Skip to main content

S6: E122 What's on Your Cart?

Afternoon Ti Podcast

Season 6

Episode 122

What's on Your Cart?


Teachers are some of the most resourceful people in the world.  A few days ago I put a question up in my social media about what other teachers consider essential for their carts.  So many great ideas came in!  I’ve had several ‘oops’-es as I’ve been on a cart the past two weeks - I stole an eraser from one room after erasing the board, setting it on my cart and bringing it with me to the next room.  I left my lesson plan binder in the previous room I had been teaching in when I set it on the table.  I’ve completely forgotten to bring my water.  And my expo markers.  And my snack on a day that I didn’t have a break for lunch until 1pm.  I was so hungry.  Each time I’ve entered a room and didn’t have something I would have needed or left with something that had been in a room or left something of my own in the last room I taught in, it helped me learn what I really needed to have on me and how to keep track of things.  Some personal preferences are going to be on each of our carts, but I want to share the items that served a great purpose and were useful for any music educator traveling by cart this year.


So what’s on your cart?  Let’s start with #1:


1 - Water bottle and snack

Water bottle holder that clips onto the side of your cart so your water doesn’t spill.  Just a few days ago I went to get my water bottle out, slipped out of my hands, dropped and soaked my pants and shoes and floor with water.  So a holder that keeps it from dropping as the cart is pushed is awesome.

Car headrest seat back organizer cup holder drip pocket food tray: $11 on Amazon

Or some teachers are bringing large water containers for the bottom of their carts to refill their water bottles throughout the day so they don’t have to use the drinking fountains to replenish (if those are even available).  


2 - Laptop, chromebook, ipad with charger

The charger is as important as the device.


3 - Power First Surge Protector Strip - grainger.com

Most strips have a 6 ft long cable to connect to the wall.  Check to see where the plugs in your rooms are located to determine if you need a longer cord.  If you google surge protector strip with long cord it will pull up options with 15 ft cords.  

Amazon Basics 2-pack with 2 ft long cords is roughly $20 and has 6 outlets in each strip.


4 - Bluetooth Speaker

I am using a speaker that we already owned.  It was a gift to our girls, but I’ve since taken it over because I didn’t want to invest in another one when we already had it.  

Article from Moneywise Teacher:

Article from Dynamic Music Teacher:

Speaker I am using: Bose Soundlink Micro Waterproof Speaker:


5 - Phone

Great for playing music through the bluetooth speaker, reaching the front office, and being available for if students are called home early.  I always keep my phone hidden at school so I can focus on teaching so it’s very strange to have it out in the open all day long while I’m teaching, but it has become a device that is just as useful and valuable as my laptop.


6 - Document organizers

Vertical organizers are great - Container Store has some amazing magazine holders that work well for keeping class work organized.


7 - Clips and magnets

Clip-on cup for pencils and magnets, paper clips, solfege magnets, 


8 - Whiteboard markers and erasers… small whiteboard as well??


9 - Hand Sanitizer and Lotion

I LOVE Crabtree and Evelyn’s small box of lotions.  My favorite is the citron & coriander energizing hand therapy.  It moisturizes so well and smells so wonderful!


10 - Back-up worksheets in case technology wasn’t working


11 - Shower Caddy for pens, pencils, scissors - fits snuggly on a handle


12 - Raincoat:

Actually a grill cover BUT it’s great for if you have to go outside between portables or buildings in the snow or rain.  Keeps everything covered and dry.


13 - Rolling Cart Hanging Organizer Cup

Container Store:

14 - If you’re fortunate enough to have a metal cart, utilize magnets to hold things on it.  


15 - Decorate your cart with fun signs, posters, and teaching manipulatives


Happy teaching!


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

S4: E107 Active Listening Through Storytelling and Classical Music with Robert Franz

Season Four Episode 107 Active Listening with Robert Franz Robert Franz Website Stella's Magical Musical Balloon Ride Ted Talk: Active Listening and Our Perception of Time Robert Franz Bio: Acclaimed conductor, Robert Franz, recognized as "an outstanding musician with profound intelligence," has held to three principles throughout his career: a commitment to the highest artistic standards, to creating alliances and building bridges in each community he serves, and a dedication to being a strong force in music education.  As Music Director of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra and Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Houston Symphony, and newly appointed Artistic Advisor of the Boise Baroque Orchestra, he has achieved success through his focus on each of these principles. His appeal as a first-rate conductor and enthusiastic award-winning educator is acclaimed by critics, composers, and audiences of all ages.  Composer Bright S...
Post a Comment
Read more

Recorder: What to do with Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns... it might be the bane of your existence, a song to start with students with B-A-G on the recorders that really doesn't affect you one way or the other, or a great song to use that is simplistic and gets the job done.  No matter what your feeling on it, it's likely that you've used it because it is effective at teaching simple rhythms, B-A-G and giving students a great starting place when learning recorder.  Personally, I find it useful but I'm honestly tired of it.  I decided to do something new with it this summer and wanted to change it so that it was more musical.  For many days of my summer break I spent time in the morning playing the recorder.  I wrote down melodies I had improvised and liked, played with modes and scales, added unpitched percussion parts/piano/guitar chords and enjoyed seeing what could be done.  Not all of the pieces were very good but it was a great creative way to figure out some solutions for recorder pitch set...
Post a Comment
Read more

S6: E127 Mini Soundtrap Project

 Season 6 Episode 127 Mini Soundtrap Project In the last few episodes I’ve shared some Soundtrap lesson ideas that I created and used with students.  Podcasts, Fictional Character Themes, Found Sounds, and Poem with Loops.  Check out the resources provided for each of these lessons in the show notes or on the blog. Today’s episode is about a simple Soundtrap project that could be done as a collaboration by several students or by an individual in whatever time frame you provide.  The benefit of this lesson is that it’s incredibly flexible.  It could be done in as little as 20 minutes or as much as 45 minutes or more.  The idea is to allow students to create a piece containing a specific amount of loops that includes an introduction and ending.  Like I said super simple.  This might be a great way to introduce students to loops and even form structure depending on how you set up your rubric.   This was a lesson I used while I was out th...
2 comments
Read more