This is a year of tight budget squeezes, as everyone knows. If your district is lucky, the most pain you might feel is getting your budget slashed, but it still hurts. And yet, families are expecting super programs. You can present a great program on a limited budget.

Finding Music:

The best thing you can do is utilize what you have access to: parents, students, other teachers, your music teacher friends, and programs from years gone by. As long as you don't have students who had already performed them, dust off the old musicals and old octavos, and redo some oldies. That will save you money on your music. Or, if you know other music teachers in neighboring districts, start a music swap. Chances are really good they're in the same boat and would be glad to have some new ideas themselves.

Subscribe to Music K-8 Magazine. Yes, you have to pay for the initial subscription, but this resource is invaluable for songs that you can put together for a variety of different programs.

Don't ignore your music series! Get into the songbook section and other sections you never got to for great song ideas. Plus, you probably have the CD's handy, too.

How about having your students create lyrics for a song or two? The Music K-8 CD's are great because they have accompaniment only tracks. Most later music series have these for several songs, too. Guide your students in a class composition lesson to perform for the program.

To add a little sparkle to your sets:

Check with your high school drama teacher (or local college) for black lights, fog machines, etc. If you need white gloves, there's a good chance the band director can help out. Make sure you acknowledge this contribution in your program.

Oriental Trading Company is a great place to get cutesy things on a limited budget. You can get curtain streamers, inflatable instruments, small rhythm instruments........at really good prices.

Let your older kids decorate. They can make snowflakes with glitter, smiley faces, and other icons for your theme out of construction or bulletin board paper to tape all over the gym.

If you have artist parents, or are on good terms with the art teacher, ask them for help in making murals and backdrops.

In your initial letter about your program, describe the scenario and ask parents for any ideas they might have. Chances are great you can get costume contributions, props contributions, and some crafty moms or dads to volunteer to make props.......things you don't have to pay for! Again, make sure you acknowledge your volunteers in your program.

As much as possible, have the parents take care of the costumes for their children. You can suggest sources for parents to get things they can't sew, but don't buy everything yourself.

Need ribbons for a ribbon dance? Take your rhythm sticks and tape different colored crepe paper streamers on them. It works great, and looks super!

A contribution to the K-8 music list by Connie Nesseth: Make silhouette cutouts of your students as part of the backdrop.

An idea taken from a multicultural unit-presented at the Missouri Music Educators Convention by Cape Giradeau, MO teachers, including Pam Dumey, music teacher-to make shakers that look like Native American hatchets:
Take clams on the half shelf, scoop out the meat, and clean out the shell. Use popcorn kernels for the noise on the inside, and caulk the two shells together. Use caulk to attach a thick dowel rod for the handle. Let the students decorate with braided yarn and beads around the handle.

If you have any more ideas for making a great program on a budget, please contribute them. These contributions will be added to this page and to the Contributions page.

Next month: workshops you can attend over the summer to get your juices flowing for the fall!