The Anacrusic Podcast

Aside from the ordering of concepts and skills we teach in our music classrooms, there’s this whole other side of “stuff” that we need to figure out in order to teach our children music effectively. How children learn music best is one of those big, “can of worms” types of questions that can easily leave you wondering even more than that first original question.

Today on the podcast, my friend Victoria Boler is back to chat about music teacher philosophy and how we both have discovered that children learn best.

Here’s a little bit about what we talk about in this week’s conversation:

• The importance of music literacy and fluency
• What active music making really means
• Why having multiple pedagogical tools and musical media is so essential to your music classroom.

Links mentioned in today’s episode:

• TAP 103: What is Active Music Making?
• TAP 022: Kodály Inspired Teaching with Brent Gault

If you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag both @victoriaboler and @annemileski on instagram!

Today's episode of The Anacrusic Podcast is sponsored by my FREE guide, The Planning Playbook. Snag your copy here: annemileski.com/playbook

For today's full episode notes, click here. 

To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community 

Kindergarten is one of those very very polarizing topics. It’s either that it’s completely your jam (raise your hand if you’re with me there!) or something that you completely dread. Odds are, the reason it feels either anxiety inducing or the most fun ever is because honestly? Kindergarten music is 100% it’s own animal.

Today on the podcast, I’m back with my friend Victoria Boler to chat about all things Kindergarten.

Here’s a little bit about what we talk about in this week’s conversation:

• What to actually expect in those first weeks of Kindergarten.
• The high energy and quality of teacher demeanor it takes to keep your early childhood music classroom moving forward.
• What the main goals in Kindergarten, whether they are overtly tied to musical concepts or skills, or a more holistic approach to community music making (psst! It’s both!)

If you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag both @victoriaboler and @annemileski on instagram!

Today's episode of The Anacrusic Podcast is sponsored by my FREE guide, The Planning Playbook. Snag your copy here: annemileski.com/playbook

For today's full episode notes, click here. 

To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community 

The first week of school is tricky. Alongside opening routines, we’re also trying to figure out, quite literally, what to do with our kids for the rest of the year. What do they know? What can they demonstrate? And how are we going to continue to make music for the rest of the year?

Well, today on the podcast, you're in luck because we are having our another "Tea with V" episode with Victoria Boler, where you get to listen in on a conversation we had all about pre-assessment

Here's a little bit about what we talk about on this week's episode:

• How to figure out where your kids are in your curricular sequence and what they are ready for next.
• How to actually do the pre-assessment things, and what to do with the information.
• What to do when you don’t have a sequence and what you should be assessing and how to make meaningful next steps.

If you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag both @victoriaboler and @annemileski on instagram!

Today's episode of The Anacrusic Podcast is sponsored by my FREE guide, The Planning Playbook. Snag your copy here: annemileski.com/playbook

For today's full episode notes, click here. 

To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community 

Back to school season is in FULL swing. Whether you've gone back to your classroom or are just prepping to do so, I'm willing to bet that you've been thinking a LOT about rules, procedures, and routines that you'd like to get rocking and rolling this year. Especially when it comes to opening routines.

Well, today on the podcast, you're in luck because we are having our very first "Tea with V" episode with Victoria Boler, where you get to listen in on a conversation we had all about opening routines.

Here's a little bit about what we talk about on this week's episode:

• The 2 main goals you should set for an opening routine
• The role of student choice and improvisation in the opening routine
• Why it's so important to be clear on your lesson's learning target for the day, particularly when it comes to creating an opening routine.

If you loved today's episode, make sure to take a screenshot and tag both @victoriaboler and @annemileski on instagram!

Today's episode of The Anacrusic Podcast is sponsored by my FREE guide, The Planning Playbook. Snag your copy here: annemileski.com/playbook

For today's full episode notes, click here. 

To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community 

Ready to finally streamline and simplify your lesson planning? Sign up for my upcoming FREE workshop here: annemileski.com/workshop

Riddle me this: have you ever had a conversation with another teacher and tried to explain what you really do in your music classroom day in or day out? Or have you ever tried to really use words to describe the types of experiences that you facilitate in your classroom? It's not easy to put into words. It's something that is almost exclusively indescribable, unless you've experienced it yourself.

There's so much that goes into what we do as teacher musicians, and not a whole lot of it is easy. I've been thinking about this a lot. So in this week's episode of The Anacrusic Podcast, we're talking about the 4 hardest things about being a music teacher

Here's some things we're talking about in today's episode:

• the sticking points in your #musicteacherlife
• why remembering why you teach is so important
• how to find out more about how to get passed the tricky parts about being a music teacher

For today's full episode notes, click here. 

To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community 

We’ve already talked about the benefits to using transitions in your music classroom: how it keeps things flowing, provides opportunities for quick assessments, and genuinely just makes everything about your music classroom more intentional and purposeful. But what about the actual stuff, the actual things that you do to make transitions happen in your classroom?

There’s really three big categories of transitions that will help you get your foot in the door when it comes to making transitions happen in your music lesson plans. Today on the podcast, I’m sharing specific examples about how to start using these types of transitions in your classroom today.

Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode…

• The three main types of transitions to use and how to make them successful.
• Why having a solid behavioral objective makes it so much easier to create transitions in your classroom.
• How transitions truly are the secret sauce to everything in your lessons being tied back to your main purpose for that specific class at that specific time.

Ready to finally streamline and simplify your lesson planning? Sign up for my upcoming FREE workshop here: annemileski.com/workshop

For today's full episode notes, click here. 

To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community 

Transitions are one of those things that (1) seems awfully intimidating at the beginning, and (2) turns into an absolutely essential part of your music teaching once you see the magic they can create.

So if you’ve ever wanted to know more about transitions in your music lesson plan and why you should make them a part of your planning process, today’s podcast episode is 100% for you. We aren’t just talking about what transitions are, but how they can help your lesson truly flow.

Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode…

• What transitions actually are
• The 5 different ways transitions can help your music lessons
• The three things you should include in a successful transition.

Ready to finally streamline and simplify your lesson planning? Sign up for my upcoming FREE workshop here: annemileski.com/workshop

For today's full episode notes, click here. 

To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community

In this episode, we’re going to piggyback off of TAP 126 and talk about all things closing routines.. 

Now admittedly, this will be a little bit more freeform than our opening routines and rely completely on how your lesson went and what your kids need from you. But just like the opening routine, we have two big overarching goals that we want to focus on in a closing routine.

Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode…

• The two biggest goals you should have with an closing routine
• How to make assessment a realistic part of your closing routine
• The end of the “tell them” sandwich

For today's full episode notes, click here. 

To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community 

An opening routine is one of those game changers in your music teacher life. It’s one of those not so little things that make a huge difference for both you and your kids and the ultimate flow of your music lesson. If you’ve never thought about how to incorporate a fluid and flexible opening routine, this is the episode for you.

Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode…

• The two biggest goals you should have with an opening routine
• Actual examples I’ve used in my own classroom
• The secret of the “tell them” sandwich

For today's full episode notes, click here. 

To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community 

Way back in the day, I made a pretty embarrassing life choice. I took a picture (2 actually) with literal labels stuck to my head with different pedagogical approaches on them. The second picture just said “music teacher.”

The pictures… definitely not the best choice, but I DO still stand behind the point. Rather than being focused on having the absolute perfect picture of “fill in the bank” style of teaching, I’m much more interested in having and using the tools in my toolbox to teach my children how to be fluent music makers. That’s what today’s episode is all about.

Here’s a few things we discuss on today’s episode…

• Why we should soak up as many pedagogical tools as possible.
• The importance of language when we talk about teaching styles and interpretations.
• Where to look and how to feel inspired as a music educator who is looking for more.

For today's full episode notes, click here. 

To chat with other music teachers and share Ideas and strategies for all things #musicteacherlife, join the Anacrusic Insiders Community here: anacrusic.com/community