Classroom Tour: Me and a Friend!

It's TIME!!

It seems like forever ago that school ended and summer began!  I spend my summers as the technical coordinator of our little private school so most of my summer is at school playing around with computers and projectors and iPads, but it's finally time to start thinking about students again!

Not much has changed in my room this year, but a few GREAT upgrades!

My instrument wall!  New shelves for my class set of handchimes, new xylos, new mallet storage and more!  Check out that new digital piano too!!  witwoo!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front of the room

I put my drums on the wall last year!  It worked out so well!

Another view of the front of the room.  Notice my beautiful rug and SitSpots!  I love being able to tell students to put their toes on the green circle, or sit in the purple and blue...  My SitSpots I use for line up dots!  So simple and no arguments or running to get in line or touching other people or MY things!  Best $50 I ever spent on classroom management!

New vinyl decor I designed myself!  I got a Cricut cutter last year and have been using it well!  You can get the cut files here.

My new movement banner!!  I saw this pinned on Pinterest from another music teacher and had to make one for myself!  I am constantly asking my students to move interestingly, but now they have some words to help them brainstorm what interesting means to them in the moment!  Can't wait to dive into my movement activities!

LOVE my xylophone shelves!  Nothing new this year, but just another shout out to Jena Hudson from Sew Much Music for her fabulous orff instrument labels!  I print one large for the instrument and one small for the shelf so students know how and where to put the instruments away.  Get them here! I added pictures of mallets too so students always get the right ones!  This small step saves me so much transition time!

You might remember my instrument shelves that were BIG and not much to look at...  My friend Cherie Herring from Just A Little More shared a DIY post of how she turned her shelves into bulletin boards!  So now I covered my ugly shelves, and have some extra wall space!

New shelves!!  Our enrollment is going up up up so our storage space is going down down down!  I have to store all our musical props and costumes in my room now so a dad built me a shelf over my chairs and stands.  Thanks!

HOLY SMOKES!  This is my favorite addition to my room.  Again, Jena Hudson from Sew Much Music designed this sign!!  I found outdoor vinyl (supposedly it will last for 5 years in the elements) and used my Cricut cutter once again!  LOVE IT!!!

More Cricut, more Jena Hudson!  Totally her idea for the blown up clip art!  The bulletin board reads: Planting the seeds of music for a lifetime of growth.  You can get the cut files here.

 

I'm super excited about my new classroom management approach for upper elementary.  If a student gets removed, they need to scan the QR code and explain themselves.  It links to a Google Form with questions about what's happening in class and why there were asked to sit out.  I also reserve the right to email their form to their parents!

 

 

 

 

Super Sale, Instant Replay!

Yay!  I've linked up with Mrs. Miracle and Music A La Abbott's Linky Party: Super Sale Instant Replay!  I was the forgetful buyer last time who forgot to use the promo code and missed out on an additional 8%!  Teachers Pay Teachers is throwing a last minute sale for those like me who forgot something!  DON'T FORGET THE PROMO CODE, ALISON!  The new promo code is MORE15!





Something I forgot to buy last time, was this collection of slides for Peas Porridge Hot by Tuneful Teacher.  I've been learning a lot of ways to explore this song in my Orff training over the summer so I'm excited to grab these slides to help students explore quarter rest!







Since the last sale, I've been working a lot in my room at school organizing and rearranging.  I made myself labels to print out for each of my percussion instrument baskets, then I made labels for my orff instruments too!  They are so easy to print and so far they've been sticking pretty well!

Happy buying!  PLEASE DON'T FORGET THE PROMO CODE!  MORE15!!!

Back to School 2015!

I can't believe it's back to school already!  I just finished my Orff Level 2 certification and I'm super excited to head back and use all the new tools in my toolbox, but I also love summer just as much as the next teacher! 

I'm linking up with a bunch of music teachers (hosted by Mrs. Miracle and Music A La Abbott) in their Back to School Teachers Pay Teachers Sale Wish and Dish!  So here's one of my products, one music product I'm exited to buy, and one non-music item!

Like I said, I just finished my Orff Level 2 certification and was super inspired by my amazing teacher, Cyndee Giebler.  She taught us about Discrete Combinatorial System Improvisation.  Sounds complicated, right!?  Nope!  Similar to a menu style activity, students choose one from column A, one from column B, and play column C! Students pick which notes they want (from a teacher given pitch set), which rhythm they want (from a teacher given rhythm set) and then play within the constructs given!  As someone who is not very comfortable improvising, I was totally comfortable doing this!  I picked what I wanted, then played confidently.  (I know, it's a little more "composition" than it is "improvisation" but students are making decisions quickly rather than writing melodies).  I was so inspired by this activity that I went home and jumped on the computer!  Here is a file that includes a Discrete Combinatorial System for Do, Re, Sol, and La modes in C, G, and F pentatonic, in both duple and triple meters.  Simply decide what mode/key/meter you'll be working on and let the kids explore!  Super easy!

Cherie Herring is my idol (I think I've said this before!) and I love everything she makes! She is a SMART certified teacher and really uses her technology to engage students!  I use many of her activities as sub plans where students are musically engaged and thinking, but subs just have to know how to use the smartboard.  Can't wait to try this new one!   

In addition to general music and band, I also teach 6th grade math at my school.  I LOVE interactive notebooks and purchased a huge set of them last year for the year.  This year, I am super excited for project based learning activities from 21st Century Math Projects.  I have a small class of less than 5 students so we have plenty of time to learn the material; now we can really USE the material in our projects!  Can't wait!! 

(I know I'm only supposed to say 1 non-music thing I'm buying, but my wishlist is so full...I've got to share another!)

I love this!!  Yoga aside, breathing and stretching is so great for the body and for learning focus!  I'm not allowed to use the word YOGA in my school, but even if I have to wait until I have my own kids, I am buying this!  It is a story that includes poses for children, coloring pictures, posters, flashcards!  I REALLY hope I can adapt it to use at school!

So that's some of the things in my wish list!  But you know what??? Even though everything is on sale, I'm still not going to pay full price!  TPT offers credits towards purchases IF you leave feedback on paid purchases!  So I'll be heading back into My Purchases to make sure I've left all my feedback (valuable feedback!) before I buy more!

Wishlist Wednesday Linky!

 

Linking up with Mrs. Miracle's Music Room for her Wishlist Wednesday!  Here are 3 Teachers Pay Teachers Links for 

1: something special of mine

2: something special from someone else

3: a special clip art

 Percussion Lapbook

I love lapbooks! My recorder students made one this year to be their "textbook" at home.  Since we will be exploring percussion instruments soon in 2nd grade, I decided to make a lapbook for them too!  Lots of different foldables to help organize instruments into categories: Tap it, Shake it, Scrape it, Pitched and Un-pitched.  

 Think QR Ready for Recorders? By Music with Sara Bibee

I absolutely LOVE this QR method book!  This particular book is solely BAG and is great practice for my beginning students with 33 different playing exercising.  The best part is the QR codes with background tracks and playing models!  Each QR code goes to a YouTube video (now accessible in YouTube Kids!) that plays the example, then adds a background track, then gives a performance track!  My students have never kept such a steady beat when playing; this is the perfect stepping stone for my maturing musicians!  I love it and so do my kiddos!

 

Whole Body Listening Clip Art by Educasong

I think this is the cutest clip art!  I have used it for whole body listening posters and concert etiquette foldables.  I think the pictures say it all!

Click on the image to head over to Mrs. Miracle's blog and check out other Wishlist Wednesday bloggers! Don't forget to shop!  

Five Favorite Pins of February Linky Party!

Many thanks to Aileen from Mrs. Miracle's Music Room for hosting a Linky Party!

I LOVE Pinterest!  If only I could get credit toward my Professional Development hours for all the time I've spent learning from fantastic teachers!  Here are my (current) Five Favorite Pins!

#1 Daily 5 Check In

My school has been focusing on Math and Writing workshops lately which mean students are getting accustomed to working in small groups without a teacher.  I started looking into Learning Contracts as part of my Differentiation Instruction goal and love the possibilities for Recorder and iPad projects.  This has become a great tool for me to know what students are working on and how many students are allowed to do each activity at a time.  I can also preassign students as necessary!

#2 Cherie Herring's 18 Music Activities for Small Children (SMARTBoard)

Anytime I need a sub, I pull up Cherie Herring's SMARTBoard files. They are great for non-musical subs but are extremely musically engaging for the students.  Each page is interactive and she has tons of little sound file surprises that the kids just love!

#3 Make Your Own Tubanos

I haven't tried this yet but I really really want to!  Just gotta figure out where to get those tubes!

#4 Catch a Falling Star

So beautiful! This is my dream for my students.  They are more than capable musicians, I just have to become a better teacher!

#5  Lapbook Templates/Glue Sponges

I couldn't pick just one more-but these two go together!  I love lapbooks!  Lots of information but all contained together.  I made a lapbook for my recorder kids to take home so they always have the information they need.  And Glue Sponges!  OMG!  Best idea in the entire interactive notebook/lapbook world.  If you ever use glue in your classroom, you MUST try this! (really, 1353 pins on this glue sponge post!!)

Don't forget to check out other posts as part of Mrs.  Miracle's Linky Party!  

Favorite Things Linky!

I'm new to the Linky thing, but thrilled to join tons of great teachers and bloggers! Teaching Trio is hosting a Linky Party this month-click on the image above to see what more bloggers love!

 

Here's a link to my Jump Bands DIY blog post to make your own for under $10 a set!