How to Have a Successful First Day of School in Music Class

The first day of school is exciting for teachers and students everywhere.  Along with the excitement also comes nerves.  If the first day of school (or even the first week) goes smoothly, it really does set the pace for the rest of the year  If you’ve been wondering how to have a successful first day of school in elementary music, this blog post will give you some tips that have worked great for me.

Make your students feel welcome

As the music teacher, you more than likely will see every child in your school.  Some of the students will already know you and some of them are new to your school.  You won’t see them as often as their homeroom teacher (obviously), so making each child feel welcome from the very first day is so important.

How can you make them feel welcome?  These are my favorite ways…

Smile!

If your students see you smiling, they will feel comfortable coming into your classroom door. As Buddy the Elf says “smiling’s my favorite.”

Welcome them

Tell them “hi”, “it’s so good to see you”, or any other welcoming phrase.

Show some affection

Give a high five, a side hug, or a fist bump.  Seriously, this sounds like such a simple thing, yet it is so effective.

Be visible

Meet the students at the door.  When your students, and the other teachers for that matter, see you standing at the door, it shows them you’re ready for them to come in.

Go over procedures and expectations

This is a topic that makes all teachers give a resounding “ugh” all at the same time.  Going over procedures is just about as much fun as mopping the kitchen floor (unless that’s your jam).

Setting your expectations with your students right away is so important though.  Although it isn’t something any teacher enjoys doing, it doesn’t have to be boring and tedious.

Go over the rules, but do it as you do an activity.  For example, if you do a folk dance, play instruments, or sing a song the first day of school, go over the procedures as you do the activity.  Or, you can simply go over the procedures the first 10 minutes of class, then jump right into teaching music.  For my favorite 3 ways to practice procedures, read this.

While going over your expectations, you’ll also go over the negative and positive consequences that you have in place.  Classroom management is so important, but it can be frustrating if you don’t know where to start.  These strategies have worked great for me.  Students need to know what you expect of them from the very first day, so the rest of the year will go so much smoother.

 

Do “get to know you” activities

Even though a lot of the kids already know each other, some of the students are new, and all the students are in a new class. So everyone needs to be comfortable being in a class together and bonding.

One of my favorite activities to do at the beginning of the year is “Say Your Name”.  Basically, everyone sits in a circle and while patting the steady beat says, “Say your name and when you do, we will say it back to you.”  Then, the whole class hears the child say their name and echos them.  After doing this four students in a row, the whole activity starts over.

Other get to know you activities can be any icebreaker games, a fun game of freeze dance, welcome songs, or a fun folk dance to get students comfortable with one another.   If you some recommended materials and resources to help you find great ideas, check out this blog post.

 

What are ways you ensure you have a great first day?  I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below or share your thoughts on social media as you share this post.   

Also, I’d love for you to share this post or any of the resources on my website with a friend or colleague who you know NEEDS to see it.

P.S.  Are you feeling frustrated or stuck as an elementary music teacher?  Check out these free resources to help you teach elementary music with confidence!

Also…I wrote a book called “Make A Note: What You Really Need To Know About Teaching Elementary Music” to help music teachers move forward in your teaching career.  You can get your copy here.