2014 Classroom Tour

I know it's well after the school year has started, but my oh my has it been one busy year already! Now that I'm in my groove, I finally have time to show off some updates to my room!  I'm LOVING what I've done.

I started my TeachersPayTeachers store this summer and these will be some products that I will have up and posted for sale. My Word Wall Headers are already there. You should check it out if you can!

I went with a Rainbow Chalkboard theme and it really turned out great! I will have Recorder Posters, solfege hand sign posters, MUSIC room rules, and for those who teach in an IB school, I will also have my Profiles, Key Concepts, and Attitudes posters available as well.

Take a look and leave a comment if you have any questions about what you see!

Aren't the colorful pom-poms a nice touch?! I love them!!!

A view from my chair.

View from the door.

A view for some students. Notice my Boomwhacker storage using a big black bin that I found at good ol' Walmart this summer. And Black to go with my theme. Awesome-sauce.

Another perspective.

This was a great idea of my student teacher last year. With being an International Baccalaureate school, I wanted to incorporate a more global perspective. So he came up with the idea of doing a Passport to... and then change it each trimester and do music or listen to music from that country.

These posters will be available on my TpT store soon!

Recorder Center: The storage unit on the left is where I keep the string belts to go on recorders and the trays are all the songs organized by belt level.

View of my desk area.

Even all my binders are celebrating the rainbow!

1/2 of my word wall (the other half is on the other side of the room) The Letters are available on my TpT store.

These are the Attitudes from being an International Baccalaureate school, or a PYP school.

Lots to see here, Key Concepts on cabinets (IB stuff again), keyboard behavior clip chart, mailbox to turn in assignments, reusable exit tickets, I Took Action forms.

MUSIC Room Expectations. I modeled them after Lindsey Jervis from Lindsey's Kodaly Inspired Classroom. I've had them spell MUSIC for years, but I like the simplicity of how she worded them better and added my personal touch to them.

The view for the students. Solfege chart, anchor charts, Smart Board, and learning goals by grade on the left.

A closer look at the solfege ladder.

Classroom instrument storage and book bins.

View from my keyboard.

Isle of Rest (much like a "Take A Break" chair), but I have a 2 minute sand timer for kids so they know when they can return.

Another view from my keyboard.

Agents of Change: A 2nd Grade Musical

Each year I brave an attempt at writing my own programs.  Both 2nd and 4th grade perform a program each year, 4th Grade in November and 2nd Grade in March.  When I write my programs, I try to stick to writing just one a year because it's a ton of work to do.  I then decided to alternate between 2nd and 4th grade each year.  That way when they were either in 2nd or 4th grade, they got to do an Arundel Original program!  Last year I wrote a program called Feelin' Good for 4th grade.  And this year it is 2nd Grade's turn. 
Note:  On the "off years," the kids do a "canned" program, which I often end up modifiying some or adding to again...I just can't help it!  I love musicals and performing with these kiddos!

How do I pick themes to write about? 

Well, with being an International Baccalaureate (IB) program here, the classrooms have planners (in depth units) based on a certain central idea/theme (Who We Are, How We Express Ourselves, How the World Works, etc) .  These themes are a great for basing the themes of my programs on.  With the 4th grade program, Feelin' Good, it was focused on living a balanced, healthy lifestyle (a How We Express Ourselves planner). 

Side Note:  IB asks specialists to try an make at least 1 quality connection to these planners to help strengthen these broad ideas into all subject areas.  I really enjoy making these connections because as we all know, Music is connected to EVERYTHING!  And I LOVE showing kids that particular feature of our subject area.  Now, granted there are some planners that it is a S-T-R-E-T-C-H to connect to, so I choose not to make that connection. 

This year I am writing a program for 2nd Grade and it is focused on how even ordinary people can help to make a change in this world (a Sharing the Planet planner).  In their classrooms, the kids are collecting old crayons and melting them to make new crayons to sell.  Their profits are then going towards Heifer International to buy a goat for a family in Africa.  SUPER COOL! 

What's exciting is the songs they are learning for this program are strengthening this idea of making a difference and the kids are fully on board and super-charged to put it all together!  All my songs that I pick for my programs comes from Music K8.  What a fabulous resource!  I love it solely for writing my musicals.  I usually can find enough awesome songs from these magazines and build a program around them.

So, when I came across the song "Agents of Change" in Music K8 Volume 18, Number 3...it was PERFECT for this theme!  And from there, I found a TON of others that I really had to narrow it down and came to a list of about 7 songs total.  I then began writing the script with the idea that there is a group of Secret Agents who go around the world making a difference.  AND teaching those they meet how to make that change on their own.  The agents mission is always to make the world a better place and they are always trying to fight off Dr. Nemesis (Dr. Nem) who goes around with his whisper machine making people be selfish, rude, uncaring, bully, etc. 

The kids have LOVED the idea of Secret Agents and all want to be this role in the program.  What I've been sharing is that they ALL can be secret agents right now!  That they can start making a difference in the world around them!