I always want my students sitting in chairs and not on the floor.
I've learned that if I can get kids to sit properly in chairs in an elementary music room, they will usually perform, think, and have the attitude of someone at least one or two grades above where they are.
Unfortunately, that's not always possible. Sometimes there are just not enough chairs. At my last school, I used to borrow chairs from the multi-purpose room.
My experience is that classroom floors and their carpets are generally filthy. Younger children have a way of having soiled their pants and there's no way to stop those haz-mats from seeping into a rug. I always had a personal vacuum cleaner for the times that the cleaning staff didn’t clean my room.
We would never start the year with chairs. My students would have to demonstrate that they were ready to sit in chairs. That meant they had to be able to handle sitting in rows on the floor for at least two weeks. After that we would add the chairs. And if their management of chairs started to slip, I could always say “Maybe we need a refresher on the rug.”
As far as playing guitar, elementary school chairs are a must. The exception is kindergarten who will start with guitars flat on the floor. Strumming them that way is much easier.
I never bought 1/2 size for 3/4 size guitars. I always purchase dreadnaughts, knowing that kids aren't going to get any smaller, they're only going to get bigger as they grow into the instrument.
Sitting on the floor for any sustained length of time can be painful for a child – as well as for a less-than-limber music teacher. Just remember it is excruciating for any extended period of time. If kids have to sit on the floor, they have to be up and about, stretching their legs, at least every seven or eight minutes.
Next up: “S.T.A.R.: Track the Talker”.
I've learned that if I can get kids to sit properly in chairs in an elementary music room, they will usually perform, think, and have the attitude of someone at least one or two grades above where they are.
Unfortunately, that's not always possible. Sometimes there are just not enough chairs. At my last school, I used to borrow chairs from the multi-purpose room.
My experience is that classroom floors and their carpets are generally filthy. Younger children have a way of having soiled their pants and there's no way to stop those haz-mats from seeping into a rug. I always had a personal vacuum cleaner for the times that the cleaning staff didn’t clean my room.
We would never start the year with chairs. My students would have to demonstrate that they were ready to sit in chairs. That meant they had to be able to handle sitting in rows on the floor for at least two weeks. After that we would add the chairs. And if their management of chairs started to slip, I could always say “Maybe we need a refresher on the rug.”
As far as playing guitar, elementary school chairs are a must. The exception is kindergarten who will start with guitars flat on the floor. Strumming them that way is much easier.
I never bought 1/2 size for 3/4 size guitars. I always purchase dreadnaughts, knowing that kids aren't going to get any smaller, they're only going to get bigger as they grow into the instrument.
Sitting on the floor for any sustained length of time can be painful for a child – as well as for a less-than-limber music teacher. Just remember it is excruciating for any extended period of time. If kids have to sit on the floor, they have to be up and about, stretching their legs, at least every seven or eight minutes.
Next up: “S.T.A.R.: Track the Talker”.
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