#Music Teacher Summer
School’s out!
Ahhh, summer. It’s that magical time of year! Time to rest, relax and recharge–for the students AND for the teachers!
I always start summer with a big list of things I want to get done. I know, I know–probably not the MOST relaxing thing you can think of (Woo-hoo! Chores!) Between concerts, recruiting, assemblies, recitals, musicals, and just the month of May in general (OMG) “music teacher” comes in first for nine months of the year and “life” comes in second. That is, until summer. Those eleven weeks are all about LIFE away from school. Well, in theory.
The first few weeks of summer I’m taking back control over my house–scheduling handymen, cleaning carpets, fixing broken things, finding lost things, etc. Stuff of summer dreams, am I right? In between all that excitement I like to mix it up by making sure I have a doctor appointment scheduled almost every day in June. I wish I was kidding. 🤣Just like things in the house had to wait until summer to get fixed, so does my body. I may be setting a new record for June doctor appointments this year–so far I’ve been to…wait a minue. We just met. You probably don’t need a detailed medical history. But between the pinched nerves I’ve been playing piano with all year, general maintenance check ups and my kids’ well-visits, most of my down time is spent in waiting rooms in June.
I have a feeling a lot of teachers can relate. You probably also understand how quickly that teacher to-do list starts creeping back into your brain. I play in a summer band in a nearby town each year. We have eight concerts in June and July that serve as my “back to school countdown.” As the weeks go by and the concert programs are put away, I notice my teacher brain start to itch from all those projects at school that I put off until summer. “I still need to clean the storage room, re-laminate my manipulatives, find a new storage solution for my boomwhackers…” Tick tock!
I’m really excited about my little corner of Music ConstructED! I’m hoping I can load it up with resources to help you check some things off your teacher “to-do” list so you can enjoy the rest of your summer. Hopefully we can have a little fun along the way! After 24 years of teaching general music I’ve got all kinds of ideas for you. I can help you figure out the right way–and the wrong way–to cross things off your list for next year.
Blog Post Contributor: Britt Crowe