Restorative Practices in the Music Room

As we consider anti-racist practices in our teaching practices, one key element to consider is our "behavior management". It's relatively easy to take out offensive songs from our literature, throw some posters of non-white musicians up on the walls, and add some books with non-white characters to our libraries. But the real work begins when we start...

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Elementary Music Without Singing

There are so many questions right now, and very few answers. The one that melts my brain the most right now, though, is how to teach elementary music class without anyone being able to sing (and I know I'm not the only one struggling with this)! If we are teaching in-person in some way, shape, or form, there is a good chance that singing won't be safe...

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Lesson Planning for a Year of Uncertainty

Lesson planning and curriculum development for general music is difficult enough in normal times, but this year presents challenges far beyond anything we have seen in our lifetimes! We don't know if we'll be teaching on a cart, in a "socially distant" music room, online, or all of the above. We don't know if we'll be allowed to sing with students,...

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5 Things You Didn't Know About #PlanMyWholeLife Music Teacher Planners

Most Organized Chaos readers will know about the #PlanMyWholeLife planners I use and design for music teachers- if there is one tool I use more than any other to keep my act together it has to be my planner! If you don't know much about them, you can watch this video to get a quick introduction- there are printables with lesson planning formats and...

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