The Anacrusic Podcast: Purposeful, Sequential, & Joyful Music Education

Today on the podcast, I’m going to talk about music in kindergarten and why it is 100% it’s own beast. It’s a friendly beast that you want to kind of cuddle up with and spend a little bit of extra time with inside of your classroom but it’s definitely it’s own animal when it comes to what concepts to teach how to sequence and this whole idea of setting the foundation for what we’re doing in kindergarten and beyond kindergarten.

One of the most commonly asked questions I get in all of Anacrusic-land is about learning targets. It’s no doubt that learning targets, student objectives, behavioral objectives, or “I can” statements (whatever you like to call them!) are essential to your students’ success and YOUR success as a teacher. Today’s episode is all about how to write meaningful learning targets for your music classroom, and includes a special FREE guide to help illustrate the action steps!

Today on the podcast, I’m sharing how I’ve connected and shared a music making idea with my students in our local youth chorus. I realize that so many of us are in different situations with our teaching and what is expected of us, but I know we all want to be connected with our students in a meaningful way. Hopefully today’s episode will help you feel connected with your kiddos and confident that you are helping them to create meaningful musical experiences!

Today on the podcast, I’m sharing my newly adopted mindset with all the crazy in the world. It’s inspired by an article that I found on Angela Watson’s blog. And although she is not a music teacher, and the context is a little different, there were lots of hard hitting points for me that just made me THINK.

Today on the podcast, I’m sharing why I decided to push forward with the lesson planning challenge, even though we are in C-R-A-Z-Y times. I realized that so many of us are in different situations with our teaching and what is expected of us, and I wanted to honor everyone’s journey. This episode is about identifying where you are, and what’s possible.

Whew. What a crazy couple of weeks. Today on the podcast, I’m really sharing what’s on my heart with all the things happening in our world and how it’s impacting the music education community overall. The big takeaway? I’m here for you, so you can be here for KIDS.

It’s really difficult to talk about lesson planning without talking about curricular planning or learning sequence framework. But we need to start SOMEWHERE. This episode will get you on your way to mastering your lesson planning flow in 4 easy steps.

There have been a handful times I’ve just wanted to sing the darn song and plan the darn game. In those cases, I have to admit, I have made my children victims to lining out a song. But in the hopes of keeping your classroom alive and engaging, for both you and your students, today I’m sharing seven other ways to teach a song. Don’t forget to head to the show notes on the Anacrusic website to snag your FREE cheatsheet.

I wanted to take today to go a little bit deeper, to let you know why I do what I do. These three things are woven throughout each and everything that I do, each and everything that I create, and keep me grounded in this work. Although I’ve drawn inspiration from different mentors and education and experiences in my career, the process and the experiences that I’ve had to come to these three pillars are what make them uniquely Anne, and uniquely Anacrusic.

Today on TAP, I'm sharing why you need a plug + play formula for everything you teach. And here's a hint: it's because you are an intentional music teacher, who cares, and who deserves to conquer the overwhelm once and for all. Don't just take it from me, also take a listen to what Kristin Sotero, a member of The Sequencing Solution, had to say about being a part of the program.

Today on TAP, I’m chatting about the five things you need to make 2020 your best year yet, and really just in your music teacher life in general… and psst! This is a sneak peek at this weekend’s workshop and all the juicy stuff we’ll be chatting about starting January 11th. Head to anacrusic.com/workshop to sign up for one of 3 days and times to attend!

Today on TAP, I’m chatting about the one thing you need to make 2020 your best year yet. It’s not a magic pill, or a quick fix, but if you buy-in to this one idea, you’ll completely change your music teacher life.

In the last episode of 2019, I’m sharing some of my thoughts as I look back on the past year and make plans for 2020. After all of my brainstorming and reflecting, I realized that most of my resolutions for the new year are because I fall into 4 personas here and there with my teaching: Rookie of the Year, Jackie of All Trades, The Passionate Professional, and The Queen of Routine.

Today in our last interview of the season, I’m chatting with Abbie Hunter all about building community support. This episode pairs perfectly with our conversation from last week, where Abbie shares her experiences with cultivating a culture of appreciation and excitement when it comes to music teaching and learning. I know you’ll love her optimistic attitude and practical tips for advocating for your program!

Today on the podcast I’m talking to Rainy Barton all about cultivating a culture of music appreciation. In today’s chat, Rainy shares exactly what music teachers can do to help educate students, parents, administrators and the community to help them understand what it is that you do inside of the music room and why it is important.