Make 'em Smile: Five Steps to a Happy Music Room

Bring joy to your music room with these five steps.

We all know that one teacher who just can’t wait to be in their classroom. It seems they bounce out of bed with unnatural peppiness and a song on their lips. Others barely drag themselves out from under their cozy comforters to put on real pants and face the day.

Joyful Spaces and Happy Faces

While you work to focus on your students, remember to invest in yourself and make your music room joyful. This simple step will have a positive impact on everyone who enters, starting with you!

Whether the idea of heading to work brings you joy -- or makes you want to crawl back in bed -- the fact remains you spend a lot of time in your classroom. Not everything is in your control when it comes to where you teach students. You might not have a large enough classroom or even a dedicated space. Perhaps Covid-19 protocol has made your classroom mobile. Conditions change, but consistency starts with your preparation.

Here are five ways you can bring joy to your teaching space.

1. Kick out the Clutter

Here is a secret about me: I hate cleaning. I can tolerate a ton of mess before I break down and grab the broom. My desk always has a pile (or eight) of stuff I just don’t know what to do with...and the floor does, too. This has only gotten worse with teaching on a cart. Things don’t get put away because I am so rarely in my classroom.

Decluttering has helped me defeat my natural inclination toward squalor. If there is less junk, there is less mess to contend with. My room gets a purging at the beginning and end of each semester. I hate doing it, but I know it will help my mental health. Eliminating the stuff I don’t need is not always easy, but it leaves me feeling relaxed and renewed.

My messy desk during a busy school week.

If you can’t bring yourself to tackle the whole thing, try these small steps:

• Straighten only the area where you spend the most time

• Pick up 5 things each afternoon and decide if they should stay or go

• Put on your favorite pick me up song and straighten until it is over

• Hide the squalor until you have the time/desire/help to do the whole job (this one is my favorite)

Kick out the clutter and welcome in some peace of mind. Ah.

2. Let your Freak Flag Fly

Your classroom should be filled with things you love and make you happy...ahem...appropriate things, of course. C’mon, you weirdos.

This is your space! Make it personal!

Think about where you stand or sit while teaching and make sure you can see something joyful. Trust me...when that kindergartener starts the potty parade you will need a visual pickup. Serenity now!

Think about when you feel most joyful and try to recreate that mood. Laughing is my FAVORITE, so I fill my room with bits and bobs that bring a smile to my face. If your joyful place is a weekend day on the beach, use colors and images that remind you of those relaxing trips.

Students respond to authenticity. Show your true colors!

3. Check it Off

One of the great (sort of) things about me is that I have some...issues...staying focused. Teaching music is the perfect job for me because when I get bored, there is always something around I can hit and be obnoxious with. Being a distractible weirdo actually makes my classes more fun!

However, I have trouble preparing my materials for the day. Being unprepared really sets off my anxiety, so being prepared is vital to my happiness at work.

For me a checklist is the answer! I have a short checklist taped to my desk with tasks for mornings, afternoons, and Fridays. These are not the only things I do, but they’re the things I must get done to stay happy.

Morning

• Drink Water

• Check Lessons

• Check Schedule

• Journal

• Set Goals

Afternoon

• Follow up on sanitization tasks

• Follow up on behavior issues

• Straighten Area

• Check Carts

Fridays

• Charge Electronics

• Prep Carts for Monday

Using a checklist has taken away the worry that I won’t be prepared for the day!

4. Place of Grace

Sometimes the stress that comes with teaching can be overwhelming. Make your classroom a place of grace. Give yourself permission to let go of the disappointments of the day and move on.

Of course, this isn’t always easy. The term “self-care” is thrown around as a cure-all, but there are days when all the bubble baths in the world aren’t going to make me forget how mean that fourth grader was to their classmates. And I hate taking baths.

My goal has been to have the problems that belong to school stay at school. While I am not always successful, most days I am able to leave work stress at work by taking these steps:

• Acknowledge that I am feeling stressed.

This is a problem for me because I don’t always realize that I am bothered by things. Identifying my stress and owning it is an important step toward resolving the issue.

• Express the problem.

Why am I stressed? Pinpointing the problem is not always easy (emotions are tricky), but it is vital. Since I am a verbal processor, I run to a friend and tell them what happened. And that action helps me...

• Put it in perspective.

Not every problem is a big problem. Sometimes my reactions to events are oversized. If I am still angry that a second-grade girl asked to go to the bathroom to get out of singing one of our songs, then I probably have PMS and need to go eat some ice cream. But if the problem is something bigger and deserves more attention, I know I need to take more steps. I can schedule an appointment with administration or make that phone call to CPS. Action helps when dealing with stressors.

Show yourself some love and spend the time you need addressing your mental health.

5. Set a Goal

Like a lot of you, the way I teach has been changed by Covid-19. This year I am pushing into classrooms on a cart, and I gotta say, it has been fun!

(Wait. I don’t want to say that too loud in case someone decides I don’t need my classroom back.)

But I still get scattered when doing so much. Setting a daily goal has helped. This is not something related to learning objectives or campus plans. This goal is just for me. I write the goal on a post-it and stick it on my laptop so that I see it first thing before I start each class.

On good days the goal is about being the best I can be. “Thrive!” “Inspire!”

On days where I struggled just to get dressed that morning, I have more modest goals. “Breathe.” “Stay in the Moment.”

This goal is just for you, so be sure to give yourself what you need.

While you work to focus on your students, remember to invest in yourself and make your music room joyful. This simple step will have a positive impact on everyone who enters, starting with you!