Episodes

In this bite sized PD, we'll talk about beating the overwhelm including: where it's coming from resources to help you move forward action steps to take Resources mentioned include: 1. https://teachsmartwithme.com/stop-the-ove...

This summer, I want you to focus on letting it be the summer that YOU need. Make no plans, make plans for fun, and then make plans for relevant professional development. We'll talk about all of this in this episode. …

While wrapping up the school year, there’s a lot of things to check off of your to do list. It can feel overwhelming while thinking about what you need to get done before heading out for summer. In this episode, …

Technology is something we all use in our every day lives. There are so many different ways to use technology for yourself and your students. It can be confusing knowing what to use and how to use it. That's the …

We're creative people, and in fact, we were created to be creative. Part of reaching into that creativity is by using musical play. There are two different types of musical play, behavioral and then playful type of play. Stud...

Today, we're celebrating episode 200! I honestly can't believe that we're this far into the podcast friend. On this episode, you'll hear Jessica Grant interview me. She prepared questions, without me knowing what she was goin...

Teaching isn't always going to be sunshine and rainbows. In fact, it's easy to get caught up in what I call the negative thought pattern swirl. Things can be straight up hard and it can cause you to feel the …

Maybe you're teaching, but you want to dive into being an entrepreneur as well. This episode with Bree Noble and Katie Zaccardi goes into how you can do that successfully, while being yourself and getting past any mindset iss...

On a day you played one of your classes favorite songs, did you see their faces light up with excitement? Have you ever stopped to think about why? Some kids don’t associate the music they learn in school with what …

Maybe you want to make extra money as a teacher, but you don’t know where to start. There are truly so many awesome ideas available, and the first place to start is to figure out what aligns with you. Then, …

This episode goes deep into mental health in both your teaching and home life. Mental health isn't something to take lightly, and through Lauren's story, our goal is that you know you're not alone and are able to take the …

It's tough to teach music without enough instruments. But, it's not impossible. I started my elementary music teaching career with one broken hand drum. That was it. Although it was frustrating at times wanting to use a class...

This episode is all about helping students find a sense of belonging in the music room. Once teachers develop an empathy based approach with your students, you'll notice it leads to connection, which therefore leads to belong...

Assessment in elementary music is something that can be a bit tricky. Unlike a general classroom where formative assessments are done all day long in reading and math, a lot of what happens in elementary music is performance ...

One day, you might find yourself at a school where you're responsible for building the music program from the ground up. This was my exact situation, and is also the story of my guest Natassia Perrine. In this episode, she …

It’s easy to feel stressed and overwhelmed as you’re juggling everything in your teaching and home life. It’s a lot to handle and might feel like you need to clone yourself somedays to get everything done. I get it, and …

Bringing literacy into the music room is so important. But, sometimes music teachers can feel stuck in knowing how exactly to do this. That's the reason I brought Vicky Weber on the podcast. She's not only a children's boo...

What exactly does it mean to trust your intuition when it comes to teaching music? It means that a lot of the times, you already know what you need to do when it comes to teaching a lesson, classroom management …

Bringing guest teaching artists into your music classroom might be something you've thought about doing before, but you're just not sure where to start or how to do it. I brought Allison Russo on the podcast to talk about wh...

In a 45 minute class period, it's easy to feel stuck when trying to figure out what to do with your students throughout the class time. Of course, there are a lot of factors to consider including if you see …

Teaching on a cart is something many music teachers find themselves doing at one point in their career. There are a lot of questions surrounding on a cart teaching and I'm so excited to have Amy Walworth on the podcast …

Every year, I do a recap episode to reflect back on the episodes recorded and to share some of my favorite moments. 2021 was a fantastic year for the podcast and I'm so excited to keep this show going and …

What is a mission statement and why do you need one as a music teacher? When you do goal setting and really strive to reach those goals, it’s what keeps you motivated to keep going. Maybe it’s been a while …

In this episode, I want to give you 5 steps that will help you to find renewal before you head back to school after Winter break. Let go of unrealistic expectations put on you by others or yourself Process through …