A while back I got sick of leaving stuff in different places and thought I’d make some digital things to make my life easier. And somehow, it’s been 10 years since I opened Mrs. Stouffer’s Music Room. I can’t believe it. I thought it would be about time for a catch up!
About Me
When I started this store TEN years ago, it was a response to me being in 4 schools, constantly forgetting to bring manipulatives or items from home or another school and needing some sort of consistency between resources I used at different schools. None of them had the same resources (down to things like whiteboards/little personal whiteboards, actual classrooms, things the students had at their disposal). Creating my own resources allowed me to have things with me all the time since I didn’t even have school issued devices and only used my own. I didn’t have a budget anywhere either.
What do you need to know about me?
- I’ve been married 15 years and am a mom and a dog mom.
- I’m from Michigan and am a die-hard Lions fan.
- I’m Kodaly certified, am the president of the Michigan Kodaly Educators, the Midwest 1 Region Rep, the OAKE Conference Marketing Chair, and Chair of the Advocacy and Public Relations Committee.
- I am also the MMEA rep for the Planning Committee of the Michigan Music Conference. I’m a member of the MMEA PD Committee which I’ve chaired in the past.
- I’m heavily committed to professional development for music teachers and spend a ton of time working on these volunteer slots. I also present frequently for both PD and conferences.
- I like cowbells, rick rolls, swimming, and coffee.
My favorite moments from the last 10 years and what I’m proud of.
I have so many but here are a few:
- Helping other music teachers. When I started Mrs. Stouffer’s Music Room, I was in 4 schools across 2 districts and travelled between them. Sometimes I was at more than 1 school a day. I had no budget anywhere, and no room of my own in any building. Knowing that I can help teachers in similar situations with things I’ve created for myself is really important to me.
- Partnering with my friends from The Music Crew. We’ve been working together almost as long and I can truly say they are my good friends. We talk about non-work things. We celebrate each other’s lives. We mourn with each other and support each other through tough stuff. I’m truly grateful for them more than I can say!
- The Ultimate Music Ed Book List. I’m so proud of this. I go sick of post its and pin boards and saved FB posts with book ideas. So I put them in one place. I work on it constantly and have been slowing pulling out categories and things I’ve want to add.
- My COVID project was to explore a different medium for a while and I started drawing stickers. Since then, I’ve opened an Etsy store, drawn some of my own clip art for resources, and found another creative outlet. Drawing stickers has been immensely relaxing for me and has been a great way to tune out when my brain is overwhelmed.
Favorites
Over the last 10 years I’ve made almost 600 resources. It’s SO hard to pick but I said I’d limit myself to 5 favorites:
- Music of the Philippines This one took me forever because I wanted to put in so much but also did it with a baby in the house and I’m so proud of it. As a little half Filipino kid who didn’t have a great connection to that culture growing up, this one helped me build that.
- 32 Weeks of Listening – I did this one in the summer of 2020 but it’s held up. It’s got 196 different examples of musicians and composers to listen to for six grade levels.
- The Kodaly Aspiring Recorder Method – I’m a true believer in teaching students notation/reading/solfege in a way that is useable and not just regurgitation. It’s the same for recorder. After seeing what happened to my band kids (that I had for recorder) and how concept retention was low, I changed the way I teach to use the language they knew before I introduced letters.
- Mt. Solfege – I was following the Kodaly method before I took levels and I had never learned a solfege street story but wanted to incorporate one. I wrote this one for some of my students as they progressed through concepts. The first class to really use it just graduated high school (OMG). I called it Mt. Solfege as a nod to my college town, Mt. Pleasant (which is actually pretty darn flat). Fire Up Chips!
- Folk Dance Formation Posters – I don’t know what possessed me to draw noses on circles on the board one day but when I did my world was changed.
What’s next?
I have a ridiculously long list of things I want to do. More resources, explore other “methodologies”, delve more into certain resources, and someday analyze every song I have my hands on and catalog them (I say this knowing this will NEVER happen).
For now, I’ll keep working on that list, keep updating the book list, and hopefully keep giving you more ideas and resources that make your classroom life easier!
I really want to write a kid’s book but have no idea where to start. I have a good idea. It’s just not there yet!
Interview
In preparation for The Music Crew Conference (you can still catch replays in The Music Crew Collaborative on Facebook!), I did an interview with Julia from Jooya Teaching Resources. I thought it would be fun to share it with you this week. Get to know me a little more, find out how I became a music teacher, and a little bit more about what makes me tick. You can catch the entire interview here.
After these 10 years, I want to say thank you. Thanks for reading my posts, purchasing from me, sending kind messages, and supporting my business. I truly appreciate all of you!!
