Favorite Fall Lessons!

Ah, Fall... the leaves are changing colors, the air is getting cooler, the coffees are infused with pumpkin spice... It's a nice time of year. I'm linking up with my blog tribe to share some of my favorite fall lessons!

I am lucky enough to teach in a school that is very pro-Halloween. We have a huge costume parade and every class throws a party. It's easily one of my favorite days of the school year. So I have lots of fun doing Halloween songs along with other seasonal songs this time of year. I'll share some great things I've found to do with each grade level...

Pre-K

Our Pre-K students just learned the letter "M" in their classroom, so I decided to reinforce that literacy component with a fun movement activity called, "Monsters Stomp Around the House."

This is a piggyback song to the tune of, "The Ants Go Marching" which we are going to be learning later in the year. Now that they've heard the melody in this song, it should be more familiar to them when we get to it!

Kindergarten

I learned this song in college and love doing it with my primaries:

To trace the melodic contour, I use foam leaves that I bought at a craft store a few years ago. You could also use scarves or paper cutouts for the same effect.

1st Grade

Another favorite song that I learned in college is a piggyback song to the tune of "The Muffin Man." This one is called "The Pumpkin Child."

Oh, do you know the pumpkin child?
The pumpkin child, the pumpkin child!
Do you know the pumpkin child
Who goes to [ school name]?

I start the lesson by telling my students a story of a day when a little pumpkin came to the school and he went to different teachers in the building and asked them if they knew the pumpkin child. Each time I mention a new teacher, we sing the song again. By the time I've finished the story, they've had at least six or seven repetitions of the song and can sing it independently.

Then we play a beat passing game and pass a pumpkin around the circle. Whoever the pumpkin lands on is the pumpkin child! I let the pumpkin child pick a movement (pat, clap, snap, etc.) for us to use to keep the steady beat.

2nd Grade

I LOVE the book "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything"

But do you know what I love even more than the book? This great video that has the story set to a song! I had my students sing along and then act out each part.

After singing the song, I bring out the book and we add instruments for each part as well.

3rd-5th Grade

For my intermediate students, I've found a couple of fun activities on Pinterest that I use...

The kids love reading the notation for Ghost of John in this shape! And we sing it in a two or three part round.

I'm excited to try this cup passing game next week. I also do a contest with The Addams Family Song... since music class is a place where we practice performing and stage presence, I challenge them to sing the song like Wednesday Addams: with a frown the whole time and NO SMILING. There is nothing funnier than watching a bunch of kids try their hardest NOT to smile!!!

I hope you enjoy these Falloween (as my second graders called it) activities. Don't forget to check out some of the other blogs in the linkup!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Future is Now!

Great Scott!!! The future is now. 

Today's the day that Marty and the Doc should be arriving. To celebrate, I've teamed up with a group of fabulous music sellers to bring you deals to make your future self thank you. 

Here's what you need to know.......

1. Big Flash Sale

Search for #BTFMusic on TPT to see all the deals available.

I'm offering up my brand new Body Percussion Charts - Volume 2. It's only going to be $1.21 today.

This product is normally sold for $3.95, so make sure you grab it today during the flash sale!

2. Even Bigger Giveaway

We've hidden a secret message at the top of our store pages, too! Start here and click through all of our pages to decode the secret message. Once you've got it, you're ready to enter the giveaway below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Outdoor fun at Arlington Echo

For the past two days, I have had the awesome opportunity to go on a special field trip with the fourth graders from one of my schools. Every year they go on an overnight trip to the Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center. 

The trip is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many of our students, especially those who have never attended any kind of sleepaway camp. The center focuses its lessons on studying our ecosystem, learning how to live sustainably and reducing our impact on the environment. It's one of the highlights of the fourth grade curriculum! 

So where did I fit in as the music teacher? Typically, my colleague (the other general music teacher at the school) goes along and sings campfire songs with the group in the evening. The kids all roast marshmallows and make s'mores by the fire and he usually plays his guitar along with them. This year, he opted not to stay overnight since he has a toddler and infant at home... certainly a good reason! So I stepped in and brought my uke to accompany the kids.

In addition to being there as the "talent," I was an instructor during the day. There were eight different stations around the camp, with activities like canoeing, field games, seining, and sustainable farming/cooking.

My station was called "Dragons in the Stream." (For some reason, that name reminded me of the phrase "Riders on the Storm" and I've consequently had this song stuck in my head for the past 48 hours.)

SO ANYWAY, at the "Dragons in the Stream" station, we took the kids on a 1.5 mile hike through the woods and marsh to learn about dragonflies. 

We brought them to a creek where we taught them about dragonflies and their importance to the ecosystem. I showed the students how to test the water quality, and then another instructor led them in a hands-on search for insect larvae. (Gross but fun. The kids loved this part, of course.) 

I think I got about 20 mosquito bites in the two days that I was there. I also somehow got a sunburn, even though my station was in the woods with heavy tree coverage. As my husband says, I am definitely an indoor girl! But it was all worth it to get to go on this trip. Not only did I get to interact with the kids in a whole new environment outside of the music room, but I also got to spend some time getting to know some of my teacher colleagues and chaperones. 

The teachers stayed in one cabin and the students were in others with parent chaperones. This was my first time going on an overnight field trip so I got to see all of the responsibilities that teachers have after the rest of the kids have already gone to bed. The fourth grade teacher who organized the trip, Lisa, did an amazing job of responding to everyone's calls for assistance... from treating a student's spider bites to checking in on the noisy cabins where kids hadn't settled down. Kudos to her for making the whole trip run so smoothly!

I had such a great time at Arlington Echo. I learned a lot about the environment and I also learned a lot about what it takes to get 100 kids safely through the woods on an overnight trip!

Advice for a Struggling New Teacher

Over the weekend, one of my best friends from college reached out to me on behalf of someone I've never met. This friend of hers is in her first year of teaching and is having a lot of trouble with managing the behaviors of her middle school music students. I wrote this up for her and figured it might help someone else who is having behavior issues at this point in the year. So I've posted it here in the hopes that someone may find it useful....

I have been in some schools where the older students (fifth grade in particular) had really bad behavior. One thing that I've learned from behavior specialists is to remember that MOST of your students are not acting out on purpose.

In general, think of it like a pyramid:

At the bottom of the pyramid, 60-70% of your students, are intrinsically wired to WANT to please you and they genuinely WANT to do well in class.

The middle section is about 20-30% of kids, who are generally well-behaved but can be swayed easily by "ringleaders" who are acting up. They might also just make mistakes because kids are people too and nobody's perfect.

Then there's the top tier, 10-15% of kids who have more serious behavior issues. These kids may need individualized interventions, such as frequent 1-on-1 reminders to stay on task, check-ins with the guidance counselor, or a behavior chart to stay focused.

For that top tier, a few things to remember:

-QTIP: Quit Taking It Personally
 Students who have severe behavior issues are usually acting up because of things outside of your control... factors at home, issues going on with their friends/peer group, a negative experience with a previous teacher, etc. Remember that no matter what, they are children and they need to be loved. You should never take their bad behavior personally.

If they are teasing you or making fun of you, it's most likely because they want to get a reaction out of you. They are looking for attention, and for many of them, they have learned that the quickest way to get an adult's attention is to act a fool. Try your best to keep an even keel, especially when your top "ringleaders" are misbehaving. If they see that they won't get a reaction out of you, they will eventually stop trying.

-Use redirection strategies
Use things like proximity and name-dropping first to try and redirect the bad behavior. If that doesn't work, try a PRIVATE conversation 1-on-1 to redirect the bad behavior. Kids want to save face in front of their peers so if you call them out publicly for their misbehavior, that will only embarrass them and probably lead to a bigger blowup.

-That being said, you do need to establish consequences
Follow through with them consistently and without emotion. If your rule is 3 strikes = phone call home to parents, you'd better make sure you follow through with that. If calling home doesn't make a difference with that particular student, try to find another consequence that will have an impact. Loss of social time at lunch? You can talk to their homeroom/other veteran teachers at your school to get ideas of what might work best with your particular students.

-Be proactive with your top tier students 
Use the students in examples, ask them to be classroom helpers, send them to another classroom to give a teacher a note... anything that you can do to show them that you value their presence and want them to be a part of the community. If you can take time to have a lunch bunch with some of them, you can get to know what they're interested in learning about and tailor your lessons to get them interested and engaged.

-Never raise your voice 
Kids will tune it out and you will only end up hurting yourself. Wait for the group to be silent before trying to give instructions. If a student misbehaves, never yell at him/her. My kids know that when my voice gets really quiet, I am NOT happy.

-Give clear directions 
When you plan your lessons, try and think of them from a student's perspective. If you say "read this rhythm" will they understand that what you really mean is to speak it on syllables and clap it? Be explicit in your directions and leave nothing to chance. If you leave a direction open for interpretation, kids will try and argue about it. "But Miss, you never SAID I couldn't run across the room and talk to my friend."

-Be consistent! 
I know I said this already, but it is so important. If your rule is everyone enters the class quietly, then follow through with that. If they talk on their way in the door, send them back out to the hallway to try again. Be relentless. Eventually they will get tired of the back-and-forth and will comply with you. You are the adult the room. Don't forget that.

For the rest of your students...

For the rest of them, I recommend that you take a step back and try to really figure out where the behavior is stemming from. If there's several ringleaders in the class who are throwing the rest off, make sure they are seated far away from each other and in a place where they won't get the attention of the rest of the group. (Planned ignoring of those kids can also be an effective strategy, as long as the rest of the class understands that you are ignoring bad behavior and they don't see it as an invitation to join in the behavior.)

I know from experience how discouraging it can be when you are standing in front of a class and it feels like NO ONE is listening to you. I also know that the hardest thing to do as a new teacher is to try and get a class back once it's gotten that bad. My first year, I had a fifth grade class whose behavior was so poor that even my bottom tier, 60% kids, were talking and not listening to me.

The thing to remember is that most kids are not doing that because they are trying to be bad. They might simply do not know what it is that you expect them to do. Many times, even after we as teachers think that we've made it clear what our expectations for behavior are, the kids still don't get it until they've practiced the correct routines and gotten positive feedback from you.

To start with, I'd recommend rewarding the good behavior that you are seeing. Immediate positive feedback works best. "[student name], I like how you entered the classroom quietly." You can establish a class incentive... Some teachers accumulate marbles in a jar and add a marble every time the class is focused and behaving well.

The one that I do is a sticker chart... when the class has a good day with their behavior, they earn a sticker on their chart, and after earning 10 stickers they get a "free" music day where we do line dances like the cha-cha slide or whip/nae-nae. One that might work for you since you're on a cart would be to try to spell the word "MUSIC" one letter at a time. Any time you see good behavior, you put a letter on the board. If they earn all five letters during a class period, maybe they get to watch a fun music video on youtube at the end of class.

I also have a deal with my classes that if MOST people are making good choices and it's just 1 or 2 kids misbehaving, I will let the class earn their sticker for the day, but when it's time for the reward, those 1 or 2 kids will simply have to do an alternate assignment while everyone else has their "fun" day.

Speaking of doing fun stuff in class, I think it's especially important to show the students that what we're teaching is relevant to their lives. If they feel that the subject is personally significant to them, they are more likely to "buy in" and listen to what you are talking about. I know that as a classically trained musician, I sometimes feel outside of my comfort zone teaching hip-hop or rap music in my classroom. But that's ok! Let the kids know that you are interested in learning more about their music and you'd be surprised what they can teach you. Try and add body percussion and opportunities to be creative into your lessons. I think the kids will surprise you with what they can do if they feel personally invested in the music-making.

I've definitely tried to teach lessons where the kids would not stop talking, and I came to realize that their behavior was a good way for me to reevaluate my teaching methods. Am I presenting the information in an engaging way? Am I incorporating technology? Giving kids time to talk about the information and work in groups? Am I breaking up my information into 5-6 minute chunks to make it easier to understand? Am I presenting the information visually, aurally, and kinesthetically? Am I providing movement breaks? Even big kids need to get up and move around in every class.

I hope that some of this information is helpful to you. It takes time, but it gets easier.

For now, if you still have a bunch of kids who are misbehaving and just a small handful who are following directions, start with the ones you've got. Just teach something really fun and interesting to that handful of kids. Once the rest of the class sees that what you're doing is worthwhile, they'll catch on and will want to please you.

You also might want to have a "come to Jesus" talk with them and re-establish your rules. Take a class period to do this and invite an administrator into the discussion, if you'd like. Tell them that you have not been happy with the way the class is going this year and you want to turn things around now. Give them something to work towards... i.e. if their behavior improves, they can do a fun music composition project on garageband or something.

Invite the students to come up with a behavior contract with rules that they all agree on. Have them sign it, send it home to parents... show them that you care about music class and you expect them to care about it, too.

And finally, some tips for self-care:

Teaching is HARD work, but it's important work and the kids are so much better for having you there.

It is so important for you to find a support system. A buddy teacher in the school that you can talk to when you need to vent after a rough class. Or an advisor, if you are lucky enough to have one. Are you a member of the "Music Teachers" facebook group? It's got thousands of members and there is always someone willing to answer your questions or suggest teaching strategies.

Cultivate hobbies outside of school. Something fun that's just for you, not teaching related or music related. As much as you can, leave work at work and enjoy your home life at home.

Reflect on the positive things that are happening in your classroom. Even if the best thing that happened in your class was that one kid said hi to you, write it down. You are your worst critic and chances are that things are not as bad as they seem. Once I started my teaching blog, I saw how many great things were going on in my classes and it completely changed my outlook. Try and hold on to the good things that happen every day.

And last, but not least...

DO NOT GIVE UP! It will get better.

Trash to Treble Treasure

Happy Friday, everyone! Six weeks of school are officially on the books for us in Maryland. Now that the High Holidays are over, we finally had a full week of school with no interruptions. To break up my week a little bit, I did some fun music games and review centers this week. Here's a great one that I added to my roster of center activities this year.... And it didn't cost me anything!

Review treble clef notes while reinforcing tier 1 vocabulary!

The teacher's lounge at one of my schools has this magical table... it's a kind of parking lot for unwanted teaching supplies. Teachers drop things off when they are no longer useful and the rest of us swoop in and find ways to repurpose them for our classrooms. Two years ago I scored a free set of cuisenaire rods that I repurposed into a really fun rhythm game.

This time, someone was discarding a huge set of sight words flashcards. 

(Out of curiosity, I tried to find their author/source... The cards say Bea's Hive on them but a google search didn't return any results for me. If you know who makes these cards or more about them, I'd be interested to learn more!)

So I printed out some free staff paper and came up with a brand new treble clef review activity:

Students draw a card and must write a complete sentence using the word. Then they look through the sentence and find all the letters in the musical alphabet. Finally, they notate those letters on the staff. 

This is a great cross-curricular activity to reinforce vocabulary and sentence building while also reviewing treble clef notes.

Piratical Fun in the Music Room!

My dearest readers, I have a confession to make: I have a slight obsession with pirates. Their depiction in cinema, the history and lore around them... I love it all! 

I'm on the far left in this photo with some of my best friends from college.
We were on our way to a local pirate festival!

 

Holding a live parrot! 

My first ever race was a pirate themed 5K in 2013!

You could imagine my excitement when my good friend and fellow teacher/blogger, Molly Patrician, gave me her copy of Teach Like a Pirate by David Burgess:

My facebook fans will recognize this photo from last summer!

I share all of this with you, dear readers, so that you can imagine my excitement every year when I get to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day! If you've never heard of this remarkable holiday, check out the background of it here. 

I love to honor TLAPD in my music room with a week of piratical fun songs and activities. Here's a sampling of some of the things I've done in the past few years to celebrate:

The Gallant Ship

I learned this song from a professor in a college practicum course, and I've taught it every single year since then. The kids LOVE it. I've looked everywhere for a source for the song. The closest source I can find for the lyrics online is the last verse from the sea shanty titled, "The Mermaid."

This is the melody as I learned it. If you know a source, PLEASE let me know! :)

After singing the verse for the A section, we do a spoken call/response for the B section:

She sank?
She sank.
In the sea?
In the sea.
Are you sure?
We're sure.
How sad!
We agree.

So there you have it! The A and B sections can repeat ad nauseum. I typically add class percussion instruments to the A section as well. You could also add a bordun on G-D on Orff instruments and have students switch instruments during the B section. Lots of fun possibilities and great for practicing eighth/sixteenth note combinations! 

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Pirates of the Caribbean listening example

I've played this fun recording of the Pirates movie theme for some of my younger classes this week. We used scarves as we listen and responded to the high and low sounds in the melody.

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Pirate Rhythm Patterns

I originally created this resource for my PreK students as a pre-reading exercise. As I point to each pirate symbol, the students clap and say its name. While using it in class today, I started to discover that there are about a million different ways to expand on it and use it with older students as well.

• Practice keeping a steady beat and distinguish between beat and rhythm
• Practice left-right tracking skills
• Identify patterns and repeated symbols
• Use an IWB to draw the rhythm symbols under each picture 
• Clap or play on percussion instruments
• Encourage improvisation by having students think of new words/patterns

It's free in my Teachers Pay Teachers store until Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19! 

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Just Dance! Kids Pirate Video

For a fun movement activity, I played this video for my Kinder students. We practiced marching like pirates to the steady beat and following along with the moves in the video.

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Pirate Vocal Explorations

I love vocal explorations and I wanted to create one with a simple story line. I wrote a little story about a pirate named Annabelle and her parrot, Blackbeak. As I read this story to my students, they follow along with their voices.

I've found that my students really like when there's a story that ties it all together. The last time we read one like this, they all clapped at the end! How cute! You can purchase this story in my TpT store.

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Well, readers, I hope I've inspired you to add some pirattitude to your music lessons this week. If you have any other awesome pirate activities, I'd love to hear about them in the comments section below.

Also, stay tuned for one more pirate-related announcement on Friday evening... a few music teachers and I have something fun planned!

Music on Wheels: Making the Most out of Down Time

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I use down time in the classroom. As a teacher on wheels, I have come to embrace the fact that my classes are always going to need some transition time. I need time to get my cart in and out of the room, set up my files on the computer, and prepare any instruments or manipulatives that we are going to be using that day. That's what inspired me to write my next installment of Music on Wheels:

Making the Most
out of Down Time

When we teach music on a cart, there is inevitably going to be a lot of transition time, especially right at the beginning or end of class. We as teachers know that transitions can make or break a lesson. If given no direction, the classroom will devolve into a chaotic mess of screaming children and flying pencils.

... or will it?

This will probably sound controversial to some people, but I actually believe that in the right setting with the right classroom chemistry, down time can be very beneficial. It can give students a minute or two to mentally refocus and go from math/reading/whatever to music mode. They might choose to just put their heads down and tune the world out for a minute. It can be a time to rearrange their desks and books. It can give them time to socialize quietly with their peers. It's a good opportunity to take a water or bathroom break. If we give our students a chance to do these things before we start our lessons, then they are more likely to give us their full attention once we are ready to begin. 

As we add more and more rigor into every subject of the day, kids (and teachers) are under a lot of stress to fit everything in. So when I can offer my students a minute or two to relax and chat with their classmates, I embrace those opportunities.

However, you have to know your students and be aware of what they can and can't handle. 

Depending on the grade level or just the chemistry of the kids in a particular class, I might choose to give them a little more direction during this transition time. 

For instance, for PreK through 1st grade, I work to minimize down time. From the moment I enter the room, those classes know that we are getting started and that they need to be quiet. I usually pick a helper who goes around the room and high fives the students who are quiet with their "five things ready" (hands, eyes, feet, mouth, ears.) This fills the down time while I'm pulling up our songs on the computer.

With 2nd graders, I will often come into the room and give them a discussion prompt. I'll say, "talk quietly at your table to see what you all remember learning in music class last week" or something like that. It gives them time to have a focused, meaningful discussion while I'm setting things up. I might also have one or two students lead vocal warm-ups or a rhythm exercise.

Usually by 3rd grade, I find that the students are mature enough to handle down time. They have to be able to monitor their actions and do what's appropriate. In those classes, I have set the expectation that while I'm setting up for the lesson, they can use that time for bathroom, water, or just quietly sit and talk with their neighbors. So far, it has worked like a charm. I find that when I've given them this down time to relax, they are less likely to interrupt the lesson and therefore we get through just as much- if not more- material during the class period. We have also discussed the importance of quieting down and focusing once I am ready to get started.

It's all about trusting your students and knowing what they are capable of. If your standards are high, you might be surprised how they can rise to meet them.

Three Things Linkup

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope those of you who are back to teaching have spent some time this weekend relaxing and recharging. My husband I enjoyed spending time in our pool this weekend while the weather is still nice and warm. Now, I'm reflecting back on my lessons from this past week, which was our first week back at school. I'm linking up with Aileen Miracle at Mrs. Miracle's Music Room to share three things that went really well this past week! 

At the beginning of the school year, I believe very firmly that the first few music classes should focus on practicing rules/routines and community building rather than jumping straight into teaching content. It is so important to me that my students feel comfortable to try new things and make mistakes when they are in my music class. If we don't spend that time getting to know each other within a musical context, then the rest of the year feels disjunct and forced. For that reason, all of my lessons this week focused on introductions, name games, and ice breaker activities.

1. Thumper Name Game

I wanted to do something different with my intermediate students this week. So I brought in a game from my childhood. I remember playing this game all the time with my friends in elementary school. However, an internet search turned up no results for the source of the song and game. So I took it upon myself to transcribe it so I could share it with all of you. Click on the picture below to download the song and gameplay directions.

Note: I have no formal Kodály training (yet!) so I don't have very much experience in transcribing or collecting folk songs. If you have any comments or questions about the content, PLEASE let me know! Constructive criticism is always welcome :)

When I taught this game to my class this week, we started out with a simplified practice version. In the practice version, you don't pick other kids' names at random. Instead you go around the circle, each person saying the name of the kid next to him/her. That reduces kids' anxiety because they know exactly when their turn will arrive. They can also practice saying the names ahead of time.

Once they have practiced a bit, you can really let loose and have them get competitive with it, if they are the kind of class that enjoys that sort of thing!

2. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

I love this book! I'm sure I don't have to waste too much time singing the praises of Eric Carle here, but just in case this classic children's book is not already in your library, here is a link to purchase it. I'll just say that my students love the familiarity of the format and catch on quickly when we read it. I actually sing the words to the first phrase on so mi and la (s-m-s-m-ss-l-s-m) and the next phrase on fa-re-so (f-rr-f-r-ff-s-f-r.) 

Then, when we finish reading and singing the book, it turns into a game:

I replace the animals with children's names. So if it's Judy's turn, the whole class sings, "Judy, Judy, what do you see?" Then she must pick another student and sing, "I see [another student's name] looking at me." This is a great way to get students to open up and sing on the first day of school. (If a child is feeling very shy and doesn't want to sing out, I will walk over to him/her with Arpeggio the Cat and give the child the option to whisper softly into Arpeggio's ear instead of singing out loud. That usually works like a charm.)

I often have students begging to play this game again and again after the first day of school!

3. Getting to Know You BINGO

I made this game at the suggestion of someone in a Music Teachers Facebook Group. A teacher was asking for suggestions for getting-to-know-you bingo prompts. I offered to put them together on this bingo card and then gave it to everyone in the group for free.

It's actually still available for free in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, so you can download it for free if you'd like to use it in your classroom.

I played this with my fifth graders and everyone had a great time. It gets kids up, moving around, and talking to each other about music. The rules are as follows: Each student gets a bingo card. They must walk around and find a classmate who can do the thing in each square. When I did this with my fifth graders, I also added the rule that they could only put a single person's name on their card one time. Standard bingo rules apply: in order to win, students must be able to fill in four in a row or four in a column, or four diagonally across.

I also told my fifth graders there would be a prize if anyone was able to fill their card by the next day. And one dedicated student was able to do it! He told me that once I posed the challenge, he couldn't think about anything else until he had done it! I'd call that a successful music class.



I hope you like these three ideas. They all worked great in my classes this week and I can't wait to share more next Sunday. Don't forget to see what everyone else has been up to by checking out Mrs. Miracle's Music Room!

Cart Tour 2015

This time of year, it seems like everyone is posting pictures of their new classroom decorations and beautiful instrument set-ups. (Since I have a portable at one of my schools, I actually just wrote one such post yesterday.) I know that this can be a difficult time for those of us who approach the new school year from a very different perspective. Yes, I'm talking about the brave souls who teach music on a cart.

Just over a year ago, I found out that due to increased enrollment at one of my schools, I would have to give up my teaching space and push-in to the gen. ed. classrooms. At first I was devastated. I had no idea how I would adapt my methods to make them work under such conditions. However, I've developed some routines and systems that work for me and make teaching on a cart a decent experience both for me and the kids. 

So I've decided to start a miniseries dedicated to the unsung heroes of music education. Those of us who have learned to make the best of a tough situation, for the sake of our students. Those who have learned to problem solve and think on our feet when resources may be limited. Those teachers who are responsible for "Music on Wheels."

Cart Tour 2015

I'm kicking off this miniseries with a back-to-school tour of my cart. I'm going to go through what I decided to put on it and how I keep it organized. When space is at a premium, decisions about what goes and what stays are super important. I also dressed my cart up a little bit to make it more interesting as I roll through the halls. 

  

This is a Luxor brand cart: it's all industrial strength plastic and has a built-in power strip. The plastic design makes it super lightweight and maneuverable, and it is the perfect height for me so that I don't have to hunch over at all when I'm pushing it. I totally lucked out because this cart was donated to me by another teacher at my school who wasn't using it. So I didn't have to spend any of my budget on it. However, a quick internet search brings up this A/V cart, which I'm pretty sure is the same exact one I'm using. For under $200, it is practically a steal compared to some of the "music carts" marketed by the big music school supply chains. 

You'll notice that I don't actually have any technology on this cart. I know that some teachers bring a boombox or speakers around with them. I guess I'm pretty fortunate in the tech department because every classroom in my school has a wall-mounted smartboard and wired-in sound system (because we are Title I.) So, rather than fumbling to try and plug in my own technology in each classroom, I just hop on the classroom computer. I have all of my electronic presentations and audio files on a flash drive. All I have to do is plug and play. 

The space that I saved by not having technology is chock full of instruments and teaching supplies. 

Hover over the spots on this ThingLink to see what I keep on my cart:

And here's a more detailed breakdown...

Bottom Shelf

• Class set of egg shakers
• Class set of rhythm sticks

I find it's important for my primary students to have enough of these instruments so that everybody is playing the same thing. Of course I also let them use the other instruments as well. But, from a management standpoint, I like everyone to be playing the same instrument when we're doing rhythm review exercises, etc. 

• Mini djembes and conga drums

I have about six of them all together and they are small enough to fit in the plastic storage bin. 

• One set of handbells
• Five glockenspiels built into yellow carrying cases

I specifically chose this set of glocks because they can be stacked and transported easily and the sound is not terrible. They have a full chromatic keyboard, too.

• Boomwhacker Xylotote

The xylotote is a brilliant invention!!! The cloth carrier keeps one diatonic set wrapped up nice and compactly. It can be opened up and played like a xylophone with rubber mallets, or each boomwhacker can be taken out and played the usual whacky ways.

• Class set of scarves for movement activities
• Medium djembe for teacher use and student performances

Middle Shelf

• Three bins holding various class percussion instruments, such as guiros, claves, wood blocks, triangles, finger cymbals, tambourines, and hand drums.
• Set of five remo stacking hand drums.

Top Shelf

• Work space where I keep my plan book open and ready
• Office supplies organizer (so I don't have to search through other teachers desks for basic stuff)
• Big basket for holding papers and Arpeggio the Cat
• Cannister to hold mallets and pointers
• Small baskets for manipulatives, books, anything else I need for that day

So there you have it... That's the breakdown of my cart. I know it doesn't hold everything that you'd find in a typical music room, but it holds enough to give my students a high quality musical experience. It served me well last year and I'm looking forward to using it again. Even though I don't have my own classroom, I still feel like I have my own little space when I'm with my cart. I'm also lucky enough to have an "office" of sorts... it's a work room in the back of a kindergarten classroom:

As you can see, lots of different teachers use this space. I get to keep my cart here and have a little desk area in the corner. I'm working on getting a laptop to use again this year so that I don't have to go to the computer lab to plan the digital parts of my lessons!

Thanks for reading! I hope this miniseries resonates with those of you who might be in a similar situation and teaching "music on wheels" this school year! You are doing good work for your students, no matter what obstacles you may face. Remember my motto: Just roll with it!