This post is also featured on the TpT blog! I stumbled across this awesome little gem of a song when I was looking through Bessie Jones’s book “Step It Down” a year or so ago. The kiddos love the song but also go crazy for the accompanying dance. I really like this song becau...
It is that time of year when many of us buckle down and start preparations on a Christmas/Holiday/Winter program. Some people pull out favorite carols, some only talk about winter, some pull out their Santa stuits, and some of us do multicultural programs that feature traditions from around the wo...
Each year I take the time to talk with every class in every grade about what we do in case of emergencies and/or emergency drills. This is not the most scintillating lesson I teach, and I hate taking the time away from “real music instruction,” but I see this as an absolutely importan...
Click any photo to enlarge. It’s a new school year in a new school with a new set of challenges and possibilities! As of August 2016 I am the new music teacher at Ralya Elementary School in Haslett, MI where I’ll be replacing a teacher who has been in the building for many years. I w...
It is absolutely that time of year. Teachers in North America have either started back with students already, are in the midst of professional development and planning, or are a few short days away from officially “reporting back.” It is EASY to get overwhelmed during the “Bac...
When I was a first year teacher I was absolutely terrified of talking with parents. In fact, the words “parent phone call” would make me avert my eyes and try to look busy doing something else. I didn’t like calling home. My first four years of teaching went by with very few stud...
The last school I worked at actually had a diagram of which bulletin boards should go in which spots in the classroom. They had a very specific expectation of WHERE and WHY something should go in a certain place. In fact, my new teacher orientation had a full hour session on bulletin board place...
There are so many things to think about when planning your classroom for the coming year. You think about lesson plans, unit and semester plans, concerts, building-wide evaluation systems, new requirements from the state/district, new purchases, fundraising… oh and also you need to put somet...
The music education blog carnival is a monthly post that links to several new music education blog posts across the web. These blog posts were compiled from the month of May 2016 and feature music teachers from around the world. Thanks to everyone who wrote wonderful and insightful arti...
I love showing musicals to my students. Kids are mesmerized by the spectacle, the joy, and the drama. Kids are easily hooked in to the stories and exuberant song and dance numbers (and often end up clapping after songs finish). I could go on and on about why musicals are important to the histo...
What do you call a quarter note? In your classroom do you call it “Ta”? Or Maybe you call it “Du”. What about other rhythms? Do you say “Ta, Ti-ti” or maybe “Du, Du-de” or even “Ta, Ta-di.” Perhaps you just call them “pal, b...
I’ve been spending a lot of time these last few weeks teaching students about each instrument family! We’ve learned how to identify different instrument families by looking for clues on each instrument like a mouthpiece, strings, reeds, tubing, valves, mallets, and lots more! I love ...