The First 3 Years Teaching Music

I was reading a very good article in the February 2010 edition of Teaching Music magazine which is a publication of the MENC organization called “Advice for the First 3 Years.” It offered suggestions for what beginning music teachers can do to “gird themselves for challenges of the profession.” I think this is true for both the private music educator and the public music teacher. With Kindermusik, the first three years are also the most challenging. During this time, new teachers are still learning the curriculum and how to make magic in the classroom. They are communicating with the children, their parents or caregivers, the Partnership of Kindermusik Educators, and the home office. They haven’t yet developed personal experience to draw from in times of difficulty. Our experience, like the article, is that if the educator can come through these first 3 years with positive feelings about the experience, their achievements, etc., they will most likely remain in the profession for a while. The veteran educators in the article had this advice:

• Isolation is a big issue in year one for the new teacher. Hold on to the community of people that you trained with and don’t let them go. Post blogs, start a FaceBook page, make cell phone calls, whatever works best. Make intentional efforts to stay connected.
• Classroom Management can also be a major concern. Remember, sometimes it is not the children that need the fix, but the teacher. Have someone come in and observe your classes to provide open, honest and direct feedback.
• Be sure to be student focused. The child should be first.
• Find out what you don’t know and go learn more; be a lifelong learner.
• Remember who you were at your student’s ages.
• A lot can be learned by trial and error.
• Mentoring is extremely important. Accept help that is provided.
• Pride should not get in the way. Be willing and comfortable to ask questions. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness.
• Focus energy on making a difference where you can.
• Be sure there is a mechanism in place to help you examine, reflect, and grow in your teaching practices that is completely separate from a formal evaluation.

With Kindermusik, we support new educators every step of the way. The experience begins with a comprehensive training program, including four practice teaching classes to gain comfort and experience before the course is even completed. During the online experience, she will learn the philosophy, pedagogy, curriculum and business aspects of establishing and running a successful Kindermusik program. The learning group consists of 15 to 20 other potential teachers from all over the world and is facilitated by a mentor who has successfully run a Kindermusik program for many years. This environment provides both peer-to-peer and mentor-to-peer learning. In fact, the mentor will partner with her as a business coach through the first teaching semester providing success steps throughout. We have an extensive library of pre-recorded webinars that will provide on-going professional development from both the masterful teaching perspective and to help build a successful program. In addition, we make marketing and enrollment easy with tools through our class scheduler and online enrollment system.

The first 3 years don't have to be difficult at all. Start today on your journey to complete your life's best work with Kindermusik.

Posted by: Terry P. Kilgo, Recruiting Manager

Bubbles, Butterflies, and Paper Monkeys

Inspire a child's love of learning in only five lessons this summer, teaching Kindermusik Adventures.

As you know, research proves that early integration of music into the daily routine means improving a child's ability to think, create, reason, and express. Adventures' summer camps provide an opportunity to continue their love of learning in an environment that is both fun and educational, during a time when most are on vacation for a 2-3 month period.

In a Kindermusik summer camp, they blow music bubbles, play parachute, and kite games. Make yard art from a glue jar. Sing. Say hello in 5 languages when they visit a new country each lesson: Germany, Japan, England, Mexico, and the continent of Africa. All these great summer camp activities -- the music, stories, and crafts -- are designed to nurture a child's natural curiosity, one that eventually draws them toward learning new words, new numbers, new cultures, and new big ideas.

Earn some additional income this summer by teaching a few 5-day summer camps. Imagine, offering only 4 classes with 8 children each, over a 2-week period, and earning as much as $2,500.

(This is a great opportunity for members of MTNA, MENC and NAEYC.)

School Teachers Needed

As a preschool, kindergarten, or elementary school teacher, you play a vital role in the development of children. What they learn and experience during their early years, shapes their views of themselves and the world. It also affects their success or failure in school, work, and their personal lives. As you know, preschool children learn primarily through play and interactive activities. You are responsible for introducing them to math, language, science, and social studies, and successfully do so with story telling, rhyming games, music, and art, as well as other basic teaching tools.

Well, that's Kindermusik! We are the world's leader in using music and movement to foster whole child development (social, emotional, language, physical, and cognitive) and instill a lifetime love of learning in children world-wide, ages newborn to 7.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, job availability is only expected to increase about 12% between 2006 and 2016 for public school teachers. Most public school teachers must be licensed, which typically requires a bachelor's degree and completion of an extensive approved teacher education program.

With Kindermusik, you can begin fulfilling your life's best work today. All you need to do is complete our Fundamentals of Kindermusik training course. It is all done online from the comfort of your own home in 8-10 weeks. Just in time to earn summer income.

And... you get to be the boss! Set your own schedule, determine your own tuition, and tailor your program around the needs and responsibilities of your own family.

We support you with lead distribution, class scheduling on our international website, E-Z online enrollment for your families, a customized path for your business' success, and free professional development and on-going training.

Call us today to get started on your journey to teach!

(This is a great opportunity for members of MTNA, MENC and NAEYC.)

by Terry Kilgo
Recruiting Manager
(using report from the U.S. Department of Labor)