Your Smallest Musicians are Your Biggest Responsibility
When it comes to how they feel about primary kiddos, teachers are usually pretty black and white. Some teachers cringe at the thought of their snotty noses, grabby hands, and constant questions. Others get hearts in their eyes when they think about all the wonderful hugs, confident singing voices, and constant questions. Regardless of which category you fall into, I’d like to remind you that the primary students are some of the most important people on your campus and how you work them will have longrange implications. You may have these students for six years—even more in some cases. It is imperative that you establish a quality relationship from the beginning, not only by teaching quality music lessons, but also by being flexible and fabulous!
The research is clear: small children don’t just crave boundaries, they need them in order to learn. When you invite your primary kids into your room, you want them to respect it in a way that fosters productive learning for years to come. In large part, you do that with clear expectations that are not flexible. There must be explicit expectations in place for how your kiddos enter the room, play instruments, or ask for a bathroom break. You have the great honor of teaching these children year after year, so once you have established your expectations—and proved you will always stick with them—your students will know what is expected of them year after year.
Primary students respond well to familiarity. One of my favorite grades to teach is first grade. I think it is partly because they are so proud of themselves for knowing the rules of the music classroom from kindergarten. They love to show the new kids what is expected of them. Even with a core group of role models, you will need to be flexible with the new kids as they learn the expectations, but what a wonderful opportunity to dote on your kiddos that already know the rules! When you let them know how fabulous they are for meeting your expectations, the others will want to follow suit.
Your flexibility with these primary students comes when they are having an off day. Perhaps they didn’t sleep well the night before. Maybe they didn’t eat breakfast, or they got in trouble before they got to school. There are a ton of reasons why your students may not come to you firing on all cylinders, but this is when your flexibility is needed. When one of your kiddos knows the expectations, but is not following them, give them a reminder, then dole out consequences if the expectations are not met. Always follow up with a hug and the understanding that you know they will do better next time. Your flexibility shows that you still care for them no matter what, that you are on their side, and that they can make mistakes with you.
All that said, your primary kiddos still have a vivid imagination and a yearning to please and play. Use this to your advantage! Be the fabulous teacher that leaves room for kids’ imaginations and personalities to shine. Celebrate their creativity, no matter what they are doing.
Let your own inner child out once in a while, too. Wear silly hats, use crazy voices, and jump out of your comfort zone right into their frame of mind. (I once had an intern take pictures of me while I was teaching a primary class. Afterwards we laughed and laughed at all of my crazy facial expressions! However, that lesson went off without a hitch and those kiddos were having the best time. As Artie Almeida says, “With passion comes retention.” Remember that to a fiveyear- old, the very definition of fabulous is those crazy voices and silly faces. By going the extra mile yourself, you will be rewarded with kids that stretch their creativity and imaginations with confidence and joy.
If you make sure that you have a flexible and fabulous mindset with your primary students, in the long run you will be so happy with the humans that you have in your classroom year after year. If you give to them in the beginning, they will most assuredly give back to you in the end.