Wonderful Wednesday - 5 things that made today wonderful

1.  5th graders with determination and heart
 - Our 5th grade choir meets each Tuesday and Thursday.  This morning being Wednesday I wasn't expecting any 5th graders in my room, but was surprised when one stopped by.  He wanted to know if he could join choir.  The deadline for joining choir was more than a week ago and he isn't a new student.  Our choir is really wonderful and our students are well behaved and have a great time, BUT since we meet early in the morning, and because we work hard, choir is not for everyone, so we have a great turn-out, but we don't usually have students begging to join..... So I asked him "Why do you want to join choir?"  I was expecting him to say something about our spring field trip and his friends which would have been a totally fine answer.  Instead He surprised me when he answered, "Well, I didn't really sing too much in 3rd or 4th grade, but I've decided I that I want to make my parents proud."    Needless to say, I handed the forms and told him that I would be happy to see him tomorrow morning. 

2.  2nd graders who can play! - I love that magical time when a group of students in an ordinary class finally settle in together to truly PLAY a game.  When you see REAL play, all of the overly managed competitive, rough-housed, teacher dominated rather than facilitated stuff pales in comparison.  My 2nd graders have been working on playing the ETM version of "Oats Peas Beans and Barley Grow" since the beginning of the year.  Later as these students get older, we'll continue to examine "Oats Peas Beans", but for now, we are simply uploading the song for future reference.  During this uploading process they have had to learn how to give themselves over to the play so that the game keeps going without interruption.  . Today was a REALLY big day because they were ALL able to participate fully and keep the song going for enough verses for everyone to be skipping with a partner around the room.  There was beautiful singing, great comradeship among the partners, and everyone was completely in control of their bodies.  They literally could have played the game for another 30 minutes, but it was time to get into the meat and potatoes of the lesson since we had whetted our appetite for more beauty.  After we played "Oats" we played "Bluebird, Bluebird", and it was better than ever I think in part because Oats had gone so well.  The coolest part of the morning happened once we had finished the game and began having a look at the form book for "Bluebird, Bluebird".  Forms books are an excellent way to build music literacy in students.  My 2nd graders literally drank up every page.  They took turns following the song maps on each page.  When given a turn, the student is asked to decide if they want to sing alone or invite the class to sing along.  Today, I had one of my beautiful students say they wanted to sing alone!  For some that wouldn't be a big deal, for this student, it was HUGE!!!!  When the turn was complete, the entire class erupted in genuine heartfelt applause.  What a blessing to be in the same room with children so sweet to one another!

For more information about ETM, their classes, literature and materials, please click HERE.










3.  Author visits at just the right time - I'm not gonna lie, I am EXHAUSTED!  Being so tired meant that it was wonderful having a truly exceptional author come to our school today.  It was one of the coolest author visits I've ever seen.  The visit was scheduled so that there were grade level presentations during 3rd, 4th and 5th grade specials.  I really don't like missing my classes, but two things made it totally ok and an excellent way to spend my time today.  1.  I get to swap the kids I missed today for ones I've already taught on Friday - so no one misses this weeks lesson.  2.  Today's visit was SUPER cool!  3. Our librarian bought us lunch and we got to eat with the author which was a really super sweet thing that happened and made it a much more relaxing Wednesday than usual. 

4. Co-teachers who put the "C" in contentious - You know that realization that you could literally work 40 hours a week 52 weeks a year..... and never actually see a student?     There is just so much work that is hidden inside the job of music teacher!     All of you "single" ladies and gents who have to teach music all by yourselves have my deep condolences and compassion.  You are heroes!    We all do what we must, but it sure is a blessing when there is another music teacher there with you in the trenches when you are knee deep in recorder money or when you need another set of eyes to look over that note before it's sent home.    It's hard to go it alone!    Over the years I've worked with some amazing folks and last year when I joined the faculty at my new school....I literally hit the jackpot because my co-teacher is wonderful!   I get to work with one of the most efficient, hardest working people I have ever known and I am blessed to know her.   Every day I am thankful that I get to work with such a talented educator whose integrity is above reproach, who gives her best every single day and truly enjoys her students.  She is a gift to our school. 

5.  Conversations with my dad - So my dad is a little over a month out from having a stem cell transplant.  It was at this time last year that he first became terribly ill with what we thought was a simple case of bronchitis.  As his illness persisted he sought multiple types of treatments and several referrals. He pretty much quit eating in October and by November there were new illnesses to contend and lots of seemingly unrelated symptoms that started to point toward lymphoma.  Early in December 2013, he was admitted to MD Anderson and after several life threatening episodes and a million miracles, he finally reemerged from the hospital in March 2014 after 120+ consecutive days in the hospital and a diagnosis of Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma.  Between March and June, he had lots of chemo and then in August he began the stem cell transplant process.  He has been home for a little over a month and just as expected, the recovery from the stem cell transplant and related HUGE chemo has been very very slow!    Because he is still under quarantine and because I teach school which is like living in a petri dish, I haven't seen him very much since the summer even though I moved home when he got sick.  Tonight, he was feeling better than in days previous, so we had a lovely time visiting and chatting together.  I love getting to talk with my dad!

Today was a Wonderful Wednesday!

Lesson Menus For Substitutes in the Music Classroom - FREE DOWNLOAD!

There are several things that are true about having a sub in your music class. 

• You can almost never afford to tread water with the class you miss because you won't see them again until next week. 
• You never know who you will get as your sub, or their confidence level.  If you are blessed you will end up with a retired music teacher but it is equally likely that you will have a very kind sub who is not a confident musician and won't be comfortable singing.  You might even have a sub who has trouble running the CD player. 
• Your sub needs choices.  When you have a musician as a sub, you don't want to disappoint them by having your students watch a video and if you have someone is musically uncomfortable, you still want them to be successful.  CHOICES are AWESOME!
• Your students will act better if they have choices and expectations
• Hands-on involved activities will work better than passive ones
• Videos are never as effective as we wish they were and often cause discipline problems due to lack of engagement. 
• Subs are often ill equipped to use technology and when would your technology most likely have a problem?  When the sub is there.... just to make their day more interesting. 
• Even if you can't move ahead with this class, students can always use more time to practice newly acquired skills. 

That is why I developed a series of LESSON MENUS for my Sub tub. 
WHAT??

Yep!  a LESSON MENU!

Here is how it works. 

• This semester I have  3 different menus. (K-2), 3, (4-5)   next semester after the 3rd grade show, I will redo the menus so that they are (K-1), (2-3) (4-5).
• Each activity has an approximate time and a point value.
• The activities range in complexity and level of involvement in order to offer more in depth more interesting work for subs who can handle it and more accessible work for subs who need something simpler. 
• Each menu item contains a brief description, but more in depth instructions and additional materials are in the Sub Tub including recordings, books, worksheets and game instructions. 
• Most of my Menu items are ones that my students already have experienced and enjoyed, like the rhythm scavenger hunt.  This year I used the rhythm scavenger hunt as a pre-assessment in order to determine what needed the most focus during review before moving onto grade the new rhythms for the new year.  So that I could assess more than one grade level at a time, I color coded the cards.  3rd-5th had to do yellow, 4th had to look for yellow and orange and 5th grade had to find yellow, orange and blue.   I LOVE scavenger hunts because they serve as a great way to review anything.   If you would like to read my original post about Scavenger Hunts - click HERE.

August and Early September:
Nothing can replace the Emergency Plans - At the beginning of the year, in addition to classroom procedures I have a VERY simple Emergency plan in case I am out before I have had a chance to front load my students.   Those plans are exactly what my students used this year when I missed the 2nd week of school with a high fever and sinus infection.    Below you will find exactly what I have for my Emergency Plans.  They aren't the best, but they will do in a pinch.   ALL of the materials that are needed are in the SUB TUB. 


If you decide that you take a look at my Lesson Menus you will notice that one option for the sub is to sing a song and do an activity out of the Sub Survivor book.

This book is AWESOME! and I highly recommend it!

FREE DOWNLOADS BELOW!!!!  

Kinder, 1st & 2nd Lesson Menu

3rd grade Lesson Menu

4th & 5th grade Lesson Menu

EMERGENCY SUB PLANS

Pinterest Board! - Composer Biographies

I have a WONDERFUL librarian who is always working to provide books resources whenever we need them.  Today, I was looking to create a list of possible composer biographies we'd like to add to our school library AND I was in a hurry.  So I decided to create a pinterest board to share with her.    Some of these titles are new to me, that I intend to investigate before recommending for purchase.  Some of these titles are ones that I have used at other schools that I know for sure, students will love.  Others are titles that I have seen and have been curious about.  Perhaps some of these are titles you are familiar with, and some may be new.  The first thing I plan on doing is going through and notating which composers are studied in which grade levels as that may affect the eventual book the library will purchase.  Perhaps as I have time, I'll even have a chance to look up them up from a library vendor website.  However, for now, I'm happy to have a working list.

Follow Bonnie's board Music classroom library wish list on Pinterest.

Google Drive is AWESOME!

Today we started choir!  Yippee! 

This year we had a much easier time starting choir than last year because THIS year, instead of asking parents and students to return a sheet of paper letting us know that they were coming to choir today, we sent home a hyperlink that sent our interested parents and students directly to a google form.  YAY! 

Students who wished to join choir simply filled out the google form and without any other steps, we had an instant spreadsheet!!!! 

Today, when we were ready to mark attendance, and take note of who is interested in auditioning for special parts or serving as choir officers, my co-teacher and I were able to work on the very same spreadsheet at the very same time!  Our changes were visible to both of us and we got twice as much work done in half the time.  We also were both constantly working from the most current document. 

If you are looking for a way to manage your extra choirs better, then I HIGHLY recommend using google drive! 

It is working AMAZINGLY well! 

If you haven't tried it, now would be a great time! 

8 obvious and often ignored tips for music teachers who get sick.

So it's the second week of school and I'm already out with a nasty sinus infection.   If this post were about how to keep from getting sick I would remind everyone to
1. Wash your hands
2.  Get a flu shot annually
3.  Eat healthy and get plenty of sleep
4. find a good ENT and
5. Get allergy shots if needed

That's great but now I am sick..... Now what?  Here are the things I want to remember so that I can get better faster...... first, please remember that  I am not a doctor, nor is this blog intended as medical advise.  I am just trying to put my mind at rest by reminding myself of a few things while I work on getting back to school this week.
1. If you are ill, truly and contagiously ill, STAY home.     No one wants your germs and if you don't rest it will take longer for you to recover.   This is super hard on control freaks like me who have been known to go in to school dragging and drooling and sharing my sickness with staff and students alike.  You never know who among your co-workers or students may have or like me may be living with someone with a compromised immune system.  Caution is always the best option.  Your determination to go to work might be no big deal to you but you could accidentally put another person in serious danger.  If you suspect that you might be around folks who have a compromised immune system wear a mask and gloves.  I have lived in masks and gloves for 3 days already.

2. When in doubt Go to the doctor!  I am preaching to myself right now..... I HATE going to the doctor, especially  when I am sick!!!!! it takes too long and is too much work and by the
time you get there and go to the pharmacy half of your day of rest is wasted.  I had a friend who
recommend a Medspring clinic.  They have them in DFW, Houston and Chicago.  There may be
something similar in your area.  It is not an emergency room, but they are open until 9:00 pm, you are always seen by an MD and they call in your prescriptions before you leave the office.  Being a teacher means that I am never off during office hours, so I think this clinic just changed my life.
3. Drink water - not caffeinated fizzies, but water, water, water,.  Not even lemon flavored cough drops or diet coke will do.... So sad.... But here is a tip. when you get tired of water, try heating it up.... Its warm.

4. Invest in a nettypot. It's gross but far far far more effective than any medicine when you have a stuffy nose.....Be sure to use only distilled water.
5.    Be aware of what you are taking.  Some cold medicines are combinations of several drugs.  There may be elements that you don't need OR you may accidentally take more than you intend if you aren't being attentive.  Take your medicine as directed so as to avoid unwanted side effects.  Take all of your antibiotics  even after you feel better and don't forget that even homeopathic options can still cause issues if used indiscriminately.  For example,  did you know that echinacea
which is often used to as a cold remedy is part of the ragweed family?  If you are allergic to ragweed then a hot steaming cup of echinacea tea might send your simple case of the sniffles into a full blown allergy driven sinus infection....

6. Limit or reduce sugar intake. All of those medicines and remedies can create a perfect storm for elevated blood sugar.  This is especially true if you are prescribed a steroid as part of your treatment plan as elevated blood sugar is often a side effect.  Cough medicines and cough drops are especially high in sugar so watch out.   It is harder to fight an infection with high blood sugar, so while you are sick, it's not a good time to give into temptation.

7.   Quit talking -  Especially if you have any sort of sinus infection, throat infection or bronchial infection. your vocal chords will thank you for the rest AND anything you can do to avoid
 unnecessary coughing will speed your ability to vocalize well once you feel better.  You wouldn't
expect an athlete to run with an injury for fear of causing further damage.  The same is true for singing music teachers who hope to have a lifetime career and who also hope to avoid developing the dreaded "old music teacher voice".


8. Save an "easy-ish" lesson for yourself.  In addition to having good sub plans, try to save at least one or two easy plans for yourself so that if you MUST go to work when you are. not up to full teaching power, you can still give your students something good and curricular lay valuable.  On days like that I am liable to rearrange my roadmap and do  lessons where I have lots of listening activities like genre or composer studies.  Centers or other independent practice lessons also work well as long as your students are fairly independent on the skill you are practicing.