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About the teacher
About me!
My name is Kaitlin Albus. I grew up on Long Island in New York! I have three siblings who still live there, as well as my little niece and nephew. I have been studying music most of my life! My grandma was my first music teacher and I will never forget those important and wonderful lessons that I learned from her at an early age. This is one of the things I LOVE about elementary music. I studied music education at York College of Pennsylvania and received my masters in education from Augustana University in 2019. The 2024-25 school year will be my thirteenth-fourteenth year teaching in my own classroom, my sixth full year in Helena.
I LOVE musical theater (Disney, yes please! Broadway, you bet!) and learning new instruments. My favorites to practice are voice, piano, ukulele, and flute. I also love being outdoors with my kids, reading, writing, singing (of course!), watching movies, going to concerts, musicals, and plays, and playing games as a family. Currently, we are all reading the Harry Potter series together and playing lots of Charades. My husband and I moved to Helena in 2019 with our two boys, who are now 8 and 6. Our daughter was born here, and is nearly 4. We also have two 14-year-old cats, one zany 3-year-old chocolate lab, and a full aquarium with a rotating population of creatures. We are so excited to be here in Montana.
My philosophy about elementary music is that it educates the whole child. Music is an innate part of the human experience-babies need no instruction, they are BORN to feel, move, and vocalize! Building on that natural inclination towards being musical is so important. Your child's first music teacher is YOU! I just get to help them build on their skillset, which starts at home.
Music makes children beautiful. Children make beautiful music. Either way you look at it, music helps our children become the best versions of themselves, and helps them better the world around them. Music is movement, expression, exploration, math, science, history, world languages, health, and so many others. It teaches our kids how to challenge themselves and each other, to try new things, to be part of a team; they learn to foster the communication, cooperation, and confidence that they need to build healthy social and emotional habits in the classroom and outside of it.
Music is scientifically proven to improve test scores and makes people SMARTER! Musicians are designed to solve problems in a number of ways, because so many things happen in the brain simultaneously; new neuro-pathways are being built constantly in your child's brain! It truly is amazing. The musical skills your child/ren will learn help propel them towards future success in countless ways, and I endeavor to make the music room a safe space for all students each day.
Thank you for allowing me to make music with the students in this community! It truly is a gift for which I am thankful every single day.
Why music?
Music allows children to be expressive in so many ways-think song, dance, art, and theater, just to name a few! Music connects us with others all over the world-we will study pieces from other countries, learn pieces in other languages, and try new instruments that we otherwise would not be able to experience. Music brings people together. In music, we work towards a common goal. It is a beautiful thing to witness all types of people committed to creating something that is bigger than themselves. Music helps us build skills-social, emotional, cognitive, motor, and more!
What are we listening to?
Everything! Broadway, folk, rock, golden oldies, the Beatles, Beethoven, the Piano Guys, Pentatonix... the list goes on! In class, we will explore all genres and styles from jazz, rock, pop, funk, and folk, to classical, romantic, baroque, and beyond.