What's On Your Wall - Link Up Part 2

Yesterday, I shared what my first classroom looked like. Today I'm going to share my second classroom, which is owl themed. Again I'm linking up with Tracy King A.K.A. The Bulletin Board Lady.



The back of my room is normally the first thing I decorate. I have two bulletin boards with tack-able wall around it.


The one bulletin board reads "Can You flap owl the rhythms?". I have a background of bright green fabric that I purchased last year. The print outs can be purchased from Jena Hudson at Sew Much Music. I made the tree branches and trunk from brown butcher paper. I crinkled it up a bit to give it a more natural look. Then for the border I used crepe paper streamers.
I highly recommend using crepe paper streamers for a border. I was originally going to use a burlap roll for the border, but it only covered half of the border and was about $30, so I didn't want to buy another one. Then I was walking around thinking of another option when I saw the streamers. I wasn't sure how well it would work or how much I would need, so I snagged three of them (because I didn't want to take a chance that I'd have to go back) for $3 and headed out. To create the border I just twisted and bunched while stapling along the way. It is a bit thin doing just one time around, so I went around 3 times. I love how much it actually looks like leaves from far away. (Even going around the bulletin board three times didn't even use one roll.)

Above this bulletin board I have more clip art from Whimsy Clips. After printing these cute school owls out, I added music related symbols and terms to make them fit in a bit more.



The other bulletin board reads "I Give a HOOT about Music". I purchased this bulletin board from Cara at Miscellaneous Me. This is a cute and simple advocacy board.


Now for the front of the room:


This adorable banner was a find from Music with Miss W. This banner says Making Music Owl Together. It is such a simple yet eye catching element to the front of my room.


My kodaly hand signs posters were made by me. If you are interested in them, let me know! I may add them to my shop.


I used the burlap roll to make my Positives Only clip chart into a tree. If you want to read more about how I use my clip chart in my classroom read THIS POST. If you are interested in using a positives only clip chart and/or would like to purchase this one or my cupcake themed one, please let me know.


Finally, I have my Music Street and Rules on the whiteboard. My whiteboard here is magnetic, so the leaves are on magnets and can be pulled off to put in cute little owls that represent the solfege. (Leaves are clip art from Little Red and owls are clip art from One Stop Digital.)





One side of my classroom has all these nice cupboards with my vocabulary posters. You can purchase these posters in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.


Finally, check out my door. This door was made using clip art from Whimsy Clips and Glitter Meets Glue


Ok, well that is all for now! Hope you enjoyed seeing all the pictures. I'd love to hear your thoughts on my room in the comments below!

Three Things I've Learned This Summer

Today, I'm linking up with Mrs. Miracle's Music Room to share 3 things I learned this summer. I should note that these are all things that on some level I always knew, but this summer has made more obvious.

When I wasn't with my family or friends this summer I spent almost every moment working. Some may say that this leads to stress and anxiety or may even argue that I need to spend the summer relaxing to rejuvenate myself. I would disagree. The work I do over the summer is the kind of work I enjoy doing. The things like creating interactive games, song files, and decorations for my room. Pinning, using instagram, and facebook messaging inspiring quotes, pictures, and more. All these things are the kind of work I do each day. Doesn't sound so stressful now, does it? During the summer I get to work on the work I enjoy doing and I don't have to worry about the parts of the teaching profession that I find less than thrilling.

This summer was one of the hardest and most tragic summers I've ever experienced. The last week of June I spent taking care of my dad, who had been fighting a battle with Renal Cell Carcinoma (Kidney Cancer) for three years. I spent a week watching him slowly slip away. First confusion set in. Then his body started to shut down, too. At the end of the long week my dad passed away with me and other members of my family at his side. Losing my dad has to be one of the hardest moments of my life. It is another reminder of how important it is to cherish each moment. Enjoy every second of time you have with your family and friends because you never know if it will be your last.

I have known my boyfriend for almost three years now and I can say, without a doubt, that he is the absolute best. This summer he attended a wedding with me (one I was standing up for - out of state) and after spending at least 5 hours in a hotel room by himself still never once complained. In fact, when I apologized that he had to spend so much time on his own he just replied "You would have been bored if I hadn't gone." He has also been there for me every step of the way with my dad. I'm an emotional mess (most of the time) and he kindly and patiently deals with it. How could I possibly ask for more than that?

It's been a crazy summer, but I'm going to soak up the last few weeks. Vacation starts in less than 40 hours!

Five Favorite Music Freebies

I'm really sorry for another lack of updates, but I promise that my next blog post will have a cool forever freebie you can all add to your collection. Hopefully, that will make up for it!

Today I'm linking up with Noteworthy by Jen to bring you my Five Favorite Music Freebies on Teachers Pay Teachers.


There are MANY out there, so it is very hard to pick just five. Read about the freebies below and then click any of the pictures to download them yourselves!

1) Cowgirl Compositions
I actually found this gem LONG before she was creating other items on Teachers Pay Teachers. I don't exactly remember how I stumbled on it, but I know I downloaded it one of my first years of teaching. It was my first year teaching at a school where students had little to NO experience clapping ANY rhythms. (Even basic rhythms like ta & ti-ti) My 4th and 5th graders had no desire to learn music, because they never had to do much before I got there. This rhythm football really made my 4th and 5th grade boys excited to practice rhythms. Not only because they love sports, but because it was a game and competitive. I cannot tell you how many times we used this game and how many times they would beg me to play it. Cowgirl Compositions now has several others versions of the game that you can download and use in your classroom, as well.
Note: This file is a SMARTnotebook file, so unfortunately you will not be able to use it if you don't have SMARTnotebook.

2) Floating Down the River
Along the same lines, Floating Down the River has a freebie for March Madness. I like this idea because not only does it involve singing, but again it is perfect for my boys who are obsessed with sports. This is such a creative game and what boy will not want a chance to shoot a basket? Now to find some different size balls to play this game next year...

3) The Yellow Brick Road
It's the perfect time of year to use this matching game by The Yellow Brick Road. I like how she has two different versions: one for a whole group activity and one as a center activity. Can you ever have enough activities for preparing and practicing ta and ti-ti?

4) Totally Tuned-In Teacher
My students can never get enough practice on counting BEATS for different rhythms. This year, this has been a major focus. My students have such a hard time understanding that two notes does NOT mean two beats. Plus, my 3rd graders are working on time signatures right now and this would actually tie in well with that. Even though this freebie is 'technically' for Valentine's day, you still could use it any time of year OR you can get one of her other rhythm activity packs.

5) Brittany De Laruelle
Finally, I just have to do a shout out for one of my favorite freebies in my store. I have several freebies, but this one is still one of my favorites. This would also be a GREAT activity to use with your students this time of the year. Not only will your students be able to practice their solfege, but they'll also love the chance to color.

That's all for now! Don't forget to read about all the other freebies back at Jen's original post. You can read about those HERE.

Rockin' Resources Linky Party

I have been wanting to blog for quite a while. I actually was nominated for a blogging award that I'm still trying to get around to blogging about. This time of year is just crazy. I spent the last five days off traveling around and visiting family, family, and more family. I promise that once my life settles down I will get back to blogging more often.

Anyways, by now you know all about the Teachers Pay Teachers big Cyber Monday and Tuesday sale. This is my favorite day of the year! This was the first sale I was a part of last year and it is so exciting to be around again this year. My wishlist is already chalk full of fun stuff! I'm going to share three products with you that I think you should add to your wishlist: one is from my store, one is from a fellow music teachers store, and one is from an awesome clip artists store. I'm doing this as part of Music a la Abbott's Linky Part


First, from my store I would suggest adding my MEGA-Bundle Half Notes/Rests and Whole Notes/Rests Songs and Activities:


This bundle is full of all sorts of fun resources for preparing, presenting, and practicing half notes, half rests, whole notes, and whole rests. There are 10 song files with games and activities:

There are interactive and printed games:

And soon there will be worksheets!

You can get all of this for an amazing price during the big site wide sale!

Second, I'm really excited to buy this product from Jena Hudson's shop:

I loved all her other glyphs and since Carnival of the Animals is a set of songs I have to teach I thought this would be a great piece to add. If you haven't used any of Jena's Listening glyphs in the past make sure you check them out.

Finally, I'm always excited to grab some fun clip art during a sale. I'm planning on buying this clip art from Whimsy Clips:

That's all for now! Have fun shopping!