Why I Teach Music Blog Hop and Giveaway

I am in a Facebook group with fellow music teacher bloggers.  Many of us are stressed right now, for many reasons, so we want to encourage everyone and to spread a few warm fuzzies along the way.

If you would have told me 24 years ago that I would be teaching elementary music I would have laughed you off the planet!  NO WAY was I going to teach, but if I had to, I would teach high school as it was more sophisticated and complex.  I was an opera major, with little to no real interest in teaching but changed my major to music education because my parents really wanted me to have a safety net in case performing didn't work out.  I only had one elementary methods class in college and it was terrible.  When I arranged my student teaching I chose 12 weeks with high school and middle school, although I knew middle school was not my age preference, I had to teach them as it was a package deal with the high school.  I then went to the K-3 school and taught 4 weeks with the wee ones and absolutely fell in love with their genuine affection, excitement, and joy.  As I  worked with them I began to realize how much I loved working with the younger children and how I became a different person in front of them; I was funny, and loved hearing their giggles and seeing their joy at playing shakers, hand drums, Orff instruments, and triangles.  Everything was a new experience to them and I loved hearing their sweet voices and encouraging them to reach for higher levels of musical understandings and develop true musicianship. I never looked back, and only applied for elementary school positions and have now been teaching 24 years!

That is what keeps me going; seeing/hearing/enjoying THEIR giggles, joy, and excitement while learning about instrument families, Orff instruments, folk music, dancing, the Piano Guys, Beethoven, and everything in between.  I also love their lovely, innocent, and sweet (most of the time) voices and seeing them develop from 4 year olds to 10-11 year olds and beyond, knowing I planted seeds and roots for their middle and high school teachers.


As I wrote before, I'm teaming up with some other music education bloggers to spread the love this week, and I'd love for you to become part of the conversation! Read on...
Not only is our country going through a stressful season, but many of us are stressed as we enter our busiest time of year with holiday concerts and performances fast approaching!  We want to encourage music teachers to remember why we do what we do. To sweeten the pot, we're hosting a giveaway too,  chock full of goodies!

You can enter the giveaway (and help spread the love) two ways: commenting on our blog posts (links in the giveaway below) all week- there will be one or two of us posting each day- and sharing your own inspiration on social media with the hashtag #whyiteachmusic. Don't forget to include a link to this blog post so others can enter the giveaway too! You can share every day until Monday 11/21 and earn more entries (and spread more positivity)!
Each of us is giving away something different, so there will be plenty of winners! My prize is a FREE copy of my book, Hands to Hands, Too!  Hand Clapping Songs and Games from the USA and Canada.

Good luck!
 
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway