The chaos of pandemic-year teaching sure compelled me to streamline my assessments! When working with early childhood classes, a lot of the learning is focused around contrasts in four main concepts: duration (long and short), tempo (fast and slow), dynamics
Using picture books to develop musical thinking
Welcome! Picture books are a fantastic way to develop creative thinking and musical thinking in the elementary school music classroom. If you are looking for ideas to connect music learning to a picture book, you have come to the right
Soundscapes with Listen to the Rain
This is my second book recommendation this month! With no singing allowed under strict covid-19 restrictions, I’ve been diving into more books. Bill Martin, Jr.’s Listen to the Rain provided a great backdrop for my Pre-Kindergarten classes to explore all
Vocal Exploration Through the Town
I always take time for vocal exploration in my early years classes. It’s so important to get them comfortable with their voices, and work on their flexibility. We focus just on echoes for a while, and then we think about
Playful Rhythm Practice
I’ve always taught “ta” (quarter note) and “ti-ti” (two eighth notes) in Kindergarten, but in the past few years I’ve ended up doing it earlier and earlier, allowing myself to jump to it when the students’ thinking and questioning naturally
Recorders—at school or at home
Despite many jokes about children playing the recorder, music teachers know that the recorder is an accessible first step towards playing other instruments. It can be difficult for a small child to play a melodic instrument. String instruments require left
Cyber Monday (and Tuesday) sale
Just a quick note to check out TeachersPayTeachers for a big sale–up to 25% off, but most stores at least 20%. Whether you are in person or online, it’s a great time to grab printables, posters, and lesson plans as
Flipping INSIDE the classroom
Flipped classrooms have been trending for a while now, but I’ve never really embraced it because I don’t expect my students to use their time at home. But while I’m thinking about how to adapt my teaching for pandemic times,
4 Key End-of-year Reflections for Teachers
Welcome to the end of the weirdest year ever (unless you are a January-December school). Whether you are already on your holiday, or still wrapping up like me, this has definitely been a trying school year. Most schools have had
Fostering a Growth Mindset
There is a lot of talk about growth mindset in educational circles these days. You have probably read about the experiment where a teacher was told she was getting all the brightest students in one class, and when she treated