Music on a Cart - Blog #Time Management

Top Organizing Tip I'd Tell My First-Year-Teacher Self

Thu, 24 Aug 2017 16:45:25 -0400

One interesting thing about having a dedicated music classroom is that it becomes quite easy to accumulate stuff. With ample shelf space and filing cabinets plentiful, it’s easy to stock up and to put things out of sight and out of mind. This was definitely the case for me when I started my teaching career in a music classroom. Once I was placed on a cart, I had to eventually address the issue of accumulated items and the value of keeping them from year to year. I say eventually because trying to survive my first year (and every year thereafter) teaching music from a cart took the majority of my energy and thinking space. Organization was the last thing on my mind so I simply placed all my music classroom items in any nook and cranny around the school that I could find. As it became apparent that the possibility of regaining a music classroom was a far off hope, I had to address the scattered clutter.

Time to address the clutter!

And address the clutter, I did. However, there was one problem: the speed of my occasional purging wasn’t matching the speed in which I gained MORE materials. New curricula, new conference freebies, new music teaching resources...I relished pouring over new learning materials and the latest releases. While there’s nothing wrong with that (we as teachers should always be learning and growing), I had to ask myself if it was reeeeally necessary to keep every single paper from every single conference session I attended. I mean, honestly, my 4th graders were not going to be singing SATB choral literature so why was I hanging on to it for the mere fact that it was free? And all those extra copies of various worksheets for my students, did I really need to hold onto those, too? It all kept piling up and the overflow was making its way to my house for storage! This paper pile madness had to stop!

STOP THE MADNESS!

So finally I became determined to get a hold of ALL that I’ve accumulated and finally set out to organize it once and for all. I began with easy things, such as curriculum resources and music that I use most often, categorized it, and sorted all of it out at school. As I mentioned in my previous post, I found it helpful to place all of my music magazine resources into categorized binders for ease in mobility since my prep space changes from year to year. After organizing all of that, it was time to tackle the bigger mountain before me:

ALL. THE. PAPERS.

The mountain of copies, handouts, worksheets, and paperwork that overflowed at school and, in turn, overflowed at my home. With determination, I set up a workspace in my house and before leaving at the end of the school year, I brought home several boxes of all the additional papers and lesson materials that I accumulated and would sort through over the summer.

One of FOUR boxes of papers I brought home the last day of school!

I spent a solid two weeks (non-stop, morning to night) sorting, purging, and organizing this 10+ years of stuff. As I kept sorting, I couldn’t help but think, “Man, if only I had thought to organize myself from the get-go, it would’ve been SO much easier to stay on top of things.” And so, if I were to go back in time, the advice I would tell my “first year teacher” self is this:

Here are the main categories I ended up dividing the bulk of my paperwork into:

Classroom lesson activities
Worksheet master copies
Professional documents
Conference materials
Concert programs
Pictures

From there, utilize binders with dividers to further sort the above categories into more specific units:

Classroom Lesson Activities

These aren't necessarily my daily lesson plans (those are digitally saved), but rather supplemental lesson activities, song sheets, and other lesson resources that I use regularly. These are sorted by grade level and within those grade levels, grouped by season (fall, winter, spring/summer).

Worksheet Master Copies

Keep ONE master copy of student worksheets and handouts you like and use during the year. These can also be divided by grade level, then further subdivided by unit, month, or season. DON'T HOLD ON TO ANY EXTRA COPIES! Make copies of worksheets according to current class lists and then make only 5 or so extras in case a new student comes mid-year or if a student's copy gets destroyed by accident somehow. At the end of the school year, any remaining copies go straight into the recycling bin.

Professional Documents

Teaching certificates, evaluations, SGOs/SLOs/PLOs, PD certificates all organized by academic year.

Conference Materials

Please, don't be like me and keep every handout, freebie octavo, worksheet, and brochure you've ever received from all the conferences you attend over the years. TOO MUCH!! After arriving home from a conference or workshop, take a moment to sit down and go through your bag of goodies and only keep what you find valuable to your teaching. File it and trash the rest. I sorted mine into categories such as “Piano, Singing, Rhythm, Special Needs, Orff, Movement” and so on. If you aren't sure about something, hold on to it for one year. But JUST ONE. After that, purge.

Concert Programs

Keep one program copy of each concert you conduct and use binder dividers to group them by school year. If you don’t print programs for your concerts, then simply make a master list of the concert name, grade, date, and song selections as a reference and file it. Or, if you prefer, those concert lists could be kept digitally.

Pictures

This includes school portrait and faculty group pictures, pictures of yourself with students, pictures or articles from media (newspapers, online write-ups), and maybe even picture documentation of special classroom projects you've done. Again, utilize binder dividers or 3-hole punched folders to organize these by academic year.

Ahhh! Nice and neat and ORGANIZED! :)

Now that everything is neatly organized, I can quickly find the references, resources, and papers that I need. A kindergarten concert program from 2011...got it! That really good conference session on folk dancing a few years back, I can find that handout in less than a minute! Going forward into my teaching career, I vow to stay on top of the paperwork and not let all my hours of organizing this summer go in vain. How? Well, at the end of each month I’ll spend about 20 or so minutes sorting, filing, and/or purging papers accumulated that month and in the days after I return from a conference, I’ll only keep and promptly file the most relevant resources.

Rescuing myself from clutter, one paper at a time!

How about you? Do you have bookshelves full of papers and materials that you haven’t looked at in a while? Do you have an organizing system that you follow? Do you just shove everything into a nice, large storage closet, shut the door, and ignore? Please share your experience of tackling (or not tackling) accumulation in the comments below!

Encouraging you to rock as you roll,

Summer Prep for Teachers on a Cart

Fri, 07 Jul 2017 18:58:16 -0400

Even though it’s the summertime, a teacher’s mind never quite shuts off, right? We’re always in a perpetual cycle of reflecting back on the past school year and planning ahead for the next. However, it’s not always “all work and no play” regarding planning. One of the fun things many teachers like to do is keep their eyes open for a good sale in their favorite store or stock up on cool classroom supplies and festive decor. But what’s a cart teacher to do? We don’t have the luxury of scooping up heaps of seasonal decor, bulletin board items, or other cutesy classroom goods due to lack of space to display them and places to store it all. Does that mean that we can only wistfully walk through the ‘back-to-school’ aisles and not purchase a thing? Not necessarily. There are definitely some items you can invest in that will help your daily cart teaching for the upcoming school year.

The amount of planning ahead required for teaching on a cart looks different depending on your situation:

It’s your first year on a cart in a district you’ve never taught in before.
Your music room is being repurposed and you'll now be teaching from a cart.
You've already been teaching on a cart for multiple years in the same school.

However, the list below can be beneficial no matter what situation you are in, so it's my hope that you can glean what you need as you apply it to your particular circumstance. Alright, with that said, let's go shopping!

Are you now teaching from a cart due to COVID-19 restrictions in schools? Check out this blog post for things to consider in your planning!

1. Binders

In my years of teaching music from a cart, I've found that binders are the easiest way to keep things together and organized. From music magazines, to lesson ideas, to sub plans, to worksheets, I put EVERYTHING into binders! This is especially helpful because the space in which I'm given to prep has changed multiple times through the years. Sometimes those spaces had a file cabinet for me to use, most times they don't. But a shelf or bookcase of some kind was usually available and binders make things much easier to transport.

I currently have 12 binders of music and teaching resources. Here you can see some loose music magazines that I'll soon put into binders for the upcoming school year.

Having my materials organized into binders allows me to easily transport my stuff from year to year AND helps me easily access materials when I need them. One cool item that helps me place softcover music magazines into these 3-hole binders are these:

These plastic magazine strips are awesome! You simply find the midway point of the magazine (where the staples are seen) slip that half into the opening, and now you're able to easily add it to a hole-punch binder. They typically come in packs of 12 and can be found online or in office supply stores. Get them, they're great!

2. Storage Bins with Lids

When I was first placed on a cart, I was desperate for any type of storage...period. But now that I've been 'on the move' for years, I've realized that it's more beneficial to have storage bins that are transparent (so I can easily see at a glance what's inside) and comes with a lid. Lids are important because they keep dust out, prevent your items from falling out if you hit a bump, and aid in stacking so you can utilize as much square footage as possible.

3. Decor

My cart through the seasons!

Okay, so you don't have a nifty room to decorate with your chosen color scheme or cool themes based on the latest Instagram trends. That doesn't mean that only classroom teachers get to have all the fun in decorating! I finally decided after years of being on a cart that I was tired of staring at the same, boring, brown metal cart. So I headed to the nearest dollar store and got some autumn leaves garland to twist around my cart. The kids loved it so much that around the holidays I bought string lights and looped those around my cart legs, too, plugging them in so they'd light up during music time in their classrooms (and if I forgot to plug in those lights, my students would let me know it!). Then I bought various colors of tinsel and garland to sport during the holidays and through the wintertime. In the spring, I swapped silver snow tinsel for multi-colored leis. My students ate it up, teachers complimented my creativity, and I had something a little nicer to look at day in and day out.

My fellow cart traveling teachers, yes, it's frustrating being on a cart, but making some lemonade from the lemons helps bring a more positive mindset to a frustrating situation. So rock out your cart! Whether it's with dollar store decor, spray paint, or shelf liner, add something that'll make your cart pop! Check out my Pinterest board to see how some other cart teachers have rocked out their carts:

4. Basic Office Supplies

Sometimes districts will provide teachers with office supplies, but other times not. Either way, it's a great idea (and I actually prefer) to have my own set of basic office supplies. I utilize the top shelf of my cart as my "rolling office" with my desk supplies quickly at my disposal: pencils, pens, erasers, Post-its, stapler, tape, dry erase markers/eraser, etc. As I'm teaching, I can quickly grab what I need instead of asking the students where their teacher keeps something and having a herd of kids scramble to run and get said item from their teacher's desk or closet. I save lots of time and energy (and student accidents!) by just having my own supply on hand and would suggest the same for any cart teacher. But please remember this one thing...LABEL EVERYTHING!!! If you don't label things with your name, it WILL grow legs and go missing...trust me!

Check out Fun Music Gifts for cool, music-themed office supplies that can be

customized with your name and favorite colors!

So, those are a few examples of practical, organizational, and even decorative ideas that you can be on the lookout for in the stores while you’re beginning your cart prep planning for the school year. Are there any *must have* items that you’ve found were quite handy in your cart teaching experience? Are you new to being on a cart and wondering what else should be purchased? Please feel free to share, ask, and comment below!

Encouraging you to rock as you roll,

3 Vital Steps for Successfully Teaching Music on a Cart

Sat, 04 Mar 2017 13:10:12 -0500

*This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase items through these links, I may receive a small commission which helps support running MusicOnACart.com at no additional cost to you.*

"I found out I will be teaching on a cart two days ago and school starts Monday."

"If they enroll 6 or more kindergarteners by the time school starts, I'm going to be on a cart."

"I've recently lost my music classroom and I'm now on a cart. I'm obsessing about how to complete my curriculum without the classroom and the accessibility to instruments."

Year after year, I receive stories like the ones above. Stories by elementary music teachers from all across the country describing how they have lost (or are about to lose) their music teaching classroom space. Sometimes a music teacher might get temporarily kicked out of their music room for Picture Day or for several days during state testing. Other times the inconvenience is for a slightly longer duration (several months to a year or so) to accommodate school renovations or a construction project. However, the emails most common in my inbox are from the “indefinitely” camp of music teachers who have lost their music rooms and are unsure if they will ever regain a music classroom space again. The reasons for this can be many, including:

Increased student enrollment
Creation of a lab (STEM or maker space)
Addition of a self-contained special needs classroom
Addition of a BSI, ESL, or other type of special services classroom space

Finding out that you’re losing your music room and going to be teaching music on a cart is disappointing for sure. Yet when I hear about music teachers receiving such notification just a few days in advance (like I quoted above), it’s just heartbreaking! And for that unfortunate music teacher dread, disappointment, and panic start to set in.

So what do you do...other than feel completely overwhelmed? Or begin freaking out? Or a combination of BOTH?! I’ve already addressed some broader points to remember when one finds out that they'll be teaching music on a cart in this blog that shares my own cart story:

But for this blog post, I’d like to delve deeper and talk through some more detailed steps to implement that involve you, the other teachers in your school building, and your administrators. Reflecting on my own experience, I've boiled things down to 3 categories that I believe can be immensely helpful in setting yourself up for success in implementing music lessons from a cart. So let's get to it!

Teaching music on a cart? You came to the right place...keep reading for some helpful tips! | MusicOnACart.com

WARNING!!

This is going to be a lengthier post, but I want to properly give you information that'll be super helpful for your cart teaching situation! 😃

Time

Is there any time allotted for transitioning between class periods? When I was first put on a cart, my district had 3 minutes scheduled in between class periods. Then over the years as various principals came and went, it shrank down to 2, then 1, and now I have ZERO! Yup, zero transition time. So one class period technically starts the same exact time the previous one ends. Hang tight, because I’ll address this further in point #2.

Distance

Do you have to trek all the way across the school from one class to the next? Do you have classes on multiple floors? Is there an elevator to utilize? Do a walk-through the way your schedule is laid out and find out how long it takes you to get from class to class. You’ll probably need to add a minute or so to that travel time as pushing a cart slows down your usual speed compared to traveling by foot alone. If you already have a cart, go ahead and do your walk-through while pushing it...with some instruments or items to weigh it down, too.

Layout

As you perform your walk-through to check time and distance, you should also scope out the layout of the different classrooms. How have teachers arranged the desks, tables, bookshelves, and other furniture in their space? Where are the outlets located if you need to plug in speakers or charge equipment? In which area of the room can your music class take place? What kinds of distractions are in and around that area? While these are all good to address at the start of the year, be forewarned! Classroom teachers can decided to completely revamp how their room is arranged at any given point of the school year. Get a general idea of how the classrooms look initially, have a plan in place, yet keep in mind that it might change as the teacher also adjusts to the dynamics of his or her class and changes the space accordingly.

Communication! This is the key component for ANY traveling teacher. And it’s important to have open communication with your fellow colleagues within the school AND with administrators. Here’s a brief outline of some important needs and items that should be discussed:

With Teachers

Having your fellow colleagues on your side from the start will be crucial to the success of your music classes. I highly suggest communicating your needs and expectations in black and white by typing up an email and even printing out a hard copy and distributing it to teachers' mailboxes, too, as some might not catch the email. Start off your message by thanking them in advance for your entering their classroom space. Now I know that neither you nor they had any say in this arrangement, but you're offering an olive branch of peace here. Humans are very territorial, so acknowledging that you're 'intruding' into their space (even though you're an equally valid teacher who has been unexpectedly displaced) goes a long way into defusing initial awkwardness.

Then, if you have reduced or inadequate transition time between class periods like I mentioned point #1, take a moment to address the fact that while you're trying your best to travel from classroom to classroom, there will be many times in which you will not make it to their room exactly on time and thank them in advance for their understanding of that issue. I've found that addressing it from the get-go and putting it openly on the table has afforded me a lot of extra grace from teachers.

Next in your message, address the following:

Expectations for teachers - Do you mind them being present in the room? Since music time is their prep time, I'm pretty lenient and don't mind them doing their prep work and moving about the room during music class (I just warn them of the active nature and anticipated volume level of music time, but they *love* hearing our music making!). Can you have access to their technology and/or other materials (ex. space to write on the board, access to their interactive whiteboard)? Let teachers know of your instructional needs.
Expectations for students - Where do you want them to sit when you arrive? What materials will they need for your music class? Will they address you as lead teacher? That's very important and I make it a point to articulate to teachers that I'll take care of any behavioral issues and questions from students during music class time. I let teachers know in advance that if a student comes up to them during music time, to not answer their questions, but simply redirect that student back to me. This helps establish that even though you're in the students' classroom space, you are the head teacher in charge at that time. Establishing such boundaries is important to successful classroom management.
Expectations for music class time - Will you use the teacher's specific classroom rules, your own music rules, or a combination of both? Are there any behavior charts or class goals the students are working towards that you should know about? Again, reiterate to the classroom teacher that you'll take care of classroom management as the head teacher in charge at music time, but offer to work with them to support the behavior and teamwork goals they're establishing in their classrooms. I use a combination of my own "star musician" program and the classroom teacher's reward system as I make it a point to play up who my selected star musicians are for the day and have students brief their teachers on how they did during music class (Click here for more classroom management strategies!). I also ensure the classroom teachers that I'll establish a calm transition at the end of music class. In other words, I never roll out of a room until students have cleaned up their space, are settled down, and calmly ready for the next direction from their classroom teacher. And the teachers are *VERY* grateful for this!

Finally, follow up with a "thank you" email about a month into the school year and give a brief rundown of what has worked well so far and maybe offer some suggestions for things you'd like to change or try. Never think you have to continue with a system that doesn't work, but be honest and open for change so you can work together with your colleagues to figure out what will work best for successful music instruction and your new cart teaching situation!

Need to add your name to supplies so they don't get lost while teaching on the go? Easily personalize and customize these music-themed items and more at www.FunMusicGifts.com

With Administrators

It's important to schedule a meeting to sit down and ask very pertinent questions to your principal or appropriate administrators once you find out that you'll be teaching from a cart. Some top things to discuss include:

Storage needs - Where can you store all of your instruments and supplies? What closet spaces can be made available? Who else will have access to those spaces? Where will the cart be stored?
A suitable cart - Is there one available or will a cart have to be ordered? I’ll address this a little more in point #3 below.
A dedicated prep space - This is very important! Every teacher should be allotted some type of prep space to sit down, type up emails, grade work, etc. It might be in another teacher’s classroom, a shared office space, or to the side of a stage. When I first lost my room, I shared a prep area in the art room. The following year, when she ALSO lost her art room, we both shared a tiny side room connected to the nurse’s office. We had that arrangement until a few renovations occurred and a slightly larger office became available, which I shared with the art teacher and the ESL teacher. I now utilize a small closet, but it's enough for my materials to be stored in and for me to put a folding chair inside to sit and work on my laptop. Wherever the prep space may be, it should be a dedicated space that you can have a place to sit down at and a place for your personal belongings. Insist (nicely!) on this needed space.

Advocate a prep space for yourself, even if it's shared among multiple teachers (this one I shared with 3 other teachers).

If you're going to be teaching music from a cart, then of course you'll need the most optimal cart for your teaching needs and one that's best suited for maneuvering around your school's hallways and doorways. But I must warn you, bigger is NOT always better! In another blog post, I'll address what types of carts you can choose from (there are many options!), exactly what characteristics you need to look for when securing a cart, and how to fully outfit it for your teaching, but for now, consider the following:

Size - You'll need to push this bad boy around all day, so think very carefully about the size of your cart along with the ease of maneuverability because you don't want to injure yourself. Will bending down to push it hurt your back? Is the cart already heavy even though it's completely empty? Can it easily fit through the doorways of every classroom you'll be entering?
Storage - This is not only how many shelves are available on the cart, but the ways in which you can utilize ALL areas (inside, outside, upside, and down) of your cart. This could also include a locked storage section on your cart, if that's important to you.
Electrical requirements - Does your cart come with an extension cord or have the ability to incorporate electrical equipment that you'll need? Will you need to put a music playing device on your cart? Bluetooth speaker? Keyboard? Laptop?

Cart preparation is a whole other discussion and I'm very excited to share with you how I've rocked out my own cart in order to successfully implement my music lesson activities! But for now, what are your thoughts? Does your teaching schedule have absolutely no transition time between periods like mine does? Have you considered writing down your expectations and sharing them (in a super kind fashion) to the teachers whose rooms you'll be teaching in? Have your administrators given you a prep space? Have you considered sprucing up your cart to make it practical, but fun? I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments below!

Encouraging you to rock as you roll,

Are you now teaching from a cart due to COVID-19 restrictions in schools? Check out this blog post for things to consider in your planning!

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