Miss V's Classroom Music Playlist!

Hey everyone!  Yesterday I uploaded a photo on my Instagram that got LOTS of requests for a blog post, so by demand of my audience, here it is!

In February 2015, I attended an amazing workshop given by two wonderful ladies in charge of the Special Education department in my school district.  I learned so many new tips and tricks to bring back to my classroom and implement right away!  One AWESOME freebie they handed out was a CD loaded with music to play when the students arrive to the classroom in the morning and one for when you are packing up to go home.  Let me tell you, this CD saved my sanity!

We have breakfast in the classroom daily, so it takes a good 15-20 minutes for the kids to unpack their belongings and eat.  Before I started playing music in the AM, some kiddos would lethargically go through the motions of their morning routine.  Others would come in talking a mile a minute and take F O R E V E R to unpack and get settled.  That all changed when I started playing my "Good Morning" music.

I didn't start this music routine until mid-February.  I remember the first day I played it, a few of the kids reactions were priceless.  One student said "Are we having a celebration today?".  Another whispered, "Miss V forgot to turn off her music before we got here!"  I explained to them that we would listen to a few songs every morning while we unpacked and ate breakfast so our day can start happy and cheerful. One kiddo replied "This is a nice song Ms. V! It sounds happy so it makes me happy!" This is one of the many reasons I love teaching kindergarten. :-)  

After a few weeks, I would say the kids knew the songs pretty well.  That is when I would use the songs as cues as to when they should start cleaning up their breakfast.  After a month, I would cue them at the beginning of a song as a warning that when the song was over, they had to be cleaned up and seated at their desk in the listening position.  By the time April rolled around, I would hear the kiddos say "the song just started, you better start cleaning up!" before I even gave them the cue. Incredible! The "Good Morning" playlist is listed below:

My other favorite part: by June, a lot of the kids knew the words to the songs.  I LOVE that they sing along to these amazing oldies!

Here is my "See Ya Later" playlist, which I play when we are packing up to go home:

Fun, right? 

I scored this CD at a local thift shop for $1.49! I LOVE THE BEATLES!

CLICK HERE to purchase it on Amazon.  They have an MP3 version you can download directly to your computer.

This year I will be also be mixing in some other music that I believe will be great for morning exercises! I know I need a good stretch before I begin the day sometimes. Especially if didn't sleep well the night before.  I know you're nodding your head in agreement right now. This can be fun to incorporate during your morning routine.

CLICK HERE to buy Good Morning Exercises for Kids on Amazon.com

CLICK HERE to buy Greg & Steve: We All Live Together Vol. 1 on Amazon.com  My favorite song from Greg & Steve is Loop D'Loo. My nephew laughs hysterically whenever he hears it! :-)

I hope you found this helpful!  Thanks for stopping by my friends. As always, questions and comments are welcomed.  Warm fuzzies make my heart SING! See you later, alligators!

Best wishes & kisses,

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Monday Made It! Teacher Calendar

Hey everyone!  I've missed you!  I've been so bad for neglecting my blog for so long, but I've honestly been so. darn. busy!  The end of the school year was INSANE, then I had to prep and pack for Vegas, and then get back on East Coast time and grad school class.  OY!  Glad I'm back now!

I'm linking up with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics today for another Monday Made It!

Let me rewind for a quick second.  I attended the SDE I Teach K! Conference while in Vegas and met a whole bunch of my favorite teacher bloggers/TpTers/Instagram friends! It was great to finally meet them all IRL (In Real Life).  At The Primary Pack meet-up, I met the sweet and talented Erika from Reyes Remarkable Rants.

I instantly connected with Erika, naturally, because we have awesome names! After talking for a bit, I discovered that Erika is a TpT Author and makes the most AMAZING teacher planners!  She even brought one with her to show as a sample.  Smart move Erika!  I fell in LOVE with it and asked her if she had a rainbow colored planner in her Teachers Pay Teachers store.  Sadly, she did not, but she was absolutly willing to create one just for me!  EEEEK!  You see, my classroom theme this year is rainbows and I really wanted a matching planner to go with my theme.  

When I downloaded the planner, to my surprise it was almost 179 pages long (and editable)!  I decided to just print out the monthly planner for now, and print out the teacher planner when BTS time gets closer.  I don't go back until September 8th, so I have some time.  Once I printed everything out, I got it bound at Staples for $3.99. SWEET DEAL. 

Here is what my monthly planner looks like:

I decided to go with this inspirational poster from The 3am Teacher as my cover. This will be a nice little reminder for me, for those days when I'm feeling uninspired.  Here is the link to her Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-3am-Teacher.  

I decided to print the birthday pages on one sheet.  Quick and easy in case I forget any birthdays.  I plan on writing the birthdays of my students and co-workers.  I don't want to miss any opportunity to throw a birthday breakfast for any of my grade level colleagues!

Look at the adorable and colorful dots! [Insert hearts for eyes smiley face emoji here] 

 Every month also included an inspirational quote, which I really liked.  So clever Erika!

A class list page, for those days the internet is down and I need to send a list of names to whomever requests it.  It's always good to be prepared if technology decides to take the day off. I know we've had a few of those days at work!

The Year-at-a-Glance is probably my favorite!  This will definitely help me when I'm lesson planning and keeping on track with curriculum pacing.

Thanks so much for making me this amazing planner Erika!  I'm in love with it!  Can't wait to download the teacher planner part and get that binder together next month.  If you like what you see, head over to her Teachers Pay Teachers store and download it there! https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Reyes-Remarkable-Rants

On a side note, I've jumped on the Periscope bandwagon and have been making live broadcasts about all things kindergarten, teacher, and sometimes life related!  See the photo below for my Periscope user handle and other ways to follow me on social media! :-)

Thanks for reading!  Until next week my friends!

Best wishes & kisses,

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