Be a Musical Marigold

Wow - it's been a whirlwind the last few months! My daughter is almost 8 months now and she is our world 💗 However, it's time for a new school year! I have been anxious about this school year for several reasons:

1. Not pregnant
2. Only 1 building again
3. Setting expectations
4. Meeting expectations
5. Being innovative

Basically, I had a rough year being pregnant, trying to be in two buildings and maintaining my best teacher-self. This year I want to remind everyone why I'm a music teacher and how music can positively impact people. At the same time, I am hoping to bring some new ideas into my classroom while preserving those tried-and-true, core lessons. Above all, I want to have more joy in teaching.

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Wait - you're a teacher....shouldn't you be joyful and love what you do every day?
I wish this were the case for myself and all the other teachers out there but it isn't true. I struggled during and after my pregnancy. I wasn't my best self. I clung to several friends, family and teachers who could answer my questions, be an outlet and just understood what was happening. 

When we started professional development sessions, I was immediately touched by the idea of marigolds and walnut trees.

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Uhhh - what does this have to do with teaching?

Read this article. DO IT NOW! Don't skim. Truly take a few minutes and digest the goodness of this article. 

Did you read it? If not, scroll up and click. This is the most relevant, powerful and unique article I may have ever read. For those of you who didn't read it (shame on you!), here's the gist of it:

• Marigolds help other plants thrive
• Marigold teachers in your career will help you be successful
• Walnut trees take from others and drag plants down
• Everyone knows a few "walnut tree" teachers who are always negative
• This can also be applied to family, friends AND students
• If you're negative or convene with those that are, your teaching and life is affected. If you find your marigolds, they will lift you up, provide support and make you a better teacher

Now, this is nothing compared to the article. It was written by Jennifer Gonzalez from Cult of Pedagogy. She originally wrote it for beginning teachers, but it can be applied to anyone. These were truly the words I needed to hear to put my feelings and thoughts into an idea. Not only am I going to work to be a marigold this year, but specifically a musical marigold. Music has the power to touch people and I want to use it to support and celebrate my fellow teachers and students. 

My classroom environment is joyful. My students are joyful music makers. I haven't been joyful - until now. 

I challenge you to find a marigold in your life. I also challenge you to be a musical marigold and use music as a tool to raise others up. You might even start to change a negative walnut tree into something beautiful. 

Here's to a new school year - which one will you be?

Dear Santa...Five music books you'll want to find under the tree!

Hope you are all having a joyous holiday season!
Today I'm sharing five books with you that I think are wonderful for Christmas lists! How many of us ask for supplies for our classroom for the holidays or end up using gift cards/money to purchase things? I know my husband just shakes his head at me occasionally for it. However, we just want to bring the best musical experience to our students - even at our own expense, sometimes.

I've included a nice variety of books and how I utilize them in my classroom. Each is linked to Amazon, but please contact me if you have difficulty locating the book. 




The Story Orchestra - Four Seasons in One Day
listening, composers, music appreciation, mood

My students LOVE this book! It takes the reader through Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" with beautiful illustrations and sound samples. Each page has a short musical example to press. More information, vocabulary and all of the sounds are on the back, too. If this book interests you, definitely check out her other story The Nutcracker for your lessons next year. It's wonderful for all ages!






It's a Small World singing, diversity, popular music/appreciation

I love books that include CDs. They are great for days when my singing voice is off, a substitute or when you want students to hear a different singing voice. But, it's always a fun time when you and the kids sing it! Aside from that, this timeless song is a great bridge for families AND it promotes diversity. Our building does a huge Culture Week in the spring and this will definitely be brought out to introduce different countries, traditions and more. 

Tap the Magic Tree

fingerplays, sensory, drumming

This book is wonderful for so many reasons! It is interactive so readers can do fingerplays with it as a large group or at a center. Personally, I like to use it with beginning drumming. Throughout the book I have my students participate on their drum (tap, whoosh, plop, etc.) to make the tree change. For example, here's one of the beginning pages:

I would have the students tap four times (steady beat) on the top of their drum. You can incorporate lots of different drumming techniques and teach appropriate playing with a relaxing story. It's a great sensory activity for my adaptive classes as well. I usually put on some calming yoga music as we read the story and drum together. 

Ada's Violin

orchestra, diversity/cultures, STOMP/found sounds, music appreciation

This is a relatively new story, but it's already a hit. It tells the story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay - a group of children that created instruments from recycled trash. I like to use it with my older kids to bridge them from learning about the orchestra to a STOMP unit. It also includes wonderful information, pictures and additional resources at the end. There are so many ways you could bring this into your classroom and it will definitely stay with the kids!

Tangled - It's Better When You Sing It
singing, steady beat, vocabulary, vocal exploration 

I discovered this new series at my local music store. Hal Leonard has put together stories (with Disney characters) that bring music to families with young children. However, they are great for my Pre-K and Kindergarten classes! I'll be using this one in January to help us remember the comparitives we talked about earlier in the year and get our singing voices working again. It has a fun song as well as online interactive activities for extension. Two other books are now in the series as well - Mickey's Found Sounds and Moana: The Beat of Your Heart. I can't wait to share these with our baby in a few years, too. 

-----------BONUS------------

Here's a story for you! We focus so much on our students and lessons that we tend to forget about ourselves. Take time this break to rest and rejuvenate! I definitely recommend this book to remind you about the good, the bad and the downright silly times you've had as a teacher! It is honest but REAL. 

I hope you have a wonderful holiday and break. Our beautiful baby should be arriving in the next few weeks. What a whirlwind of a January it will be. Until later - take care!

Workshop Wonders

Sorry it's been awhile! These past few months have been full of stuff. 

Anyways, I'm sharing some ideas that came from the workshop I attended today. It was great to get together as a small group of elementary music teachers. We all have neat ideas and experiences to share with others from our classrooms.

Here's a great photo of "Heel and Toe Polka" by my friend and former classmate Lydia! She shared the scaffolding for this fun day with music by New England Dancing Masters.

I also learned a neat trick for teaching different partners - BEADS! I don't know how I didn't think of this before. You can have partners wear two different colored bead necklaces or have one partner wear one and the other not. It helps them look for their next partner and doesn't create chaos. So fun! You can buy them in bulk from Oriental Trading. It would even be fun to get these in our school colors!

 

I also learned some fun body percussion for the song "Oats, Peas, Beans." To begin, have the students pat the beat or march in place. Next, sing the song with something on "oats" (maybe snaps?). Do it again and add something for peas (clap). Finish with something for beans (pat). Then, add them all together and sing the song. See if the kids can sing the whole song while they are marching and doing the body percussion pieces. Next class period, add unpitched percussion in place of the body percussion. Cool!

My contribution was about children's literature and music lessons. I shared a fun movement activity with the book "My Many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss. It's wonderful to talk about feelings or do a collaborate lesson with the guidance counselor and art teacher. You can find it in my movement and literature bundle here: 

  

I didn't get a chance to present this book, but it's really fun for those wiggle days. You can read the story and add egg shakers on the "scratch Shaggy Dog's back" or split the group up and have one group do the "scratch Shaggy Dog's back" and the other do "the itch came back!" The kids love egg shakers and they fit perfectly into their little hands.

If you aren't able to meet with other elementary music teachers at least once a year, you should think about creating a professional development day. It's wonderful to connect with others and share ideas!

Three Things I've Learned This Summer

It's officially a month until "back to school" time. Wow - this summer flew by! I hope you had a relaxing time and made some awesome memories. I'm linking up with Mrs. Miracle's Music Room to share three things I've learned this summer.

1. Cherish Your Family
    My husband and I having been trying to start a family since we were married two years ago. This summer was especially difficult for personal reasons. However, it made me see who is there in my life. I am so blessed to have my mom. I couldn't have made it through the month of June without her. It should be common sense to me, but I learned to cherish my family and those around me. Someday, I hope my husband and I's dream of starting our own family can come true. When it does, I want our child to see the amazing love and support system around us.
   
   
2. Naps Rule!
   I love sleep. I am not kidding. If I don't get 7-8 hours during the school year, I'm a mess. I also sleep until noon on the weekends. This summer, my cat and I were best friends. We had our napping schedule down so well that if my piano lessons went long, she started to droop. I'm really going to miss our kitty snuggles when school starts up again.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Never Stop Learning
   In between napping, I did attend a great professional development workshop. It was all about singing games! Not only did I learn some new games, but I also reviewed some favorites with new twists. The networking and sharing is always great, too. Stay tuned for a blog post later this week on a great "Back-to-School" singing game that will appeal to your older elementary students!
   
   

What did you learn this summer?

Symbaloo

If you've read my blog posts before, you know that our district is 1:1 with a huge emphasis on technology. All students have laptops in the classroom, as well as 2 computer labs in the building and several mobile iPad carts. Here is my previous post on some ways I incorporated technology in the classroom this spring: 

Long time - no see! Let's talk technology.

Today, I'm going to dive in a little more to the world of Symbaloo. It is available on it's own, but our district uses the Symbaloo EDU platform. It's free - which rocks - but you can also upgrade to premium for a cost. Symbaloo is basically a board with all of your bookmarks on it. Our kids use this all the time, so they are very comfortable with it. Each grade has their own board, which is then divided by teacher. Our technology integrationist updates the webmixes and can quickly add, delete, or copy tiles. I like to have control of my own (since I do a lot of switching and adding), so she has my own webmixes linked to my picture. Here is a screen shot of how the boards look from our district:

Each grade has their tile (specials is the bottom right blue tile) and then the rest of the board is filled with quick resources for the students to use in class. 

Here is the Specials webmix. Our tech person has uploaded our school picture as the launch for our pages. The art teacher links tiles below, while mine are launched from clicking on my face. The students do enjoy seeing my school picture each year - ha!

And here's my landing page! As you can see, I have tiles that lead to other boards of the same nature. This helps the students know where categories are. You can attach pictures as well to your tiles. Those that are already linked up with Symbaloo have pictures available. If not, you can save and add a picture of your own to the tiles. 

Now, I'm going to go through how I create, organize, and code tiles. 

Once you've created your account, go to the top right corner and click on the black/white "plus size" - this is used to add a webmix or "category."

Choose your name for the webmix, like Composers, Orchestra, Christmas, etc. From there, it leaves you with a screen full of grey tile space. Click on a space to add your tile. 

Here, you can add the website, source, etc. that you want on the tile. Name your tile, click "show text" so that you know what the tile is and choose a color. If the site already has a picture, it will pop up - otherwise, you can save and upload your own. Click "save" and it will pop up. You can move it around wherever you'd like. 

As you create more webmixes with tiles, your top bar will start having tabs. Anytime you want to save or update, go to the top middle bar and click on the circling arrow. This will update and save your webmix on the tabs above with a lock picture. You can also share or delete with the middle bar. You can only edit if a webmix if does not have the lock on it. This way, you don't lose all of your information if you make a change. 

From there, have fun organizing, arranging, and linking. Here is my "composing" tab and it's arrangement. The tabs for my intermediate students are on the far right. The top line of tabs are for primary and the others are organized by different composing aspects. 

From there, click on the top middle's bar "greater than" picture to share your webmix. You can write it on the board, email it to all of your students, link to your teacher's page for at home music learning - the possibilities are endless! The students click on the link and are instantly taken to your Symbaloo. If they click on a picture, it will take them there immediately - no typing in, searching, going to wrong sites or stuff like that. Wonderful! The whole process doesn't take that long to set up and get going, trust me! My main webmix is called "Elementary Music." Click here to check it out:

http://edu.symbaloo.com/mix/elementarymusic2

I also use this to link to GoogleDocs. You can make the tile the link to a Google form, presentation or something else for a quick assessment. I've also linked it to Padlet and webquests for students to share their learning and ideas with each other. So many possibilities!!

There are many more features and playing around that you can do. If you have questions about Symabloo, creating webmixes or finding fun, appropriate music sites, let me know! Hope you've enjoyed my tech tip for today :)

Teaching Tips from the Trenches

I will be starting my 4th year of teaching in the fall. While I'm still a newbie, I have learned a thing or two to share with others in my short time teaching. I'm excited to learn and share tips with other music teachers through Pursuit of Joyfullness' linky party. 

Pursuit of Joyfulness: Teaching Tips from the Trenches

The one tip I'd like to share is to stay fresh. Granted, I've only been teaching for 3 school years, but I constantly try to bring new ideas and lessons into my music classroom. There are favorites that I use throughout the year, but I love sprinkling in something new. I feel like this is something that wasn't done in the past. Here is my memory of music class back in the day:

1. Walk in

2. Find your seat on the line

3. Back row grabs books; front row grabs book

4. Turn to page ......

5. Sing song - talk about paragraph at the top of the page

6. Turn page

7. Rinse and repeat! (okay, not rinse, but you get the idea!)

8. Return books to shelf

9. Line up

Now, routine is great in any class. However, I don't think music should be that predictable from Kindergarten through 5th grade. In 4th grade, we learned how to square dance. Otherwise, this was music class for all of my elementary years. My music teacher was always smiling, had mad piano skills and put on large musical shows. She's still teaching today and is wonderful at her craft in many ways. However, my memories are not really those that I want my students to have of music when they leave elementary school. So, I strive to stay fresh!

I find it hard to believe that there are no means for teachers, even music teachers, to find new ideas and resources. I am from a small town in the midwest, but I strive to reach out and discover new things for my classroom. Here are some ways that I recommend to stay on top of the world of music education and in touch with the needs of your students.

• Technology
• I am blessed to be open to technology. It has allowed me to connect with teachers all over the world and share ideas. Most of these ideas are FREE! woo-hoo!
• Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest - so many ways to link up, see pictures, post comments, advocate, etc. I get most of my ideas from Pinterest. I have numerous boards separated for all aspects of teaching. Check it out! Mrs. Skog's Pinterest
• New resources! Most companies (Music K-8, Music Express, Hal Leonard, Activate!) will post new publications and information online before the catalog can get to you. Don't be a stranger to these websites! They also have discounts, sales and free shipping offers.
• TeachersPayTeachers, Teacher's Notebook, and other selling websites offer quick and easy ideas, worksheets, powerpoints, etc. to teachers. Each seller has free items, but also great products they've created by teachers FOR teachers. This website also has sales throughout the year and bundles to save money. 
• Apps are also a great way to reach students. There are so many about music, many of which are free for a demo of the real app. My kids love being a 1:1 district and squeel over iPads. I've used them as a whole class or individually. Same thing with computers! The kids are instantly ready to learn and see what you have to show them. Test it out in your classroom!

• Professional Development
• In Iowa, teachers are required to have so many credits every few years for recertification of their license. Music Education classes are a great way to get these credits and learn more about your craft.
• Many teachers also take certification classes such as Kodaly and Orff levels to learn more and gather new techniques and ideas. I hope to take Kodaly certification in the next few years.
• Online options - while many online classes and tutorials are aimed at general classroom teachers, you can still learn a lot from courses about development, differentiation, and assessment. Just make sure you choose something that will help you in your classroom immediately or in the near future. Our district offers develop in the summer, but rarely does it pertain to something I'd use on a regular business.

• Workshops
• I cannot say enough about workshops! They are amazing and really light the spark for me each year. Most music education workshops last an entire day, but some are conferences with multiple days.
• Check out your state's music educators website or different associations. Our state has several Kodaly and Orff workshops during the school year, as well as a state conference for choral directors in the summer.
• Many companies and organizations promote online, too. West Music, Hal Leonard, and such have summer conferences throughout the country. This year, I went to the best workshop I've ever attended in Branson. Denise Gagne and Artie Almeida held it. It was a bit more expensive, but the knowledge I gained was well worth it. Here are 2 photos I took of one of my new creations from the workshop I just attended:

 These are Noodle Notes! The idea came from Tracy King, "The Bulletin Board Lady." They are pool noodles cut into different sizes for rhythm work. The students can do dictation or compose with them. 

Tracy uses them in centers, but I hope to be able to use them in large groups as well. Here are the 3 different shapes I created. There are rests on the back side of the green and blue. The red quarter note also has 2 eighth notes, 4 sixteenth notes, and a quarter rest on different sides.

• Subscriptions 
• Sign up for as many subscriptions as possible!
• While I don't always order products from different sellers, I am part of their list server. Music K-8 has an idea bank and offers several free songs and activities throughout the year. Plank Road Publishing also sends out free demos and chances to listen before buying so you are aware of the product you are getting.
• This is also another place you can find out about products, hear reviews and grab some new books, props, and music for the classroom.
• Follow blogs! Many bloggers have linky parties (like I'm participating in right now) and blog hops where they offer great ideas on behavior, programs, assessment, anything you could want! They also offer freebies occasionally for loyal followers

• Kids
• Talk to your students! They are the quickest way to see what excites them and what is "out of style"
• Listen to the radio - when we play freeze dance, I try incorporating some of their favorite songs to dance to. If the words are suggestive, I use the KidzBop versions that are appropriate.
• Our district is also focused on student centered learning. Giving your students some leadership in the classroom will quickly make them excited to be in music class. It might not always go according to your lesson plans, but they are taking learning into their own hands. What's fresher than that?

Wow - that was a lot of information once I got started! I know I am forgetting something really important. However, I hope you are able to pull something out and give it a try in the future. I want to always be on top of music education because I want the best for my students. What ways do you stay fresh and new in your classroom each year? I love hearing feedback, so please share an idea or two. Plus, don't forget to go through and read all of the "Teaching Tips from the Trenches." Have a great weekend!

10 Things I Want to Do This Summer

IT'S SUMMER!

Summer is here! Wow - it feels like the school year flew by at times and drug on too long on different days. Please read my previous post and link up to see some of the highlights of this year in my music classroom. Today, though, I am linking up (I love linking up with fellow bloggers - I've done it a lot lately!) to share 10 things I would like to do this summer. 

Mrs. Jump's Class

1. Family time! 

      Adam and I got married in October. Since it was during the school year, we didn't get much of a honeymoon or a lot of down time to spend together. He will still be working over the summer, but we will only have one schedule to work around for once. Plus, our cat, Eleanor, has been awfully lonely these last few weeks of school. She deserves some much needed cuddle time!

2. Clean and organize

       At this time last year, we had closed and just moved into our new house. I've changed decor several times, but our home really needs a deep clean and organization of everything. We still have some boxes that haven't been touched since we moved in. It's not my most favorite thing in the world, but once I get started, I can't seem to stop until it's done. Time to break out the Swiffer!

3. Catching up on some TV

     TV is my thing - I cannot give it up. My favorite HBO series is ending this summer - "True Blood." I'm not usually one for gore and blood, but I love this show for some reason. I haven't missed a season, and I will be sad when it's all over. Hopefully my question will be answered after all of these seasons: Vampire Bill or Vampire Eric?

4. Reading

        I love reading. However, I love it so much that it keeps me up at night. I get stuck in a book and don't go to sleep until it's finished. That is why I love summer! I can stay up late and read without having to worry about school the next day. I have a long list of reads this summer, so I will be frequenting the library and Amazon.com a lot.

5. Learn!

       I can't wait to travel to Branson in a few weeks. I'll be attending a 3 day workshop put on by Denise Gagne and Artie Almeida, plus a few other great educators. This workshop is going to be amazing! I already own several of the resources available from these individuals, but I can't wait to see them in action and learn new strategies for my classroom. Plus, I've never been to Branson or on a mini vacation by myself. I hope to see and meet many wonderful educators, too.

6. Plan

     I love planning. I seriously think I could be some kind of planner in another life. Last year, I purchased an ErinCondren teacher planner and fell in love. This year, I bought mine as soon as they came out. They are colored coded, personalized and just so awesome! Here's my previous post about everything included in the planner: http://msmusic4life88.blogspot.com/2013/08/ocd.html

This year's planner has my new married name and lots of dots!

7. Exercise

     I really want to be more active this summer. I love our YMCA and with being an elementary teacher, piano teacher and church musician, it's hard to find a regular time to workout during the school year. Summer, though, is completely different. I love water aerobics and ZUMBA, so I can't wait to get back to those classes on a regular basis.

8. Shop

    I know, I know...I have no money, but I can't help shopping. It's a vice and seriously, I'm a girl - we love shopping! There are so many fun things to shop for in the summer, too, like showers, weddings, holidays, BBQs, pooltime, etc. Even window shopping is fun this time of year! 

9. Sleep

    

    Do I need to say more with this one? Haha! I know we all need different amounts of sleep, but I swear, I sleep nonstop during Christmas break and the first few days of summer break. It's nice to curl up with the cat and just sleep the day away, especially when the weather is rainy. I hope you all get the much needed sleep you deserve!

10. Relax

   This one is huge. I have a nervous stomach and am always stressed for some reason. It's really bad for my well being and for those around me. I want to take time to relax and figure out some strategies to use in the coming school year. I've always been busy and stressed, but sometimes, it's just ridiculous how much I let it control me. 

OCD

Hello! Thank you for viewing my music education blog. People have been telling me on and off for the last year to write, so I finally took the plunge.

A lot of what I find, adjust and integrate is from Pinterest or work shops. I try my best to fit it for my classroom size, student needs and current curriculum goals of our state and district. I titled my first post "OCD" because I am OCD on organization and planning. My first month of school is mostly planned out already. Yes, this does adjust often but I always feel better with some strong ideas under my belt.

My Pinterest is a perfect example: http://pinterest.com/msdunn88keys

It is divided into several categories based on my needs as a teacher. I want to always give credit where credit is due, so I will link a lot of what I find. Most of the time I adjust it, but I want to make sure the original owner is praised for their awesome ideas!

My first post is all about my planner. Yes - a planner. I stumbled upon ErinCondren.com from pinterest (mention #1) and fell in LOVE! It is quite pricey for a teacher planner ($59 plus add-ons if you'd like) but it has everything I could possibly need. Here is a photo I snapped:

It arrived in an awesome box and I wanted to cry! Everything is huge, color coordinated and labeled. What else could an OCD music teacher want? 

Here is a monthly calendar view - I've already put in all of our school calendar dates, plus important "life events" and holidays.

Lesson plans with color coordinated days. It has 7 sections, so I can include K-5 and 5th Chorus.

Tabs for everything! And a swanky little pen/pencil holder for staff meetings :)

My last photo is the labels. It has 2 pages of printed labels (conferences, field trips, etc.) and then 2 pages of labels that you can write on. I've already taken some out and marked our elementary music concerts for the year. The color of the label corresponds with the same color fabric bin I have for each grade's curriculum and activities.

ErinCondren.com has a nice tutorial video with everything in it, plus all the extras you can add on if you'd like. I haven't heard negative comments from people that have purchased and used it (only if their order was wrong), so I'm hoping for the best because I am already in love with it. When ordering, you do receive some surprise benefits like personalized items and discounts. If you're interested in ordering a planner, have questions or wonder about the other products on the website, let me know. 

http://www.erincondren.com/store/

Before school starts, I will post a completed room tour so you can see the layout, plus behavior charts and curriculum organization. Thanks for reading!