I'm BAAAACK!!!

UPDATE:  I have joined up with other music bloggers at Mrs. Miracle's Music Room to share our classroom setups.  Click the image below to check out some other awesome rooms!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It is a special calling to work with middle school/junior high kids.  And I don't have it.  After two (long, stressful, anxiety-inducing) years teaching grades 5-8 music and choir, I am finally back in my element--Elementary, baby!  These are my people.  We love the babies.  Hugs, notes, pictures, cute bulletin boards, and even shoe-tying and nose-wiping.  Okay, maybe not that last one.  But I am SO HAPPY to be back with the littles!  I am giddy with excitement, and I've spent the last two weeks organizing and decorating my new classroom.  It is an old building--my husband had elementary music in the SAME ROOM many moons ago--but I've taken the blue doors and electric yellow trim and turned it into my happy home away from home.  Here it is!

All my storage is in wooden cabinets.  The doors are not very attractive, but I'm gradually adding to them. 

Pocket chart ready for rhythm/melody cards, a spot for objectives (a.k.a. "What are we doing today?"), white board/projector screen, Who's Next Board.  

I think I'm going to like the cabinets and shelf here.  I keep all of my manipulatives, books, and toys/props readily available here.  And the clouds.  They are my new favorite thing.  I found them on Pinterest and downloaded them from this music teacher blog,  Rhythm and Glues. 

My teacher's corner.  Love. Complete with my very own teacher toolbox. 

It's hard to see, but I used colored velcro to mark sit spots on the floor.  I found colored velcro in 36'' pieces at Hobby Lobby this year for just $1.49! 

This is a shortcut version of my guided listening word wall, first introduced HERE. Hopefully one day I can upgrade to the original version, but this works for now. 

Just a closeup of the cuteness inspired by Rhythm and Glues. 

All ready to post objectives for the first week! 

That's it!  My new happy music home.  I am looking forward to a great year of singing, playing, dancing, and loving on my kiddos.  I hope your year is off to a great start as well.  Remember to take care of yourself, eat well, drink lots of water, and take your vitamins.  When I feel good, I am a better teacher/wife/mom/friend/person.  So go to bed early, and get ready to change the world, one song at a time. 

The Timer is My Friend

Okay, so this is more of a mom post than a teacher post, but it made my morning so much better I had to share! 

My 10yo son is a dawdler.  Big time.  He can cram a 2 minute task into 15, easy peasy.  This makes mornings at our house a bit frustrating.  Since I drop him off at school on my way to work, he has to be ready to go on time, or mom will be late. Lately I have found myself stressing out every morning, hurrying him out the door, and still getting to his school just in time to get stuck in drop-off traffic. Not cool.  So this morning, I had a brainstorm.  The online stopwatch timer.

I used the Wii in our living room to go online and show the timer--full screen--as it counted down the seconds until time to go.  I didn't even say anything to him, just let it run.  Guess what?  He was ready 5 minutes early!  AWESOME!  I'm thinking Mr. Timer will be our new morning helper.

BTW, this is also a great tool to use in the classroom.  Give students a set amount of time for a task (centers, putting things away, share time, etc.) and let the timer be the bad guy.  There's also a Bomb Countdown that blows up when it gets to zero!

Here I go....

It's almost here. August is four days away, and I can feel summer slipping through my fingers. Our campus has been home to summer school all summer, so my room will not be available to me until August 5....which is when we leave town for the weekend, so...August 8. Yikes! Even after 14 years of teaching the same subject, three at this school, I feel a sense of panic when August rolls around. What am I doing? How did I do this last year? What was it I wanted to remember for next time? That feeling never quite goes away. However, I took the time last year to make myself a checklist, in hopes of making August a little less frantic.

Here is a sample of my Back to School Checklist:

Classroom Preparation (instruments, desk, tables, etc.)
Bulletin Boards
Labels and Schedules
Calendars (campus, district, and my own)
Choir Auditions
Lesson Plans
Back to School shopping list

I know, it's kind of bare bones, but these are just categories.  Each one has a detailed list to go with it, which changes daily (or hourly!).   Right now I'm just trying to get my brain going in the general direction.  After all, summer's not over yet!

What do you do to get your brain ready for school to start?