Giving up on writing a new curriculum.

What I've realized is that designing a comprehensive K-4 Elementary Music Curriculum from scratch is like trying to design, code, and do graphics for your own computer game - there is no way for one single person to do a good job because of the amount of work that it takes. I've been working hard for several months trying to create my own elementary curriculum, but I have been met with limited success. I also am struggling to really properly design a coherent process or procedure that goes from Day One of kindergarten to the Last Day of fourth grade. It's too hard to figure out what to do first, next, etc., when I'm also having to teach the classes, keep up with paperwork, rehearse band and choir classes, plan concerts, and still try to have time for my life outside of work. It is exhausting, but it has not been fruitless.

Yes, I am giving up on writing my own curriculum from scratch. I plan on going back to the old curriculum that I used when I first started teaching, one that has elements of Dalcroze and Kodaly and Orff all mixed in. One that already has a large list of songs, poems, games, activities, and other materials ready for me to use. However, even though I am using an old curriculum, I am approaching it with a new perspective that I have gained from trying to design my own. I am not going to pursue it like I used to, but I am going to use it in a new way. I will still add extra materials here and there, and omit certain songs and activities, but I am planning on teaching my new curricular ideals through the old curriculum. In other words, I am planning to tweak each lesson to focus on the musical goals that I have chosen through much study and deliberation. Many lessons will not require much change. Some will only need a small change. The point is that now I have an understanding of the Big Picture, and that will guide my teaching.