How to Plan Your Year with Creativity in Mind

Every year around August, I (Sarah) start getting workshop requests. 

Can you come and speak to our educators about creativity? Can you share strategies for improvisation? 

I LOVE talking about creativity and how to incorporate creative action, like songwriting, into any curriculum. As a former orchestra, guitar, general music, and piano (plus more) teacher, I know it can be down. Creativity can be and should  be incorporated into every music-making space. 

But, despite knowing that it can and should be done, I also know it's hard! It's hard for many of us to think about pivoting and restructuring curricula when we are so strapped for resources. 

The biggest reason that most educators report not including more creativity in their curriculum? 

TIME. 

Perhaps you're reading this and thinking, "Bingo!" Or, if you've been following our work for a while, maybe you've thought, "Yeah, Kat and Sarah, it's great that you both get to teach songwriting and composition, but I have concerts to plan for and benchmarks to hit! We can't just sit around and make up songs all day." 

And while Kat and I have the privilege of teaching courses centered on creativity, we also have known the challenge of incorporating creativity into spaces that feel very...well...uncreative. 

So, how can you approach the 2024-2025 year school year with creativity in mind? Here are three ways we recommend embracing creativity in the classroom this year. 

1. Do some reflection. 

Think about your teaching year last year. Where was there creativity present? How did you incorporate creative action into your lessons, projects, etc.? Reflect on your schedule and time. Were there any times during the year when you had more space for pivoting lessons or trying something new? Were there a few days after your winter concert that you tried to fill with something fun and meaningful that was different from your past rehearsals? Reflect on why you want to incorporate creativity and where you might make it happen. 

2. Find inspiration. 

When adding something new to your curriculum, it can be tempting to try and reinvent the wheel. So many folks have great ideas on incorporating songwriting and composition, for example, into the classroom. Instead of inventing, you can curate! Spend some time borrowing tried and tested approaches from others and compile ones that pique your interest and will seem to work well with your students. (We have tons of free resources, including songwriting prompts and lesson plans, that can help with this!)

3. Start small. 

Just as it takes time to build lasting habits, incorporating creativity into your school year will take time. Instead of making big, sweeping changes, find a few lessons or ideas to incorporate and test them out! Reflect on them alone and with your students, and make a plan of action for the future. Know that every step you take toward a more creative classroom is well spent. 

Want some guidance on how to complete the above three steps? Check out our FREE curricular planning guide that includes dozens of resources like lesson plans and assessment tools. Need support or have ideas? Email us at [email protected]

Happy songwriting!