10 Relaxing Activities for Teachers on Spring Break

1. 1. Consider indulging in a good book. Whether it’s fiction or professional development, reading can transport you to another world. 
   2. A nature walk can also be refreshing. Disconnect from screens and embrace the sights and sounds around you.
   3. Meditation offers a peaceful way to recharge your mind. Just ten minutes of deep breathing can work wonders.
   4. Try yoga, too; it blends physical activity with relaxation beautifully.
   5. Cooking or baking new recipes provides a creative outlet while nourishing your body at the same time.
   6. Why not pamper yourself with a spa day at home? A long bath or some DIY face masks might just do the trick.
   7. Gardening is another calming option that connects you with nature while allowing for quiet reflection.
   8. Engage in art, whether it’s painting, drawing, or crafting. Creative expression helps release stress effectively.
   9. Last but not least, binge-watch that series you’ve been meaning to catch up on—guilt-free!

10 Productive Activities for Teachers on Spring Break

1. 1. Consider attending an online class or webinar related to your subject area. This is a great way to enhance your skills while connecting with other educators. You could try listening to a podcast too! 
   2. You could also focus on professional development by reading music ed books or articles. There’s always something new to learn that can inspire fresh ideas for the classroom. You might enjoy The Mindful Music Classroom, A Music Teacher’s Gratitude Journal or articles like this one to get inspired.
   3. Exploring new teaching tools and technologies might spark creativity, too. Experimenting with apps or platforms can enrich student engagement when you return. Test out the resources that MakeMusic Cloud has to offer you and your students with a free (no credit card required) 30-day trial. During a school break and away from your typical day-to-day is the perfect time to check it out!
   4. Reading blog posts about teaching experiences allows reflection and growth. Sharing insights helps build community among fellow educators while solidifying your own understanding of various concepts. Explore the MakeMusic Blog—with tons of resources from teachers like you, you may even get inspired to submit your own article for consideration! 
   5. Plan Future Lessons & Units: Use this time to get ahead. Organize your upcoming lesson plans, develop new unit ideas, create resources, or craft a custom Playlist in MakeMusic Cloud with titles that you want to consider for future concerts and events.. Having a solid plan will ease the transition back into the classroom.
      
   6. Organize Your Classroom Resources (Digitally or Physically): Declutter and streamline your teaching materials. Whether it’s organizing digital files, sorting physical resources, or creating a better storage system, a tidy workspace leads to a more efficient teaching environment.
      
   7. Reflect on Student Progress and Assessment Strategies: Analyze student performance data and consider adjustments to your assessment methods. Identify areas where students excelled and areas where they might need additional support.
      
   8. Network with Other Educators (Even Virtually): Connect with colleagues, either locally or online. Share ideas, collaborate on projects, or simply have a conversation about teaching strategies. Join online forums or social media groups for educators.
      
   9. Develop or Revise Your Curriculum: If you have the freedom, use this time to review and update your curriculum. Incorporate new learning standards, adjust pacing, or add relevant and engaging content. Explore The Foundations Series by Brian Balmages for a trove of rich supplemental exercises that reinforce fundamental skills and offer exciting movie soundtrack accompaniments that students love!
   10. Focus on Personal Well-being and Self-Care: While productivity is important, don’t neglect your own needs. Engage in activities that rejuvenate you, such as exercise, hobbies, or spending time with loved ones. A refreshed teacher is a more effective teacher. Educator Adrian Gordon offers wise words on this topic that every music educator needs to hear. 

Self-Care Tips for Teachers on Spring Break

Spring break offers a perfect opportunity for teachers to focus on self-care. Start your day with a mindful morning routine. Enjoy a warm cup of tea or coffee while soaking in the quiet before the day’s activities.

Set aside time for physical activity that you love, whether it’s yoga, hiking, or dancing in your living room. Movement boosts mood and energy levels immensely. Consider indulging in hobbies that ignite passion. Read that book you’ve been wanting to explore or try out new recipes in the kitchen.

Limit screen time and social media exposure during this period. Instead, connect with nature through walks or simply relaxing outdoors.

Don’t forget about relaxation techniques like meditation or deep breathing exercises. These practices can help clear your mind and reduce stress effectively.

Prioritize sleep by creating a cozy bedtime routine—rest is vital for rejuvenation after months of hard work.

Why It’s Essential for Teachers to Take Time Off and Recharge

Taking time off is not just a luxury; it’s a necessity, especially for teachers. The demands of the job can be overwhelming, and burnout is all too common in the profession. Spring break offers an invaluable opportunity to step back and breathe.

When teachers recharge over spring break, they return with renewed energy, creativity, and passion. This revitalization benefits not only themselves but also their students. A teacher who takes care of their own well-being creates a positive classroom environment where learning thrives.

Prioritizing self-care during breaks helps create balance in life. It allows educators to reconnect with their interests outside teaching and foster personal growth. Whether engaging in relaxing or productive activities—or both—these moments away from the classroom are vital for maintaining long-term effectiveness as an educator.

Teachers deserve this time to refresh their minds and spirits so they can continue shaping young lives positively. Embracing spring break as a chance to recharge ensures that when they return, they do so ready to inspire again.

The post 20 Things Teachers Can Do To Recharge Over Spring Break appeared first on MakeMusic.

The new Annotations feature can be accessed in Compose and is intended to be used by students through Assignments in Practice—opening up a new line of communication between teacher and student! Teachers can leave helpful notes, markings, highlights, and even brief recordings for students to access as they practice to further enhance and personalize the music learning experience.   

Mark or emphasize accidentals, key signatures, or anything else you want to make sure students see

Demonstrate appropriate ways to mark music, reinforce accidentals, remind about the key signature, and more. Mark things the same way you would during class time to maintain consistency. The highlighter tool and free drawing tool allow you to mark up the music as you see fit. 

Record a stylistic example for student reference

Make a brief recording to demonstrate style or pitch with your voice or an instrument. Hearing an audible example is so powerful for students as they develop their ears. Since recording time is limited (30 seconds), we recommend recording brief examples that are just 1-2 measures long at a time. 

Record a verbal direction or tip for student reference 

Use the recording tool to record a brief verbal message for students that might include instructions or appropriate reminders. This is your opportunity to add your personal teacher voice to assignments! Do you have a special chant to review key signatures? How about other class-specific reminders? These and more can all be briefly recorded to share with students. You can even record yourself counting a rhythm in your exact counting system. There are so many possibilities here to bring your voice home to your students while they practice. 

Leave quick reminders to students about concepts you have been focusing on in class

Bring another dimension of your classroom to students while they practice by adding written notes of reminders in the same way they would be presented in your classroom. Do you define staccato notes as “bouncy” or have an inside joke with your class about “hippo style vs. light feather style”? Written annotations are the perfect place to make a call to these very relatable reminders for your students! You can leave a text comment that viewers must click on to reveal or include the text directly on the page with notation. 

More Annotations Tips

• At this time, Annotations are only visible to students who have been assigned your piece from Compose; simply opening in Practice from Compose will not display any Annotations. 
• Easily resize or reposition any Annotations by clicking and dragging. 
• Customize the font, colors, and more on your Annotations with the tool palette.  
• The Annotations tool palette has its own “undo” and “redo” buttons, separate from the Compose menu items found in the Edit menu. 
• Entering in Annotations while viewing a specific part (rather than the full score) will ensure that the placement in the music is accurate and that students see the correct annotations for their part. 

Get more details about how to use the new Annotations feature in this knowledge base article. 

The post Take Your Music Instruction to the Next Level with Annotations on MakeMusic Cloud appeared first on MakeMusic.

We’re kicking off 2025 with an exciting collection of new repertoire to inspire your practice and performances. This month, our library has grown with new interactive music for concert band, orchestra, and percussion, plus popular and film favorites.

Concert band directors will find captivating works by Andrew Boysen, Randall D. Standridge, Jorge L. Vargas, and more. For orchestras, the new additions include pieces by Brian Balmages, Lauren Bernofsky, Carrie Lane Gruselle, and more—perfect for bringing energy and variety to your programs.

Essential percussion exercises build lasting foundations with rudiments, stickings, dynamics, and scales found in Five Minute Drill by Eric Rath and Ralph Everett Hicks.

We’ve also expanded our popular and film music collection with standout tracks from The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Sabrina Carpenter, ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, and Luke Combs. These selections are sure to resonate with students and audiences alike.

Whether you’re a teacher looking for exciting material to inspire your students or a student eager to explore new repertoire, MakeMusic Cloud has something fresh to offer. Start exploring today and make 2025 your most musical year yet!

Click to view this month’s new interactive repertoire

MakeMusic Cloud is home to the largest interactive and digital sheet music libraries available, with tens of thousands of titles spanning every instrument, ensemble type, skill level, and genre. Each subscription provides access to every title in our unrivaled repertoire library of music from more than 130 different publishers. Start your 30-day free trial.

The post January 2025 Repertoire Update appeared first on MakeMusic.

As we close out 2024, we’re thrilled to share this month’s updates to the MakeMusic Cloud catalog. With 73 interactive tracks added, there’s plenty of fresh material to inspire your practice sessions and performances. Take a look at the highlights below, and don’t forget to check back in 2025 for even more exciting new repertoire!

Performance Music

This month, we’ve added a fantastic selection of concert band and orchestra works to help you bring something fresh and vibrant to your next performance:

• Concert Band: Explore powerful and engaging pieces by Alexandre Carlin, Brian Monroe, Adrian B. Sims, and many others.
• Orchestra: Discover exciting new works by composers such as Amy Barlowe, Heather Hoefle, R. Scott Whittington, and more, including works for string and full orchestras of all levels.

Popular Music

Our library of popular music continues to grow, featuring tracks from pop, film, and TV that everyone will recognize and love. New additions this month include music by Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Gaga, Laufey, and selections from The Penguin and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. There’s something here to captivate every musician and audience.

Ready to Practice?

• Teachers: Keep your students motivated by assigning these exciting new tracks. They’ll love the variety and fresh challenges.
• Students: Try out your favorite new pieces, hone your skills, and have fun tracking your progress.

Click to view this month’s new interactive repertoire

MakeMusic Cloud is home to the largest interactive and digital sheet music libraries available, with tens of thousands of titles spanning every instrument, ensemble type, skill level, and genre. Each subscription provides access to every title in our unrivaled repertoire library of music from more than 130 different publishers. Start your 30-day free trial.

The post December Repertoire Update appeared first on MakeMusic.

The holiday season is a busy time for music teachers, filled with performances, celebrations, and altered schedules. To help keep your students engaged and inspired before the holiday break, we’ve put together a collection of holiday activities. These fun and educational resources are perfect for filling those last few days before the break, whether after a concert or in a regular class, and are sure to keep musical learning at the forefront. 

Click the buttons below to download a PDF version of each activity.

Holiday “What Song Is This?” 

Grab this free worksheet download and encourage some sight reading and audiation as students can work individually, in groups, or as a class to identify mystery holiday songs. This resource includes songs in Treble, Bass, and Alto Clefs, so encourage students unfamiliar with clefs other than their own to try to figure the answer out with just the rhythm. The teacher answer key and blank student worksheet are included and reproducible!

Hint: If students get stuck and need extra clues, prompt them to match the melodies to titles found in Classic Holiday Solos or Easy Christmas Instrumental Solos in the MakeMusic Cloud library!

Be sure to follow us on social media and play along as we share some “mystery” holiday songs throughout the next few weeks.

Ensemble Sight Reading Challenge 

It’s a great time to try out Sight Reading Studio with your ensemble—you might even come up with some great ideas to utilize in your regular rehearsal routine! Open up a sight reading template—try starting on a very achievable level that feels “easy” to build confidence—and then project it in your classroom in Ensemble Mode. Learn more about Ensemble Mode here. 

Have fun reading short exercises, upping the challenge level as appropriate, or even creating an elimination game by having students stand up/sit down (on the honor system) when they mess up and “go out.” With like-instrument classes and just one instrument line, you can also have fun with the automated accompaniments in a variety of styles

How to access accompaniment styles in Sight Reading Studio

Festive Foundations

String and Band students (and their teachers) are LOVING The Foundations Series by Brian Balmages, and Festive Foundations is perfect for the holiday season! Try these exercises as a class (print for free with your MakeMusic Cloud subscription) and encourage students to try them on their own, too. The best part? Each exercise is fundamentally sound with festive movie soundtrack accompaniments, so students will feel part of the soundtrack while they practice essential skills. 

How to print scores and parts from The Foundations Series

Holiday Practice Bingo!

This is a great activity to send home with students over the holiday to encourage practice in a fun way. Since many students travel over the break, consider making this a bonus-points or bragging-rights-only activity and keeping it lighthearted! In addition, remember to give students instructions on the “Teacher’s Choice” space, or fill them in yourself prior to copying.

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Student Gratitude Letter Activity 

Use this activity aloud during class time or send home a paper copy with students to complete on their own. This activity will encourage students to spend a few moments focusing on gratitude during this busy season.

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Happy Holidays! 

We wish you a season of beautiful concerts, fun events, and a well-deserved break.