Fantastic First Day Fun!

The first day of school is such a special day!  I love the way that my students come in shy and expectant with hopes of a good year in their eye.    I love the air of excitement that pervades the building and the extra special effort everyone puts into doing everything right.

I catch myself looking for familiar faces among the older students and realize that my "big kids" are now in jr. high and won't come back for a visit unless they have a younger sibling.  I find that I am surprised by just how small a newly minted 5 year old really is.    Its on the first day of school when we notice that all of our students have grown taller. AND it's on the first day of school when even students who have shined or struggled in years past get a chance to start over.

I enjoy the careful way everyone walks down the hall and the sense of wonder and excitement that comes when my students realize that THIS year, they actually get to do something they have looked forward to for a long time.  I can't help but find that the cheers that accompany an announcement about ordering recorders VERY encouraging.

Oh... and the singing! When I hear my students sing at this time of year I am reminded of why I have the best job ever!  I work really, really,  hard to do what I do, but I don't know of many folks who feel that their job creates joy. When my students are actively engaged in a musically beautiful moment, there is joy.... and I got to be there when it happened.  Today in music class the ice of an over air conditioned summer started to melt into the warm camaraderie of a back porch swing.  Today, on the first day of school, I have students who just met who have taken the first steps toward a life long friendship all while playing  Skip to My Lou My Darling. 

I could say more, but as wonderful as today was, like all first days, it was an exhausting one and I am BEAT! 

Oh yeah, the other thing I like about the first day of school is that because I'm a music teacher, I get to have a first day, every day this week!  I hope you all have had a great day!

Back To School - Music Room Tour - part 2 -2014

One of the joys of not being new anymore is that I've had all year to inhabit my classroom and learn how the room flows with students in it.  As a result, my room set up is a little more refined and indicative of the way that students actually use the space. I finished my room last Friday and decided to hurry up and take pictures of everything before I messed it up again!    I'm very pleased with how things turned out...

The view from the entrance

 

my teaching nook

 

My computer area.... My personal CD collection is not yet put away because it is in need of some TLC

CD player and CD cabinet

The red bucket is where I keep my "today" teaching things.  The notebook is where I will keep printed lesson plans.  Objectives and reminders will be written next to the grade levels. 

I have the electric keyboard in the front of class because although I'm not a great accompanist, I like to play for class.  I'm much more likely to be successful if I am seated rather than standing on tiptoe over an upright.  I almost never use the removable music stand and prefer to play with my music flat on the keyboard so that I can see my students better. 



Our Orff instruments are always out.  We don't want them to get dusty.  Bandanas from Hobby Lobby some in a ton of colors and patterns and work great.  2 cover a bass.



I left this bulletin board blank on purpose because it will hold anchor charts as we create them.  The genre posters I hope to use during listening lessons

The recorders on top will eventually be assigned to students who need them so they don't have to share.  The drawer below has extra new recorders for 5th graders who might not have purchased a recorder yet.   Oh yeah, here is my pencil sharpener! :)



Managing instructional materials for 6 grades can be tough especially if some materials are shared.   Extra copies, shared resources, things that we are getting ready to teach.... THIS is the area where I will organize those things. 



This the view of the back wall from my "real" piano.... :)



I am going to try to house my textbooks like this.  I don't know if I'll like it, but I didn't think my plan last year was very effective.... SOOOO we'll try this and see how it goes. 

Each class has a folder to help me keep track of student work. 



When I look at this picture, I realize that I've got to sort my mallets. 
These bins are the perfect size for a class set of recorders.



pocket charts for my word wall. 



The empty shelves at the back will hopefully be the right size to store some of the things we may need for our upcoming performances. 



Have you ever notice that things accumulate over the year?  I think  I've finally left room for things I will receive.... like giant boxes of recorders, or performance shirts



Oh my goodness!  I have a desk! AND it's cleaned off!



Having been a teacher for so long I have a fairly extensive collection of things that I have made over the years that I keep on my laptop.  My resolution for the year is to actually set up my laptop everyday so that I can have access to those hidden treasures if I need them.  I would also really like to keep a clean desk.  After 15 years of teaching I don't know if it's possible, but its a new year and I can try.  MAYBE my desk decorations will last through the end of the first day....maybe not.... double sided tape is my friend.... If it gets messed up.... oh well!   This also reminds me that I need to do a post about sub plans.... one of these days! :)



who can resist musical bathroom passes? 

With school starting on Monday, I may not be free to write again for awhile, but I hope that everyone has a great time going back to school this year!

Back to School - Music Room Tour - 2014

 

  When you get to share a space with your favorite co-teacher, it's important to create a space where both folks can work easily, because it's a place you will spend a lot of time in throughout the year. Everything should have a place.    When you want to decorate and organize on the cheap there are a few tips that will help. 

1.  Be neat!  - Being neat is FREE! Did you know that turning magazine holders so that the high side faces looks neater even if you are like me and not particularly organized?  Before we changed anything our office environment improved tremendously just because we turned the magazine holders around to cover the mess.  Then over the summer we had a chance to organize things a little and it's improved!

2. If you are looking for cheap magazine holders, they aren't ghosts, they exist!  I got some magazine holders from IKEA!  You can't beat the price!

 

 

 

 

3.  Good wrapping paper!  I found some wrapping paper on sale at the container store. This paper is wonderful! Check it out HERE!

4.  Colorful and patterned Scotch Expressions (masking tape) .  Use this sparingly on surfaces that won't be hurt by the sticky side.... Masking tape is really much better for this than duct tape because it is easy to remove and as long as you are in a climate controlled environment it won't leave a residue.  The best selection is at Office Depot. Two rolls took care of ALL of the decorating that I did.

 Here is the product info for the masking tape I used

Blue Quatrefoil 3437-P9 00-051141-97688-4


 Here is a multimedia catalog for all the various types of tape made by Scotch.

5.  When you get ready to hang things on a wall that you don't own, use command hooks!!!  The best selection is at Joann, but not online, you'll want to go to the store.  

 

Here is my current favorite: HERE! 

 

 

 

 

 

Music Teacher Hack - How to save your Giant BIG BOOKS with one easy trick!

As I was setting up my classroom I was looking for a place to store my MASIVE BIG BOOKS!  I found a good place for them that kept them accessible, out of the way and easy to move, BUT, the pages are not strong enough to stay upright and I don't want to damage the book....   All of a sudden in the midst of my annual beginning of the year mess, I spotted one of my HUGE binder clips!  It fits!!!!  AND it holds the pages to the cardboard back so that the book can be stored where I want it.   Woohoo!!!   

 

 

Music Makes Me Happy - Bulletin Board - Fall 2014

A few days ago I posted about some clip art I created.  I used the clipart in these posters for my hallway bulletin board.  I'm pleased with the way that everything tuned out.    I printed my posters at OfficeMax on 11x17 paper and then had them hard laminated.  I was VERY reasonably priced and cheaper than buying a poster set at the teacher store. 

 

DOWNLOAD music clip art!

 

 

On the Road Again with Roadmapping.

Today my wonderful co-teacher and I got a chance to sit down together and map out the first few weeks of school.  Since this year we aren't both new to the school, we were able to get done in about an hour what took us at least 3 hours last year.  We didn't dig in too deep because we know we will have some more time next week, but we got the first 5 lessons of the year roughly mapped out.  This is heavy on the ROUGH because we were talking and I was trying to write really fast so that I wouldn't loose the thoughts.  It was truly enjoyable to plan because we now have first hand knowledge about lessons we taught at this time last year.  We had the chance to reflect and I'm certain that although the skeleton of our instruction is the same, the delivery will be much better because of the refining we did today.  We both endured I mean enjoyed 30 hours of GT training last week and I'm pleased to say that our time and efforts paid off because several of the strategies and methods that we learned about have actually made their way into our lessons.

This is the first time that I've been able to use the chart that I created for long range planning.
 To download this chart click here.   In our district we formally submit our lesson plans digitally which isn't a problem, except that I find it difficult to transition from a great time of planning and thinking with my partner into actually sitting down at my computer and writing the plans.  I'll be honest and admit this has more to do with the fact that I have never really had a way to keep track of our ideas that worked for me.  Over the years, most of my roadmapping has consisted of a collection of randomly selected post-it notes falling off my computer monitor and sometimes into the trash before I could spare a moment to type them up, share them and submit them.  I am so excited about having this chart in my planner because seeing 4 lessons for each grade level is really great for continuity.  The picture I've included is only of Kinder, 1st and 2nd, but you should know that my 3rd, 4th and 5th is equally as sloppy.  I decided to highlight around the border after our session just to aid me as I looked over my notes. 

I understand that sometimes folks who have a teaching partner split up the work by grade level so that each person is responsible for developing, preparing and formally submitting the lessons for their assigned grade levels.  I'm sure that would work, but I have found that it helps me teach better when I'm involved in the planning and prep of all of the grade levels I teach.  The way we solve the problem is by being responsible for either the odd lessons or the even lessons for each grade level.  This method forces us to collaborate more than we would have to if we only planned and prepared half of the grade levels because our lessons actually have to make sense together.  It may not be something that would work for everyone, but I think it works really well for us. 

FREE Lesson plan!

A few weeks ago, when I posted my lesson plan template, I was asked to show how I would actually use this template in planning.  With that in mind, I've included a version of a lesson that I teach often.  In this plan I refer to form books and mapping, both are tools used in ETM to help students develop both self-actuated and traditional music symbols. ETM refers to music education training and resources provided by The Richards Institute of Education and Research or Education Through Music.  "Let's Do it Again!" is a collection of folk songs and song experience games collected and developed by the Richards Institute.   For more information about ETM and the research done by the Richards Institute, please feel free to check out the information I've provided here.  ETM

Just for fun! - FREE music clip art you might like!

yellow barred eighth notes

I'm learning how to create different graphics using PowerPoint.  I found a pretty border on sale at Joanne's and I liked it because it could be easily transferred into a music bulletin board without too much fuss.  This border can be purchased HERE.  At first I tried cutting out cute faces by hand and adding stems, bars and flags, but I soon realized that I could get better color intensity and a more "on purpose" look if I took a little time with PowerPoint.  Using only shape tools I was able to create each of these and then save them as a picture.  As soon as I finish building my bulletin board, I'll include picture.  I just wanted you to be able to have these files as soon as possible. 

buy border

Green whole note with headphones

You can either save these pictures directly from my site, or download them. Links are below each picture.   if you choose to use them in any publications or on your blog, please be sure and give credit to melodysoup.blogspot.com :)  Thanks!   

 

 

green whole note



purple whole note



Turquoise quarter note 

hot pink eighth note

Music Teacher Planner and Management Notebook- part 7 - Cover Options

to download one of the optional covers- click on the link below!!!!

DOWNLOAD "Music Makes Me Happy" Cover
DOWNLOAD "Music Quote" Cover 

 

Please visit PART 1 to download contacts and call records
Please visit PART 2 to download seating charts & lesson trackers
Please visit PART 3 to download roadmaps, monthly and weekly calendar
Please visit PART 4 to download performance & field trip planner
Please visit PART 5 to download budget planner
Please visit PART 6 to download meeting notes

Recommendations for printing and using your planner: 

1. All pages are intended to be viewed in a 2-page spread with a 1.25 center margin.  This is to allow for spiral binding or hole punching while leaving plenty room for writing.  You don't have to change the margins for it to print correctly, but the center margin is the reason why the even numbered pages are slightly left and the odd numbered pages are slightly right.... it is not a mistake.

2.  When you open the this section 2 -  there will be a blank page, THIS page is not a part of the planner.   it is really only a place holder so that the page layout will work, so there is no need to print it.  You can either download one of the covers linked to this post, or you can create your own cover using personal photos. When I created my planner I printed the cover on a thick glossy card stock and it is protected by a clear cover.  I used a photo editor to create a collage of people that I love.   Next year I plan to laminate the cover in 10 mil. 
 

3.  When printed, my planner was approximately 150 pages front and back because I know how many pages I need.   Only you know how many of each page you need, with that in mind, make sure that you set up your printing precisely.  It might be easiest to print one of each page that you want and then go from there. 

Music Teacher Planner and Management Notebook- part 6 - Meeting Notes

to download the sixth and final section of the planner - click on the link below!!!!

DOWNLOAD Meeting Notes

• Meeting Notes- A place for larger more in depth meeting notes
• Small Meeting Notes - A place for notes for smaller meetings

Please visit PART 1 to download contacts and call records
Please visit PART 2 to download seating charts & lesson trackers
Please visit PART 3 to download roadmaps, monthly and weekly calendar
Please visit PART 4 to download performance & field trip planner
Please visit PART 5 to download budget planner

Recommendations for printing and using your planner: 

1. All pages are intended to be viewed in a 2-page spread with a 1.25 center margin.  This is to allow for spiral binding or hole punching while leaving plenty room for writing.  You don't have to change the margins for it to print correctly, but the center margin is the reason why the even numbered pages are slightly left and the odd numbered pages are slightly right.... it is not a mistake.

2.  When you open the this section 2 -  there will be a blank page, THIS page is not a part of the planner.   it is really only a place holder so that the page layout will work, so there is no need to print it.  The title page will be a separate download. You can either wait for my generic title page or you can create your own.  I can't wait to look at my family photos every day!  

3.  When printed, my planner was approximately 150 pages front and back because I know how many pages I need.   Only you know how many of each page you need, with that in mind, make sure that you set up your printing precisely.  It might be easiest to print one of each page that you want and then go from there. 

Music Teacher Planner and Management Notebook- part 5 - budget planner

 to download the fifth section of the planner - click on the link below!!!!

DOWNLOAD budget planner  
Your financial secretary will love you 
because you'll always have a clue! 

• budget reference - this form is a great place to remind yourself of where you district financial forms are and will help you remember of all of those pesky procedures.  
• budget tracker- OK, you mayor may not have an official budget, BUT, it's always a good idea to keep track of what has been spent on behalf of your music department.  Be a good steward of whatever you have.  
• 5 year plans- maybe your risers are falling apart.... maybe your stage needs new curtains.... keep track of some goals you would like to achieve and share them with your admin so that you are all on the same page.....
• grant writing worksheets - Grants are AWESOME!  BUT, you've in order to make them work for you and your program, you have to have them locked and loaded, ready to go before you ever find out about one.  Take the time, use these worksheets to rough out a few grant projects and then once you get wind of a grant that is a good fit, then you can spend your time tailoring your proposal to fit the parameters of the grant rather than coming up with an idea.
• inventory - If you don't know what you have, then you can't know what you need.  Since it would be wasteful to spend money on unnecessary duplicates, keeping an inventory is great.... use these sheets to jot things down as you have time.... then you can create an electronic version next summer.
• choral library - always know what you have, then you won't waste money on what you don't need.

Please visit PART 1 to download contacts and call records
Please visit PART 2 to download seating charts & lesson trackers
Please visit PART 3 to download roadmaps, monthly and weekly calendar
Please visit PART 4 to download performance & field trip planner

Recommendations for printing and using your planner: 

1. All pages are intended to be viewed in a 2-page spread with a 1.25 center margin.  This is to allow for spiral binding or hole punching while leaving plenty room for writing.  You don't have to change the margins for it to print correctly, but the center margin is the reason why the even numbered pages are slightly left and the odd numbered pages are slightly right.... it is not a mistake.

2.  When you open the this section 2 -  there will be a blank page, THIS page is not a part of the planner.   it is really only a place holder so that the page layout will work, so there is no need to print it.  The title page will be a separate download. You can either wait for my generic title page or you can create your own.  I can't wait to look at my family photos every day!  

3.  When printed, my planner was approximately 150 pages front and back because I know how many pages I need.   Only you know how many of each page you need, with that in mind, make sure that you set up your printing precisely.  It might be easiest to print one of each page that you want and then go from there. 

Music Teacher Planner and Management Notebook- part 4 - performance & field trip planner

 to download the fourth section of the planner - click on the link below!!!!

DOWNLOAD program and field trip planner

• ideas- Keep all of your performance brainstorms in one spot
• program checklist- create your own on-going checklist
• riser arrangements - make sure that you and your students know exactly where they are going to stand during a performance.... Each spot has a number, which means that your students can easily be lined up before you start.
• choreography notes - sometimes you just need a place to keep your "counts" 
• small performances - here is chart that is just the right size to plan those small and sometimes unplanned performances that crop up throughout the year
• field trip planner- it's a chart for field trips.... simple and useful

Please visit PART 1 to download contacts and call records
Please visit PART 2 to download seating charts & lesson trackers
Please visit PART 3 to download roadmaps, monthly and weekly calendar

Recommendations for printing and using your planner: 

1. All pages are intended to be viewed in a 2-page spread with a 1.25 center margin.  This is to allow for spiral binding or hole punching while leaving plenty room for writing.  You don't have to change the margins for it to print correctly, but the center margin is the reason why the even numbered pages are slightly left and the odd numbered pages are slightly right.... it is not a mistake.

2.  When you open the this section 2 -  there will be a blank page, THIS page is not a part of the planner.   it is really only a place holder so that the page layout will work, so there is no need to print it.  The title page will be a separate download. You can either wait for my generic title page or you can create your own.  I can't wait to look at my family photos every day!  

3.  When printed, my planner was approximately 150 pages front and back because I know how many pages I need.   Only you know how many of each page you need, with that in mind, make sure that you set up your printing precisely.  It might be easiest to print one of each page that you want and then go from there. 

Music Teacher Planner and Management Notebook- part 3 - lesson plans, roadmaps, & calendars

 

 

 

 

 

When I printed my planner at OfficeMax, I included some of the following features:

• a clear plastic cover, a vinyl back cover and a black spiral. 
• a title page printed on glossy card stock with family photos
• quick reference card printed on the back of the title page card stock, everything else has been printed front & back is on medium weight paper in order to reduce bleed through.
• I was able to print it from a jump drive at Office Max.  In 20 minutes and for about $30 I had the perfect planner for me.

 to download the third section of the planner - click on the link below!!!!

DOWNLOAD lesson plans, roadmaps, & calendars!

• lesson plans- an optional template for the lessons you teach each day
• roadmaps - view between 4 and 12 lesson outlines for a particular grade level at once
• monthly calendar - blank monthly calendar - download it once, you can use it year after year 
• weekly calendar- weekly calendar with a "to-do" list

Please visit PART 1 to download contacts and call records
Please visit PART 2 to download seating charts & lesson trackers

Recommendations for printing and using your planner: 

 

1. All pages are intended to be viewed in a 2-page spread with a 1.25 center margin.  This is to allow for spiral binding or hole punching while leaving plenty room for writing.  You don't have to change the margins for it to print correctly, but the center margin is the reason why the even numbered pages are slightly left and the odd numbered pages are slightly right.... it is not a mistake.

2.  When you open the this section 2 -  there will be a blank page, THIS page is not a part of the planner.   it is really only a place holder so that the page layout will work, so there is no need to print it.  The title page will be a separate download. You can either wait for my generic title page or you can create your own.  I can't wait to look at my family photos every day!  

3.  When printed, my planner was approximately 150 pages front and back because I know how many pages I need.  The calendar is complete to ensure that there are plenty of weekly pages for the 2014-2015 academic year.  Only you know how many of each page you need, with that in mind, none of the pages in my PDFs will be duplicated.

Music Teacher Planner and Management Notebook- part 2 - seating charts, lesson trackers, checklists

Thanks for stopping by!  Here is your chance to download a seating chart, a lesson tracker and a checklists that I created to use this year.  In order to use space wisely, I've also been able to sneak in some rubric templates, so the rubrics you create will always be nearby when you are ready for assessment.  

 

 

When I printed my planner at OfficeMax, I included some of the following features:

• a clear plastic cover, a vinyl back cover and a black spiral. 
• a title page printed on glossy card stock with family photos
• quick reference card printed on the back of the title page card stock, everything else has been printed front & back is on medium weight paper in order to reduce bleed through.
• I was able to print it from a jump drive at Office Max.  In 20 minutes and for about $30 I had the perfect planner for me.

 to download the second section of the planner - click on the link below!!!!

DOWNLOAD Seating Charts, lesson trackers & checklists!

• seating charts - keep track of behaviors or special needs
• lesson trackers - a place to keep track of what a particular class has learned
• checklists - keep them right behind each seating chart and use them for assessment or keep them in their own section and keep track of returned items.
• rubric- keep a rubric at hand for all of those skills you teach

Please visit PART 1 to download contacts and call records

Recommendations for printing and using your planner: 

 

1. All pages are intended to be viewed in a 2-page spread with a 1.25 center margin.  This is to allow for spiral binding or hole punching while leaving plenty room for writing.  You don't have to change the margins for it to print correctly, but the center margin is the reason why the even numbered pages are slightly left and the odd numbered pages are slightly right.... it is not a mistake.

2.  When you open the this section 2 -  there will be a blank page, THIS page is not a part of the planner.   it is really only a place holder so that the page layout will work, so there is no need to print it.  The title page will be a separate download. You can either wait for my generic title page or you can create your own.  I can't wait to look at my family photos every day!  

3.  When printed, my planner was approximately 150 pages front and back because I know how many pages I need.  Only you know how many of each page you need, with that in mind, none of the pages in my PDFs will be duplicated.