Happy Official Summer!! I thought this would be a great time to share three things that I’m currently learning from, using and loving.

(Full disclosure: Some affiliate links)

1. This Facebook Group

With the current state of things, if you haven’t taken a look at literature you use for your kids, you really should. I don’t want anything negative to be associated with my class. I don’t push kids who aren’t comfortable to sing alone, I don’t make kids hold hands with someone they are uncomfortable with, so I’m not using literature that I know a kid could go home, sing and then find out that it has racists roots. I’d be even more horrified if a kid felt hurt because of music I used in my class. So what if I have less songs for tika tika? Adapt, find a new song, make one up, or find a new way to teach the concept. There isn’t someone over my shoulder saying I HAVE TO USE THIS SONG otherwise my kids won’t ever learn that rhythm/solfege syllable….
Either way, I think it’s really important that we all take a look at what we are using with our kids and let some songs go. Take a peek at this Facebook group, Decolonizing the Music Room, for some ideas of where to start and what songs to let fall away.

2. This External HardDrive

With all the digital learning things right now, I felt like talking about this would be appropriate!  In addition to all my school stuff, pictures, etc, I keep all my originals from TpT products, and clip art backed up on this. I’ve always been panicky about losing something. (Even though I use iCloud, Dropbox and Drive as well for different things…) I love this external hard drive because it keeps everything in one place and I know I have an extra back up of the things most important to me. This one is a whopping 2 TB (and you can even get bigger ones!)
Teacher Tip: If you are traveling this year to rooms where there is a stationary board or computer, this is a great thing to fill up with games, music, etc and have with you in case of an emergency!

3. This Book

I love this book. I’m half Filipino, and I’ve been spending some time since being at home exploring Filipino culture a little more. My grandparents spoke different dialects, never visited home after my grandfather married my grandmother after the war, and a lot of the Filipino culture was not passed down. In this book, it’s Filipino main character doesn’t like her name or how she looks, and she doesn’t  even want to audition for Glee Club. In the end, she ends up in the limelight. This book is perfect for music class! It also deals with cultural and socio-economic differences.  Pan de Sal Saves the Day is a book that definitely should be in your library! Bonus; It is a Bilingual book so it comes in English and Tagalog.

Those are my 3 favs for June, and I hope you enjoy them!

I’m also super honored to mention that I’ve been included in the top 100 blogs for music ed!