This is the time of year we set goals, targets, etc. Not only do we set goals for our students, but we set them for ourselves as well. Here are some professional goals that you might want to make one of yours this year.

More student praise

If you aren’t great at offering praise to students, or constantly feel like you are using negative, language, make it a goal to try to give them more positive feedback. Positive feedback even for small things can be a great way to let the students know you see them. Even better when you can give this to the student that doesn’t always hear great things about themselves. Can’t do it for behavior? Try praise for their work, for helping a friend, or even small wins on behavior. 3 minutes of sitting in their seat when they struggle with 2? Let them know you noticed. It can be hard for those kids to feel the love and that might make their day.

Send a quick note home with these FREE, editable student praise notes home.

Contact home more often

While we’re on the topic of student praise, contacting home doesn’t have to be for negative reasons. This is for anything. A good report, a check in how student(s) is/are doing, and even celebrating a win. I know it sounds daunting to check in with parents when you have 500+ students but think about it this way. You have 500 students that you have for SIX years in a traditional K-5 school. If you check in with those parents even one time a year to talk about their student, think about how much of an impact that will have on your classroom, the relationship with those families, and the way parents treat you. Reaching out opens the door for them to communicate things to you when there is something going on as well!

More creative moments

This is a hard one for some of us. So much of building our classroom is getting control, so it can be hard to let go of it. Allow yourself to step back, let students have creative control, creative moments, and be able to create their own music. Not only is this the best way they can prove their knowledge, but it allows you to guide their creativity in a way that allows them to truly express themselves.

Involve parents in your program

This is an AMAZING professional goal. Get the parents on your side. Let them see what goes on in your classroom. If you do an informance, have a monthly newsletter/email, or ask for volunteers, readers, even GAME players! If you have games that need partners, why not ask for a parent volunteer for a day to be a parter. They can change around and not only be another set of eyes, a way for you to step out and watch that class, observe, and assess. It’s always fun when we get to step in and play, but sometimes being able to step out is a good thing!
Another great way to involve parents is to have them do some help in the classroom! Check out this post to get some ideas on how to use a parent volunteer in the music room.

Take steps to protect your health

This IS a professional goal. I’m not going to preach it. If you need this one, do it.

I hope this has been helpful!