Organized Chaos

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Fermata Friday: January 8, 2016

Happy New Year and welcome to this week's installment of my weekly linky party, Fermata Fridays! This is a chance for music education bloggers to share blog posts with readers and bloggers alike, so we can all mingle and learn from each other. Readers, you are going to love all of the awesome blog posts that are out there- I hope you discover some new blogs to follow and get some new inspiration for your teaching! Bloggers, make sure you read the directions carefully before linking up to make sure we keep the party fun for everyone. Thanks! :)

Here are the rules for the linky party:

1. Add the linky image to your blog post, blog sidebar, linky party roundup, or other similar location on your blog and link it back to the party. Copy and paste the code for this button, or use the image above and link to the label "Fermata Fridays".

2. Add up to two blog post links to the linky. The posts can be old or new (but no posts that have already been linked up to Fermata Fridays in the past), on any topic related to music teaching, but must not be primarily featuring a product. It's fine to have a link to a relevant product within a post, but that should not be the primary focus of the post. I reserve the right to delete a link that is too product-focused. If you're not sure, just ask! :)

3. Leave a thoughtful comment on at least two other links, including the one right before yours. Add #fermatafridays to your comment so bloggers know where you found them!

4. Pin at least one post to one of your Pinterest boards.

5. Make sure you are following me on Pinterest. I will be pinning every link to the Fermata Fridays board each week.

6. Make sure you are following me on Facebook and check back next Friday- I will be featuring one of the links from the previous week's linky on my Facebook page each Friday!

The linky will be open every Friday until 4:00am EST Saturday morning.

An InLinkz Link-up

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Teacher Tuesday: top blog post roundup 2015

Hands up if you, like me, started back to school yesterday...

As we launch full-speed into the new year, I thought it would be helpful to stop and look back for a moment on 2015. Today I'm sharing my favorite music teacher blog posts from last year- 5 of my own and 5 from some of my other favorite blogs (click on the pictures to read each post). I hope you'll join me in taking a deep breath and getting energized with some awesome ideas and inspiration!

1. Teaching Letter Names of Notes

2. Hand Signals for Quick Transitions

3. Drum Circle Lesson Ideas

4. From National Standards to Specific Lessons

5. Rhythm Monster Magnets for Music Composition

6. 10 Ways to Use Balls in Music Class (via Sing-Play-Creatively)

7. Advice for a Struggling New Teacher (via Music With Mrs. Tanenblatt)

8. Top Five Procedures in Elementary Music (via The Yellow Brick Road)

9. Interactive Bulletin Boards and Instrument Family Pyramids (via Musical Gems)

10. Tons of Halloween and Fall Music Lesson Ideas (via O for Tuna Orff)

Did you find a new blog to follow? A great idea you missed before? Have your own favorite posts from 2015 to share? Leave a comment! :)

Monday, January 4, 2016

Mommy Monday: top blog post roundup 2015

Happy New Year! As we launch into 2016, I thought I'd take a moment to look back on my favorite Mommy blog posts from 2015. I've picked out some of my own, and some from other blogs I like to read. I hope you find some inspiration and new ideas to start your year off right!

Click on the image to go to each post:

1. Lunchbox Menu Ideas

Lunchboxes were a big topic for me this past fall since my daughters started preschool. In this post I shared my ideas for creating healthy lunches for kids without too much thought each morning.

2. Helping Children Through a Move

Moving was another big topic for me recently, since I bought a house over Thanksgiving! Having moved a lot as a child myself, this post was a very meaningful one for me to write.

3. Snow Day Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers

This will be a good post for me to reference in the next few months, I'm sure! Unlike this year, the last few winters in Connecticut have been rough. Let me tell you, a wealth of experience, trial, and error went into this list of things to do when you're stuck inside! :)

4. Three Ways IKEA Trones Can Be Your Home Organization Hero

I know the title sounds like an infomercial but I swear 1) it isn't and 2) these things really are so awesome that they make me sound like a walking advertisement. I used these little "shoe cabinets" in my kids' bedroom, the bathroom, and even the kitchen!

5. Dear Newly Single Mom

This post was hard to write, but I'm so glad I did. If you know anyone going through this experience, I hope you will show them this post.

6. Organized Coffee Cabinet

This post by Jen from IHeartOrganizing is just one example of the many gasp-worthy organizing and decorating projects she seems to whip out of her back pocket on a regular basis. And being the coffee lover that I am, this cabinet is definitely a life goal!

7. The Importance of Messing Up: Grit

Our kids need to be allowed to make mistakes. It's the only way they'll learn how to deal with them.

This post spoke to both my parent and teacher sides- Sadia's discussion of letting children fail in order to learn, and helping them to problem-solve, is spot-on!

That's it for now. Did you find a new favorite blog? Got some fresh inspiration for the year? Have your own favorite Mommy blog posts to share? Let me know in the comments below!

Friday, January 1, 2016

Fermata Friday: January 1, 2016

An InLinkz Link-up

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