchy-feely person. I tend to be skeptical of anything that seems fluffy or ignorantly positive. But I have come to appreciate the power of positive visuals and the influence it can have on my mood and motivation in a very real way, and today I wanted to share some of my favorite ways to incorporate them simply and effectively into...

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April Favorites 2018

*sigh* It's almost time to say goodbye to one of my favorite months..... How was your April? The weather here was not great for most of the month, but we had a good week to finish it off and I have so many great things to share with you! 1. Birthday festivities! My birthday was full of special treatment this year- I definitely felt loved!...

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Teacher and Life Planner: Tips for Effective Use

My teacher/ life planner is my single most important tool for maintaining my sanity as a mother, music teacher, and teacher-author. I designed my "perfect for me", all-in-one planner 5 years ago, and I've been refining my system and streamlining my organization ever since. Along the way I've shared my favorite tips for using planners on this blog,...

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Teacher and Life Planner: Making It Your Own

My obsession with my teacher/life planner is no secret: my very first post on this blog 4 years ago was about my planner, and it has been an ongoing topic ever since! As a mother of two young kids, a full-time music teacher, and a teacher-author, having a planner that allows me to consolidate all of my responsibilities and streamline all of that information...

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Finishing the School Year Strong

To say that the end of the school year can get a little hectic would be an understatement for sure. Often as teachers we can go into survival mode, counting down the days until summer and hanging on for dear life, hoping the kids won't literally bounce off the classroom walls and that you'll at least show up in the right place at the right time for...

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Appropriate Chores for 6-Year-Olds

I've always made sure my daughters helped out around the house. Some of it is admittedly self-serving, being a busy single mother, but mostly I think it's important to foster a sense of responsibility, work ethic, and independence, and to develop the skills to take care of themselves and their home. Now that the girls are 6 years old they've added...

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Teaching Melodic Concepts: Lesson Plans and Strategies

Over the last few weeks I've been sharing some of my favorite lessons for introducing different solfege pitches in elementary general music. These are a great way to get your lesson plans going as you plan out your long-range sequence for teaching melodic concepts across grade levels! Along with my posts on solfege, I've got a few other favorite posts...

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