Honestly - I got sick of kids losing music and finding paper everywhere...the binder solves the problem. I have also walked away from a method book that i have to purchase every year. 

I am using the Apro Soundstart for Band and instead of buying a method book each year I provide a binder, subject dividers, a luggage tag for their instrument with school info on it, and some labels.

But it's more than just an organization system for paper. It also holds any worksheets, and our daily Music Moment worksheets. I also tend to create what I call "Learning Sheets" for each individual song we are learning..so it's nice to be able to keep everything together and we can flip back and forth.

I have begun creating a journal of sorts for students to use each class.

Big Brain Challenge.

This is a quick, written question or problem to solve. As soon as we have done our attendance (popcicle sticks), set up our chair, stand, and instrument...our next job is to complete the Big Brain Challenge

We review it right after I confirm who is away and then we go on with class and warm up.