Name:

Linda Seamons

Store Name:

Floating Down the River

What I Have Taught:

I spent years teaching parent/toddler music classes. I have taught high school and elementary bands and have spent the last 8 years teaching elementary general music K-6 plus severe special education and the district behavior unit music classes.

Where I am From and Where I Have Taught:

I grew up in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio and got my Bachelor’s degree there. I got my master’s degree in music education in Utah and taught early childhood music classes after my husband finished his bachelor’s degree and we moved back to Ohio. I was still working on my master’s degree. We later lived in Champaign/Urbana, Illinois, while my husband worked on his PH.D where I continued to teach preschool and early childhood music classes for parents and their kids. We then lived in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I also taught early childhood music. We have lived the past 17 years in Utah where I teach elementary music.

Favorite Teaching Memory:

I have so many favorite teaching memories but one that sticks out in my mind and that I tell other students about every year is from about 6 years ago. I had a student who really shouldn’t have been able to play the recorder. He was a low functioning student. His fingers were really not even formed normally and when we started recorder, I thought to myself, “This kid is never going to be able to play the recorder.” This student came every single day for 15 minutes before school and 15 minutes after school asking for help. I helped place his fingers over the holes day after day. Slowly, little by little, he got better at it until he was able to do it himself. He ended up passing off every single song I had written down- about 100 songs. It was amazing and showed me how anyone can do anything if they work hard at something and persevere. I tell my recorder students this story every year.

Quick, Fun Facts About Me:

I am from Ohio and love to tell my students about Ohio and the midwest. Every year in 4th grade, we do a celebration of rhythm proficiency where I bring in my special chocolate covered peanut butter “Buckeye” balls for the kids. My store and blog are named after the song, “Were Floating Down the River” (on the Ohio).

I have 3 grown kids and 4 (plus one on the way by May 1st) grandchildren. I love doing things with them and having my children and their families close by.

I love that my husband is a great musician, a pianist, organist, and percussionist, and plays piano for my choir. It is great having his support.

Why I Love TpT:

I love designing and making things to use in my classroom and I love when it also helps other people in their classrooms. I also love getting others’ wonderful special items that they specialize in from Teachers Pay Teachers.

Music Teacher Quick Tip:

There are things I use year after year in each grade. I have a terrible time keeping track of paperwork. I have everything on my computer, but taking the time to hunt for and to print things out takes a lot of time. I have made a notebook that has my regular papers that I use. For instance, when I am getting ready to have my teddy bear picnic, I just look in my notebook and go to my Kindergarten section and find the letter to print. When we are getting ready to start recorder, I just go to my 5th grade section and grab my parent letter. As I make a new handout that I will use in the future, I just stick it into the notebook and then take time to put it into the right section for later use. Get a free set of an editable cover and labels.

Two products you may not have seen in my store:

Most people who are familiar with my store know about my recorder pack, my Around the World packs, and my drumming packs. Two that you may not know about are my Beat/Rhythm Mega Pack that is a huge part of my 1st grade curriculum that my Teddy that is a highlight of the Kindergarten year.

My Beat/Rhythm Mega Pack is  a major part of my 1st grade curriculum with 19 songs with information about how to play the games and to work on beat and rhythm. I make it into a book that the students take home at the end of the year and they treasure it for years.

My teddy bear picnic is a highlight of our year in Kindergarten. We prepare for it by singing songs and playing games. The pack has enough songs and activities to use for several class periods. It is one of my favorite activities for the year!

Thanks for reading! I’m so excited to be a part of the crew and to get a chance to get to know you better! If you want to know more about me, visit my blog.   Also checkout my Facebook page to find interesting information about music education. ?

Musically,
Linda Seamons
Floating Down the River

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Linda Seamons

Linda has over 30 years’ experience teaching early childhood and elementary music, as well as Jr high and high school band. She is also a teacher-author and blogger for Floating Down the River. She is fully certified in Kodály concept and also has enjoyed Orff and World Drumming certification.