Need some cute Easter Basket ideas?
Here's some things I am going to add to my baby girl's -- both musical and non-musical, for now and for when she's a little older! Click on the photo to take you to where I got it. :)
1) Cute outfits! She's growing WAY faster than I anticipated, so we're buying clothes like crazy around here to finish winter and start spring in bigger sizes than I expected. :P
2) Books! Can never have enough books, especially that share Truth.
3) Conversation cards -- for older kids, about the things that matter most.
4) Musical instruments! Egg shakers are a great musical instrument and perfect for springtime Easter basket theme. :) I also really like ukuleles as an affordable first quality instrument. The brand below is a good starter.
5) Coloring books! There's tons of options out there, here's a great one I love.
There you have it! Some fun Easter Basket options. Check out my "Things I Like" page for more gift ideas.
Spring fever got your choir extra squirrely, lacking focus, or just struggling as we near the end of the year?
I can relate; we've had some antsy and not-our-best rehearsals in my groups lately too.
Thankfully I have some strategies for refocusing and recentering a group as we hit this point in the year to invigorate and inspire everyone to finish strong. I talked about them in this video here, and share them below as well:
1) Play a singing game, take a movement break, or try out a folk dance! These methods work really well for my younger choirs (3rd-7th ages) as they get more physically antsy in the spring as the weather gets nicer, and it really helps to refocus us in the middle of a rehearsal. I find that if I can teach them a few of these at the beginning of the year, they are great team building and connecting activities that help students get to know one another, and they are really easy to pull out this time of year as a 5-8 minute break in the middle of rehearsing concert repertoire because they already know how to play/what to do.
2) Keep something motivating or something they are looking forward to as top-of-mind. This could be a concert, event (like taking your students to a sports game to sing the national anthem like I am!), an outing, a tour, or even something like a party they are planning. Remind them that they are working towards that event and how much you are looking forward to seeing them succeed. Take moments during rehearsal to envision together what it will look/feel like to accomplish that, how you all will feel afterwards, and how you want to see it play out. This can really help remind an ensemble why they are here, their collective purpose, and help them look forward to how their hard work will pay off.
3) Re-visit our choirs commitment/values. I wrote about creating these here, and this point in the year is a great time to revisit these if part of your group is struggling to remember the ensemble's goals or why they are all there together.
I hope these tips were helpful. What other ways do you help your choir reset and be inspired this time of year?
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Just as I put my hands down and they stopped singing, they turned to one another and started chatting, distracted and some disruptive. Some were whispering or talking as I was talking to give them the next feedback I had for them.
I will not talk over them. My vocal health matters too much to do that.
I felt discouraged. We'd wasted at least 10 minutes of our 75-minute rehearsal on these interruptions to the flow of a rehearsal, and I was tired. There had also been some typical teenage drama coming out earlier in rehearsal too, and I don't like feeling like a drill sergeant. I would way rather they learn how to self-manage and work with people they don't prefer, as in real life sometimes we do need to interact with people we don't prefer. But that won't just happen by chance.
So I decided to implement one of my favorite choral management techniques: a Choir Commitment that they write, agree to, and are held to.
My 7th-10th grade students did not disappoint, in fact, their wording was much deeper than I could've imagined or chosen myself.
The discussion that I guided as they came up with these guiding principles by which we would function in rehearsal together was the most important part of this commitment. If they don't know what it looks and sounds like for these to play out in a rehearsal space, how can they follow it? Clarity is key.
The word change from Respect to Honor occurred as a girl raised her hand to say, "Respect is something earned. What if someone is acting in a way that doesn't earn our respect? I think we should change the word to Honor. The Bible calls all to 'honor your father and mother.' There are kids in the world who have parents who do things that are not earning of respect, but they are still called by God to honor them. I think we should all honor each other even if someone does or says something that doesn't deserve respect."
"Wow." I agreed as I wrote in the additional edit, others nodding their heads as they thought about what she said.
There was a perfect teaching moment during the writing process too. When I wrote 'mistakes ar OK' on the board, I accidentally left off the "e." One girl, who can sometimes respond in an immature way, raised her hand and politely said, "Umm, Mrs. Orem, I think you made a mistake when you were writing."
"You're right, I did!" as I went to correct it. "Thank you for correcting my mistake in a respectful, kind way. I don't mind you calling out my mistakes or each others' at all, as long as you do it in a way that is honoring to the person who made the mistake. We all can keep learning."
We even had a conversation about changing voices in this context too, since that is a reason some do not give Maximum Effort -- fear of teasing when their voice does something they didn't want. It was SO good, and really shifted the atmosphere of the room from a space where there are things to hide or be embarrassed by to a sense of safety or transparency.
We even had a conversation about changing voices in this context too, since that is a reason some do not give Maximum Effort -- fear of teasing when their voice does something they didn't want. It was SO good, and really shifted the atmosphere of the room from a space where there are things to hide or be embarrassed by to a sense of safety or transparency.
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"Now that you have created this commitment, you can hold me to my word that I will follow it. Do I have your word?"
*Nods of heads, looking around at each other seriously.
"Good. I'm here to develop you musically, of course, but my calling is greater than that. I know I have a responsibility to develop your character and speak into your life spiritually as well. I will hold you to these principles you put up here today. I will do it with ultimate honor and kindness, but I care about each of you too much to allow you to break your commitment on my watch. I am here to help you develop the character to keep your word. Alright, take out 'Praise His Holy Name' from your folder. Let's do this!"
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The most important part of choir rehearsal? It's the little things, the small moments where we get to shape minds and hearts and build character.
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