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Why I Plan All My Lessons with Slides—And How You Can Too

6/3/2025

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Each year, I try to improve myself as a teacher and change one thing in my teaching. This year, I changed one BIG thing: I structured all of my lessons with slides. Since taking the plunge, I have found that my teaching has been positively impacted in five different ways.  
  1. My lessons have better flow. Everything is in one place, and I am not flipping through presentations and tabs trying to find something 
  2. Classroom management is easy: By not wasting time trying to find materials, students stay more engaged, leading to fewer management problems. 
  3. Lesson sequencing is easier: When everything is in one place, it is easier to see the long-term plan and to see how the lessons all work together
  4. I’m planning a month at a time: Similar to the last one, it is easier to long-term plan because I can see where my lessons are going. 
  5. Makes planning for subs easier: I often just leave them my slides open with directions on how to do the activities. Yes, I still leave activities that are easy for subs to teach but the structure to the lesson is easy to follow. 

Now, for some tips and tricks on how I make this all work!

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The Truth About Returning to Teaching after Maternity Leave

5/21/2025

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This year, I returned to my elementary music teaching position after my maternity leave. I live in Canada, so I am fortunate that I got a year off at home with my girlie, but it didn’t come without some good and some not-so-good surprises when I returned to work after a year off. 

So, here I am sharing my truth about returning after maternity leave to my full-time elementary music teaching job- between two schools!

Not all was bad!
First off, I want to share that going back to work was not completely awful. Yes, I did miss hanging out with my kid every day and getting to watch her grow, but I was READY to go back to work. I have come to realize that I am the type of person that thrives on structure, routine, and adult conversations and returning to work checks all of those boxes for me. I was also ready to be rechallenged- not that parenting isn’t challenging- but I was ready for the fast-paced challenge that came with teaching elementary music. If you know, you know! 


Let’s start with some good news. Here are the pleasant surprises from my return to work.

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Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter- a book to kick off Winter Music Lessons

1/3/2025

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Books are a good and easy way to bring seasonal content into the music room. Plus, you can often find various music concepts you can teach with the books. At the beginning of winter, I like to use Kenard Pak’s book, Goodbye Autumn and Hello Winter. 
While this would be a great lesson on the first day of Winter, I am often too busy coordinating the Christmas Concert- or already off on winter break, that I save it and use the book when we return to school in January. 

So, how do I use this book in my classroom? Check out this FREE lesson pack and try it with your students!

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5 Music Games to Play with Flashcards

12/2/2024

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Flashcards are a great tool to have in your music room. I frequently use both rhythm and melody flashcards with my students,  but simply reading and playing flashcards can get boring after about the first 5 minutes.
To spice it up, I like to play flashcard games. These are a HIT with my students and I am sure they will be with yours too. These games work both with melody and rhythm flashcards. And when you use grade-appropriate flashcards I have played these games with students all the way from grade 1 to grade 8.

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Holiday Music Centers

11/18/2024

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As we get closer and closer to the holiday season, my classroom gets more and more crazy. Even though I am busy prepping for our holiday concerts my students still need lessons. One of my go-to lesson plans during this crazy season is centers. 

Disclaimer- I would not try to do centers for the first time during this time of year. But, I do these centers mainly with grades 3 and up who have all had previous music center experience so they know how the rotation works and the expectation.

If you haven’t done centers, fear not! These games and activities would work for the whole group too. 

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    Miss Jayna is an elementary music teacher in Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada. In addition to being a public school teacher Miss Jayna also has a private piano studio and teaches a Children's Music Program. 

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