Music Education Blog Carnival : March 2016

Hooray for March!!! March is my favorite month of the year for a few reasons: my birthday is this month, it's Music in Our Schools Month, and spring break often falls in this month, as well! And this month, I have something else to be excited about:

The Music Education Blog Carnival!

Yes, that's right, the blog carnival that you remember from past years is BACK and I am now running it from right here on my blog. Many thanks to the kind Justine Dolorfino for allowing me to take over as the new administrator. I decided to kick off the relaunch by hosting this month myself. If you want to host next month (or any upcoming month, for that matter) visit the Blog Carnival tab at the top of this page.

Here are a few of the best links I've rounded up for this month:

• Classroom Organization by David Row at Make Moments Matter
  Every time I read David's blog, I feel like my organizational skills are grossly inadequate. Tape circle on the ceiling? Brilliant! And I am going to try his trick about moving the projector in my classroom TOMORROW!
• Don't let "that kid" take the joy out of teaching by Lindsay's Kodaly Inspired Classroom
  Sometimes it seems like my classroom is full of "those kids." I have the type of personality to fixate on the things going wrong in my class instead of the things that are going right. Lindsay beautifully reminds us that we have the power to control how we react to that kid and how it can change our entire outlook.
• Some Love Coffee by Jennifer at The Yellow Brick Road
  Full disclosure: My first reaction when reading this blog post was the awesome kitty in her mockup photo. But after moving on past the feline, I read a wonderfully thorough lesson plan using a song that I'd never heard before! I love how Jennifer includes printables, teaching strategies, and lesson plan templates every time she posts about a new song. It's got everything you need to teach the song right now.
• Teddy Bear Time! by Christine at Elementary Etudes
  Can you say adorable? I have used beat buddies with my kinder kiddos before but I never thought about building a whole unit around teddy bears. She includes helpful tips for acquiring and storing the bears and then lists a whole host of activities that your students will absolutely love.
• Mallet Wrapping by Music With Mrs. Dennis
  I consider myself pretty confident with crafts, but I'd never even considered wrapping my own mallets. This post makes it look so easy! And those rainbow mallets? What a superb incentive! 

I hope you enjoyed this month's installment of the Music Education Blog Carnival!

Remember: if you want to host, please check out the details here.