Teacher Summer Renewal: home life refresh

I am at a place in my life right now where I am working towards renewal. For me renewal this summer means getting back to the things I love, the things that bring me joy that I had gotten out of the habit of doing or was forced to let go of. It means taking the fresh ideas I've learned through the pandemic and infusing them into my old best practices, both in my professional and my personal life. It means reclaiming my sense of purpose, and working towards a renewed passion and energy instead of just living in a constant state of triage. Renewal has to include my whole self and every aspect of my life, not just my role in the classroom- today I'm focusing on the ways I'm working towards renewal in my home life as a working parent.

1. Exercise

I have never had any desire to exercise for the purpose of exercise- I've always maintained that I lead an active enough lifestyle that I don't need to go out of my way and dedicate time specifically to exercise as its own activity. But I realized this spring that 1) I'm getting older, and 2) pandemic teaching and living has been far less active than my pre-pandemic teaching and living, and I've finally made the commitment to do some actual, regular exercise.

Knowing the way I operate and what motivates me, I've put a weekly tracker in my planner to keep track of the days I exercise, and I've made it a goal to do a 10-minute workout every day. If you're like me and you're looking for an easy way to get started, here's one of the videos I've been using- I have a rotation of 3-4 workout videos that I rotate through and they have been a good level of challenge for me where I am right now.

2. Screen time

I'm sure I'm not the only one whose screen time shot through the roof, especially at the beginning of the pandemic. And I know I don't have to explain to anyone the negative impact of too much screen time, or the addictive nature of screens and social media. This summer I'm really trying to reduce my screen time closer to pre-pandemic levels. Obviously I do a lot of work online with Organized Chaos, and right now I'm also in the middle of an online degree program, so a certain amount of computer work is unavoidable. But I'm focusing on that scrolling time on my phone that I've gradually allowed myself to increase during the pandemic. It was a way to stay connected when we were all isolating, but with that need being reduced I need to find ways to back off. 

One strategy that was effective for me years ago that I'm bringing back is wearing a wrist watch. I use the excuse of checking the time as a reason to check my phone constantly, so having a watch takes away that need. I'm also trying, any time I feel like lounging around scrolling through social media or watching YouTube videos, to turn on some music to sing along to instead. It still gives me a way to unwind and relax without having to stare at a screen.

3. Cooking

I've actually been pretty good with keeping up my meal planning/ healthy cooking for my family through the pandemic, and in many ways I've gotten better at using what I have in the fridge or pantry because I was trying to make fewer trips to the store during lockdown (read about that in this blog post). But what I have let slip is my eating habits when I'm alone. Since I share custody of my daughters there are days when they are with their dad and I'm alone, and I've found myself turning much more to convenience, whether that's instant ramen or takeout, with the excuse of "self care". This summer I'm trying to set myself up to cook for myself more with these strategies I had developed pre-pandemic. 

4. Appointments

I definitely let a lot of my annual checkup and other appointments go by the wayside during the pandemic. Part of my "self-care" this summer is getting back on track with all of my appointments! I have my annual checkup with my primary care doctor, dentist and eye appointments, and haircuts all on the schedule and I'm recommitted to staying on track with these.

I'm mostly writing this post because I know if I tell other people I'm doing it, I'll be more likely to follow through and stay committed. But I hope this also helps give other teachers some fresh motivation or inspiration to give your own home life a reboot! After living through everything we've been through in this pandemic- as much as we're not out of the woods yet- I think we all need it. 

If you're in a similar place in life where you're ready for renewal, I'd love to hear what you're committing to, changes you're making, pre-pandemic practices you're bringing back, and new habits you're trying to build. Tell me what you're doing in the comments below!

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Elementary Music Curriculum Resources

Mapping out a general music curriculum can be a daunting task, but once you have a solid plan in place it makes the day-to-day lesson planning so much easier and the lessons become so much more purposeful as well! Whether you're starting from scratch and being asked to create a curriculum on your own, working with textbooks or other resources, or reflecting on what you already have in place, consider this your idea bank for everything you need to create and/or develop your elementary general music curriculum!

Lesson Content/ Sequencing

If you're looking for lesson ideas on specific concepts, trying to figure out how to sequence skills and concepts from grade to grade, or looking for ways to incorporate specific languages, cultures, and other representation in your lessons, these are your best friends! I'm continuing to update these with more topics as I write new posts so bookmark these and check back when you need some fresh ideas:

Curriculum Mapping

If you are adjusting or creating your curriculum or long-range plans, my #1 recommendation is to sign up for my email series, "Lesson Planning Made Awesome". It's completely free, nothing extra to sign up for, and takes you through the process of mapping out your curriculum and long-range plans all the way from standards and scope and sequence down to your daily lesson plans with all of the templates you need to write out and organize everything:

If you want to explore a specific topic further, here are several blog posts I've written on various aspects of curriculum writing/ long-range planning:

Ready to Use Resources

If you are looking for ready-made resources to save you loads of time (and headaches), I have lots of options available- if you are in a district that doesn't allow TPT purchases but you can purchase through JWPepper, many of these are also available there.

Long-range planning templates with a sample sequence for K-6:

Completed yearly outlines with editable K-6 monthly sequences and complete skills checklists by grade:

Planning sheets with all of the standards listed by grade (there are versions for TEKS, Ontario curriculum, and PK-8 general and ensemble standards for the National Core Arts Standards):

Assessments organized by skill/ concept and sorted by grade level:

Complete curriculum set, including full lesson plans to address the concepts/ skills outline for each month in each grade, with all the visuals, assessments, and materials needed to teach them:

I hope you find all of these resources helpful in your planning process, whether you're just getting started or updating what you have! If you have questions or topics you'd like to hear more about, please reach out any time and I'd love to talk with you further.

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Summer of Renewal

I've been on summer break for a couple of weeks now and I'm actually in a much better place than I have been the last 2 summers. This year was hard, to be sure, but the word I keep replaying in my mind is renewal. It's time for a summer of renewal. 

You may not be in the same place as I am right now, and that's ok. Last summer all I could manage to write at the end of the year was this post: we did it. I had nothing else to say. Once I was able to clear some of the cobwebs, last summer was a summer of picking up the pieces and trying to make some sense out of the mess my life seemed to have become. If that's where you are now you are definitely not alone- you can read about how I tried to get myself back to a better place in my emotional, social, and physical well-being, and my curriculum, digital files, and classroom space at work, in this series.

For me, though, I have a lot more emotional and mental energy this year and I'm ready to get recharged and refreshed for next school year- I'm ready for renewal. I'm not saying I think the pandemic is over- my local area actually has really high numbers of covid cases right now and we're still taking a lot of precautions- but it's time for me to stop wallowing, stop fumbling around in the dark. We may have to go back to more masks, or social distancing, or even online teaching at some point but I've been there, I've done that, and as much as I may not like it I can do it again.

For me renewal this summer means getting back to the things I love, the things that bring me joy that I had gotten out of the habit of doing or was forced to let go of. It means taking the fresh ideas I've learned through the pandemic and infusing them into my old best practices, both in my professional and my personal life. It means reclaiming my sense of purpose, and working towards a renewed passion and energy instead of just living in a constant state of triage.

In the last few weeks I've shared some of my favorite new ideas that I'm excited to take with me into next school year. Over the next couple of weeks I'll be sharing some of the old ideas and practices I can't wait to reclaim or recommit to, both at home and at school, and ways I'm rethinking or revising them. Maybe some of them will be things you want to try out yourself next year! If you're in a good place to do so, I hope you'll join me in this summer of renewal- and come follow me on Instagram to hear me talk about my thought process more in some videos, and be a part of the conversation to let me know how you're processing this summer.

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New Lesson Ideas I Loved This Year

I won't lie, this school year was so tough in so many ways. But as I look back, I'm pretty surprised at how many new ideas I tried that were a huge success this year! Last week I shared some general ideas from teaching that I plan to continue, and today I'm sharing new lesson ideas I tried this year! These are definitely going into my regular lesson rotation- I highly recommend them all to any teachers looking to refresh your own lesson plans for next year!

1. Science of Sound

I did a couple of quick lessons on the science of sound with 6th grade this year, sortof on a whim because of the way the timing of my other units starting and ending lined up. It went so well, and I found so many cool resources that I couldn't even fit into my short timeframe this year, that I'm hoping to expand it further next year. Right now my thought is to expand it out to include a lesson or two in other grade levels and circle back to it each year, but we'll see what I come up with when I really sit down with my long-range curriculum plans this summer. Here are some of the highlights from my lessons this year:

2. Music of Colombia

I have been teaching music of Bolivia to my 1st graders for years but with the Encanto movie out this year I decided to switch things up and do a unit on Colombia instead. I learned so much through my research and the unit was a huge success, both in engagement and in how well students were able to learn the same musical concepts through the lesson material.  Here are the lesson activities I used this year: 

3. 5/4 Meter

I have always done a couple of brief lessons on 5/4 meter using "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck with 4th grade to expand their understanding of time signatures and meter. But this year they just weren't grasping it as well, and we were ahead of my normal pacing on other concepts, so I expanded it into a whole series of lessons just on 5/4! I personally have always been fascinated by unusual time signatures and I found my students really enjoyed and learned a lot from diving deeper into it this year as well! Here are some of the highlights from those lessons: 

I hope this gives you some new ideas to try next year! I'd love to hear about your successes from this past year as well- what were some new lessons you tried this year that you and your students loved? Let me know in the comments!

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