Top 10 Posts from 2022

It's hard to believe another year has passed but here we are! Looking back on posts from the year is always fun for me because I forget what I've written about and it's so interesting to be reminded of what I wrote. My blog is a reflection of what is on my mind so these top posts are, I think, a reflection of what we as a profession have been thinking...

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Favorite Music Lesson Activities for Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is one of those things that often gets thrown in as an add-on to a lesson, concert, or sing-along with Christmas songs as a way to "be more inclusive", but I think if we stop to think about it we all know Kwanzaa should not just be treated as a "Christmas add-on". And of course, as with anything else, it's important to make sure the resources...

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Turn Around a Negative Lesson

Sometimes lessons get off on the wrong foot. One (or more) student is dysregulated and gets into a power struggle with you. They just came from PE and the half of the class that lost the dodgeball game is mad about losing, and the other half is mad that the other half is mad. Whatever the reason, it can be hard to save a lesson once it has gone south,...

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3 Music Lesson Ideas for When Your Brain Is Fried

Sometimes your brain is just overloaded, and you can't process any more information. And by sometimes I mean music teachers in December. For those days when you don't have any more space left in your brain to think, here are some lesson ideas that require very little mental energy (but are still fun and educationally valuable).1. Winter Play-Along...

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Hip-Hop in Music Education

After periodic posting on the topic of hip-hop over the last few years I decided it was time to compile all of my writing on the topic in one place. If and when I write more posts related to hip-hop in the future, I will add them back here, so if you're interested in the topic this is the post to save! This post is dedicated to the late Jarritt...

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Decolonizing Our Approach to Hip-Hop

I've been reflecting on how we approach the hip-hop genre in US American schools, and the many ways that we tend to caricature, devalue, and ostracize the genre in our attempts to include it in our school music curricula. It is a long and arduous process to get to where we need to be, but that shouldn't stop us from embarking on the journey! Here are...

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24 Days of Family Christmas Activities

One of our most treasured family traditions is our advent calendar. Since my daughters were 2, I've been putting together an advent calendar with a small holiday-related activity to do each day leading up to Christmas. I never thought it would become such an important part of our lives but now, with my girls about to turn 11, they start asking about...

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(Further) Toward an Inclusive Holiday Sing Along

Holiday sing-alongs are something many music teachers are tasked with. They can be a lot of fun, and they're a great way to bring the entire school community together. But they also inherently center certain religions and cultures while ignoring others, and that is problematic. I have been reflecting on my practice and seeking input from culture bearers...

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This School Year is One Long October

This school year is one long October.I came to this realization a couple of weeks ago, when it was mid-October, and as I've shared the thought with a few colleagues I've found it a really helpful thought to hold onto in those challenging moments when student behaviors are so disruptive, when adults are frustrating, and when things just seem suddenly...

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Music Teacher Vocal Health

It's that time of year: it was my annual tradition to lose my voice a couple of months into each school year for my first decade of teaching! As much as I tried, I could never seem to kick the habit. Over the years I've learned more about how to maintain vocal health as a music teacher, and honestly, started taking more seriously the things I have...

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Resources for Recognizing Heritage Months in the Music Room

So you want to recognize Black History Month, Latine / Hispanic Heritage Month, AAPI Heritage Month, and other heritage months in your classroom, but it feels overwhelming to think about trying to do another thing on top of everything else you're juggling as a teacher with so little class time. You also don't want to do it wrong... how do you avoid...

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Recognizing Heritage Months in the Music Room

So you want to recognize Black History Month, Latine / Hispanic Heritage Month, AAPI Heritage Month, and other heritage months in your classroom, but it feels overwhelming to think about trying to do another thing on top of everything else you're juggling as a teacher with so little class time. You also don't want to do it wrong... how do you avoid...

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Using Pop Songs in Elementary Music

I love being able to incorporate a broad range of musical genres in my elementary general music classes, and while there are plenty of "classics" from bygone eras that have stood the test of time and remain in my repertoire, I also think it's important to show students that the music they're listening to in their day-to-day lives is relevant to everything...

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Favorite Songs for Practicing Eighth / Sixteenth Combinations

I have been on a quest the last couple of years to find new songs for practicing eighth note / sixteenth note combination rhythms, and today I want to share a couple of my latest favorites. Both of these songs include both types of combinations in the same song, so they are best to use for practicing these rhythms after students have been introduced...

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