Five tips for Christmas time in the music room

Five tips for Christmas time in the music room

Ah, Christmas time in the music room....kids are CRAZY with excitement and have a hard time focusing and sitting still. I have a hard time focusing too, so I can understand! Over the years, though, I have noticed a few things that have worked well for getting students in grades K-5 still engaged in music lessons. Here are my five tips...#1: Sing holiday music!One of the best things about December,...

10 Tips for iPad group work

10 Tips for iPad group work

This year, I was so fortunate to receive a grant from my district for the purchase of eight iPad minis along with the apps GarageBand and MadPad HD.As you can imagine, I was beside myself in excitement!!! Eight iPads, only for my classroom!??! I have been using only one iPad for the last two years, so having eight iPads was thrilling to ponder!It has been a fun and exciting journey so far...with some...

Five Favorite Pins of November

Five Favorite Pins of November

Hi everyone! It's almost the end of November, so here is my five favorite pins linky party!Here is my list for this month; just click each picture to view that pin.#1: Plastic plates as dry erase boardsIf you want to do work (like rhythmic dictation) but can't afford dry erase boards, this would be a great alternative!#2: Dynamics behavior chartWhat a great way to teach dynamics AND monitor behavior!#3:...

Songs and Activities for Halloween Week

Songs and Activities for Halloween Week

Since it's the week of Halloween, I thought I'd blog about activities and songs I'm doing this week!I'll be honest, I haven't always done many holiday activities in my music classroom. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and I love dark, spooky music. However, in the past, I've had some classes on one lesson while other classes were four lessons behind because of my schedule (with some classes...

On the day you were born: Performance ideas

On the day you were born: Performance ideas

This week was pretty busy and stressful, as my fifth graders performed their program, "On the day you were born" on Thursday. I have to say, though, that this was one of my favorite performances of my career. Part of it is that I've had these students since first grade. Part of it is that I just loved the material I chose for the program (and so did the kids, which doesn't happen all the time with...

Interactive Notebooks in the Music Room

Interactive Notebooks in the Music Room

So in the last few months, I have heard a lot about interactive notebooks in the grade-level classroom. Out of curiosity, I clicked on a few listings on Teachers Pay Teachers to check them out. I found math and language arts notebooks, and thought, "Eh, I don't think this could be adapted for the music classroom." Let's face it, we get so little time with them as it is, how would we have time for...

Five Favorite Pins of October

Five Favorite Pins of October

Hi everyone! It's been quite a while since I did a "five favorite pins" post, so here goes!Here is my list for this month; just click each picture to view that pin.#1: Free Ipad Apps for Classroom ManagementThis blog post has several different iPads apps that are not only great for classroom management, but are FREE!#2: 21 Books about Farm AnimalsI love using children's books about animals for vocal...

Variety in assessment

Variety in assessment

My district has been focusing on formative assessment strategies for years, and for that,  I am very grateful. We as teachers have been provided with tons of professional development about the topic of assessment, with strategies to gauge understanding and adapt instruction.One "a-ha" moment I had on my own, though, without reading an article or hearing anything about it at a meeting, is the...