"I know this could be better." I know we've all had that thought. It's easy to go down that whole rigamarole of feeling like you're not living up to your potential in the music classroom, and to spiral down the different ways you could be doing things better. First things first: you're a caring, thoughtful teacher. You wouldn't be here if you weren't, am I right? But when we get in these cycles of criticizing our practice, it's important to find a place to start. It's important to find that ONE thing. Here's a few things that I talk about on today's episode: Why it's important to focus on one ..read more

Ostinato is not just a concept on your curriculum map to check off... in fact, it's much like all of the other things listed on that curriculum, it comes back again and again! But ostinati are special. They are not only a pathway to partwork, they are also opportunities for student choice, creativity, and independent musicianship. Today I'm sharing 4 ways that I use ostinato in my classroom, including: The easiest way to extract and create an ostinato with a game you're already doing in your classroom. How to highlight a rhythmic or melodic concept while also creating opportunities for stude ..read more

Something that I consistently hear from both practicing teachers and student teachers alike is "what is the best way to break down activities over multiple lessons?" It feels a little like you should be able to just sing the song and play the game. And yes, absolutely that is the goal for our students! But what if it's something a little more advanced, or we simply want to stretch the good stuff over multiple lessons? Today I'm sharing how to find natural stopping points and build lesson segments from one big activity with many layers. Here are a few of the things we talk about on today's pod ..read more

I recently received a piece of feedback  that "scripting wasn't working for them." they felt like trying to create exactly what they would say in front of a group of students without actually being in front of that group felt really in authentic and not right. My response was, "well of course not." You would never want to read a prescribed script to your students in your classroom. That would not allow for the opportunity to change things on the fly, take feedback from your students, and change things accordingly... But also, that's not really on the point of scripting. It's not about giv ..read more

Creativity is a BIG word. But getting started doesn't have to feel quite so hairy scary. Why? Because it really comes down to one thing: student choice. Today I'm talking about how to implement a few strategies to begin offering your students choice and facilitate creativity in your elementary music classroom today. Here are some of the things we talk about: Convergent vs. Divergent thinking and why both have a place in the classroom. How to start giving students choice and using creativity without it feeling scary (to you OR them!) The first steps you need to get your students improvi ..read more

Having an opening routine in your music class is a surefire way to get students primed and ready to go when they first walk into your classroom. It's no secret that I think having an intentional beginning sequence to your lessons is important--we've talked about it on a couple of podcasts so far (and are linked down below) I've even gone so far as to share what I do with my younger students, think Kindergarten through 2nd grade, to have a fairly established routine that they come to expect, and stays the same week to week. But what about those older students? What about the upper elementary or ..read more

Aside from the ordering of concepts and skills we teach in our music classrooms, there’s this whole other side of “stuff” that we need to figure out in order to teach our children music effectively. How children learn music best is one of those big, “can of worms” types of questions that can easily leave you wondering even more than that first original question. Today on the podcast, my friend Victoria Boler is back to chat about music teacher philosophy and how we both have discovered that children learn best. Here’s a little bit about what we talk about in this week’s conversation: The imp ..read more

Kindergarten is one of those very very polarizing topics. It’s either that it’s completely your jam (raise your hand if you’re with me there!) or something that you completely dread. Odds are, the reason it feels either anxiety inducing or the most fun ever is because honestly? Kindergarten music is 100% it’s own animal. Today on the podcast, I’m back with my friend Victoria Boler to chat about all things Kindergarten. Here’s a little bit about what we talk about in this week’s conversation: What to actually expect in those first weeks of Kindergarten. The high energy and quality of teacher ..read more

The first week of school is tricky. Alongside opening routines, we’re also trying to figure out, quite literally, what to do with our kids for the rest of the year. What do they know? What can they demonstrate? And how are we going to continue to make music for the rest of the year? Well, today on the podcast, you're in luck because we are having our another "Tea with V" episode with Victoria Boler, where you get to listen in on a conversation we had all about pre-assessment Here's a little bit about what we talk about on this week's episode: How to figure out where your kids are in your curr ..read more

Back to school season is in FULL swing. Whether you've gone back to your classroom or are just prepping to do so, I'm willing to bet that you've been thinking a LOT about rules, procedures, and routines that you'd like to get rocking and rolling this year. Especially when it comes to opening routines. Well, today on the podcast, you're in luck because we are having our very first "Tea with V" episode with Victoria Boler, where you get to listen in on a conversation we had all about opening routines. Here's a little bit about what we talk about on this week's episode: The 2 main goals y ..read more