I’m back! (I hope)

I’ve been pretty lax keeping up with my blog the last few years. I am hoping to start keeping it up again. For the past 10 years or so I’ve been working in the technology field and there are so many fun and cool lessons I should have written about but life got in the way. Now that I am back to working as a traditional 10 month teacher I may have time in the summer and go back to write about those lessons, I really hope I do because we did some great things!

As of August 2021 I am back in the music classroom. I’m happy with my choice but it’s been so long since I have taught music (especially elementary) that I feel like a first year teacher all over again. I have some great things to write about but I’m also never shy about sharing my “learning experiences” as well so there should be quite a variety of things going on.

My next post is going to be about my World Music Unit. I used to teach this very successfully in 6th grade but I wasn’t sure how it would work in elementary. I randomly chose 3rd grade to try it out and so far it has been AMAZING! We will be doing the last lesson in the unit next week and I cannot wait to write all about it!

For today though, I want to talk about the Rhythm Train. This is something I learned from my very first interning teacher when I graduated from college. I’m super sad right now because I can’t remember her name and I’d love to get back in touch with her to let her know I’m still using it. Now, mind you, I’ve been busy so my current train has no wheels but I figure I can add those on next year.

What the Rhythm Train is, is a rhythm activity that I use to start every class in 2nd – 5th. It starts with one train car and then a new one is added each week. By the end of the year, it will go across most of my classroom walls. Each class we go over the new rhythm and then perform the whole train. Students are tested once each semester on a performance of it which they can do one on one with me or in front of the class if they are feeling brave. I’m happy to say I have more than half of my students feeling comfortable enough to do the test in front of the group. I think that says a lot about my classroom atmosphere.

Anyway, for the students that need a little more practice, I sent a video home to parents through our communication system so the students could practice at home. Here’s that video so you can see what the Rhythm Train looks like.