Mr. S Orff

Mini-mini Mr. S and I are having a wonderful summer traveling and teaching Orff levels together! He’s my dance partner, my notes writer, and so much more! #musiced #orff #orffschulwerk #musiceducation #ken #kenough #musicteacher #summer

Visiting Thailand was one of the highlights of my life! And I got to visit some Orff Levels friends that I hadn’t seen in a decade - and visit their stunning and beautiful Orff-inspired Kindergarten program in suburban Bangkok. A visit that changed my life and teaching - and here we are having fun! What places have you visited that have forever changed your teaching? I’m curious - share out below! #orff #orffschulwerk #thailand #summer #summertravels #musiced #musiceducation #teacherlife

IMEC!

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season and spectacular 2024! This is from my trip to Salzburg for the Summer Course at the Orff Institut. A wonderful week of singing and dancing and playing 🎶 the hills were most certainly alive! 🏔️ #musicteacher #salzburg #happynewyear #happyholidays #musicteacher #orff #orffschulwerk #generalmusic #elementarymusic #iteach #teacherlife

The American Orff Schulwerk Association conference in Albuquerque earlier this month was everything I needed and more. I danced. I sang. I laughed. I played. I was in community with the most amazing people. I am immensely grateful. If you haven’t been or are a music teacher and want to know more - please reach out! It’s changed my life and made me a better teacher and person. So come join us! What’s your favorite conference memory? And what in the world do you think I’m doing in this photo?! 😆 #orff #orffschulwerk #musicteacher #generalmusic #elementarymusic #iteachmusic #lgbtqteacher #dance #sing #play #creativemovement

Happy Diwali 🪔! It was such a joy to wear this kurta gifted by parents at my school as we shared in our Diwali celebration! The entire school sang together, lit diyas together, and danced Bhangra together. What a wonderful day! If you’ve never danced Bhangra before - it’s a heart-pounding, energetic dance that students will LOVE! #teacherlife #happydiwali #musicteacher #orff #orffschulwerk #lgbtqteacher #washingtondc #iteach #iteachmusic #elementarymusic #generalmusic

So excited to have all gender signs up for our annual AOSA conference for the very first time! Now I admit the sign isn’t perfect and an All Gender sign is better than a gender neutral sign. But this is still a wonderful step for creating a climate that welcomes and includes and values all. And I’m proud to be a part of that! #aosaalbuquerque #aosaalbuquerque2023 #orff #orffschulwerk

Guess what’s back?! The recorder! I do love this instrument and I’m so happy to have it back in our fourth grade classrooms. This year, we started on G and E to mix things up. E isn’t easy, but I will say that after conquering it, learning G, A, B, high C, and high D felt like a breeze! What notes do you teach first?! #recorder #elementarymusic #generalmusic #orff #orffschulwerk #generalmusicteacher #musicteacher #music #fourthgrade #recorderrealness #lgbtqteacher #washingtondc #teacherlife

Happy Valentine’s Day 💘 from one teacher to another! February is always the toughest part of the school year imho, so it means it’s only up from here until summer! We can do it! Sending lots of love 💕 and light ✨ and good wishes for the remainder of the school year. #teacherlife #valentine #iteach #iteachtoo #iteachmusic #generalmusic #elementaryteacher #elementarymusic #elementarymusicrocks #orff #orffschulwerk #kodaly #dalcroze #musicteacher #instateacher #lgbtqteacher

What a wonderful day celebrating Lunar New Year and getting an opportunity to wear this stunning hanfu I got as a gift when in China back in 2019. Today, we sang in Mandarin, celebrated with instruments and dance, worked with parents to create a beautiful school-wide assembly, and even had a lion dance troupe perform! xīn nián kuài lè! #lunarnewyear #lunarnewyear2023 #happynewyear #china #generalmusic #elementaryschool #elementarymusic #musicteacher #orff #orffschulwerk

Calling all my friends in UAE and neighboring countries - sing and dance and play with me in Dubai!!! I am excited to partner with Infinite Learning for a two-day course on the power of play. Join me on Wednesday March 22nd and Thursday March 23rd as we build a playful space together! From brain breaks to yoga to singing to dancing, it’s gonna be such a fabulous time! This course is for new teachers who want ways to add music and play to their classrooms. It’s for experienced music teachers to refresh their thinking. It’s for parents who want more tools to work with their kids. It’s truly for anyone and everyone who loves playing and wants to explore that in a musical way. I hope you’ll join the fun! Check the link in my bio to visit Infinite Learning’s page to learn more and message me with any questions! Sign up is open through February 8th so don’t delay! #musiced #musiceducation #professionaldevelopment #dubai #uae #infinitelearning #eyfsideas #eyfsinspiration #eyfsactivities #powerofplay #dance #danceeducation #danceed #orff #orffschulwerk

Inspirational ✨ visit from @karahuberpiano from @interlochenarts last Friday! She performed 🎹 for our assembly and listened to a few of our young friends share their piano expertise as well. Students asked for her autograph ✍️ and peppered her with the cutest questions. Was an honor to host her! Who’s the most amazing 🤩 artist or performer to visit your school and what did they do to inspire your community?! #musiced #musiceducation #musiceducationmatters #musiceducator #piano #pianoed #pianopedagogy #concertpianist #artsed #washingtondc #interlochenarts

Holiday concert season success ✅! Second graders told the story of Toys Meet Snow and fourth grade rewrote a story now entitled Fourth Grade Tamed the Wind. Both were such a joy to facilitate and I am so impressed by all the amazing young musicians and dancers and performers who told these stories beautifully. When you give your students ways to take leadership and make choices, that’s when performances truly shine ✨. And even though I look like I’m in charge in this photo, there’s dancers on their own and singers who wrote the lyrics that don’t even need me! Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season and sending love and light to all. In Friendship - Matthew #orff #music #orffschulwerk #musiced #musiceducation #elementarymusic #generalmusic #winter #winterconcert #holidayconcert

Lots of love, laughter, and learning at the AOSA National Conference in Kansas City this past week. Was honored to share 3 sessions and even more thrilled that hundreds of teachers came to dance with me! And beyond that, was grateful for the many colleagues who have become the dearest of friends, sharing their time and talents with me and countless others. We are all better teachers because of this week. If you’ve never been before, you absolutely must check it out next year in Albuquerque! #orff #aosakansascity #orffschulwerk #musiced #musiceducation #musiceducationmatters #dance #sing #play #say #iteachmusic #conference #teacherlife #generalmusic #elementarymusic

Been a busy fall 🍁! From workshops in Rapid City to Boise to Los Angeles to San Antonio to Denver, it’s been a whirlwind! But standing in the majesty of Mt. Rushmore was one of many highlights making it all worth it. In between this all, celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, Diwali, Mid Autumn Festival, Halloween, and more in the classroom! But don’t worry my Insta family, I’m still here and singing and playing and dancing every day! I’ll try to get back to this fam a bit more often, and hoping everyone is having a wonderful, safe, happy, and stress-less (no way it’s possibly stress-free…) autumn season. In Friendship, Matthew #orff #backtoschool #fall #autumn #orffschulwerk #music #musiced #musiceducation #musiceducationmatters #musiceducator #generalmusic #elementarymusic #southdakota #mtrushmore #mountrushmore #lgbtq #lgbtqteachers #teacherlife #teachersofinstagram