Friday, January 31, 2014

Day 153: "Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train and Thrive" (NetGalley)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 153/365

"Champion's Mind:  How Great Athletes Think, Train and Thrive" by Jim Afremow, Ph.D, LPC

This was the first NetGalley book I read and it has made me love this service.  I thought this book was great and I will keep it on my Kindle for constant review.  As a coach, it shared many insights on how to run my program in a more effective way.  I wish I would have been more aware of these strategies as a player.

I have spent a lot of time over the past six months reading about Mental Training.  I have read and listened to many articles and videos by Train 2B Clutch, Brian Cain and others.  This book reviewed some of that informatoin, but also expanded on other pieces.  When I first started learning about these ideas, they were completely new to me, but I am beginning to see a shift where many professions are starting to understand their benefits.

A focus of mental training is the growth mindset.  There have been countless discussions recently on Twitter among teachers on the power of the growth mindset and how we need to help teach our children this concept.

Although this book is written about athletics, I believe it is universal.  It gives simple (although not easy) exercises to help master concepts of mental training.  We are realizing with more research just how powerful and complex the human brain is.  Through mental training, we can unleash this power and use it to our advantage.  Self talk, goal setting and growth mindset are all concepts that all people can use.  They are not limited to athletes.

I strongly recommend this book for all teachers, players, coaches and anyone who wants to learn how to harness the power of their brain to help them be more successful.

Thank you for reading.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Day 152: Bullying

Daily Blog Challenge Day 152/365

What is Bullying?  Is it the same thing as a mean person?

Bullying has been in the news a lot lately (cyber bullying, the situation with the Dolphins) and I hear the word used often to describe behavior.  I am concerned because I am starting to believe that many students and even adults are confused about what constitutes bullying.  I will be honest, I add myself to the list of confused.

There is no doubt that bullying is a serious thing and it is something we need to eradicate, but I believe we need to have a shared definition in order to know what we are trying to stop.  In my view, bullying is behavior that is intended to hurt another person by using any information to form judgments and personally attack them.  I think most of us were exposed to "bullying" at some time in our life and people will be mean at times.  However, there is a big difference between teasing (being called a name) and the endless torture that some people are put through (judgement attacks).

The bottom line is people are mean and many of us have to deal with these people.  I have heard of many work places that deal with bullying behavior, so it is not something limited to children.

Although the definition of bullying is not clear to me, I believe I am better able to tell you what it is not.
1.  Bullying is not someone who disagrees with you.
2.  Bullying is not someone who is telling you what to do (in a situation where they are helping.)
3.  Bullying may start as teasing, but is far more complex.

How do you define bullying?

Thank you for reading.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Day 151: Twitter Is About...

Daily Blog Challenge Day 151/365

Twitter is just like life, it is all about relationships.  One of the things I like about Twitter is many of the judgments are gone.  In face to face communications, some tend not to listen to opinions from music/art/PE/library or other non classroom teachers.  One Twitter, we are all there to learn and I have found many of these judgments do not exist.

Another thing I like about Twitter is that I control what people know about me.  If I don't Tweet about a particular issue, no one will know.  I am not hiding any deep secrets, but this control of information also helps to determine what others focus on (another judgement that happens in face to face communication.)  I was recently told by a member of my PLN that I helped her through a difficult time.  To be honest, I did not fully realize the impact a few conversations were having, but this just shows the power of relationships.  I recently lost my grandmother and my PLN helped keep me positive and focused (even if they had no idea what was going on in my personal life.)

Life is about relationships and Twitter helps us create these relationships with people we do not see everyday (if every).  In someways, being "protected" by the internet helps the sharing of ideas.  I can state my opinion and even if someone disagrees if will often lead to more discussion.  In real life these situations tend to lead to judgement.

What are you going to do today to help strengthen relationships with those around you?  Whether on social media (read their blogs, comment on their work, tell them good morning) or in real life (a kind word, a listening ear.)

Thank you for reading.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Day 150: Virtual Field Trips (Technology Tuesday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 150/365

Technology Tuesday

We live in a time where funding for education is constantly being cut.  Money for field trips is at a premium.  One of my goals as a music teacher is to expose my students to a wide variety of music.  Live performances would be wonderful, but the financial and logistics make that option difficult.  Lucky for my students and I, we live in 2014 and our school is blessed to have access to technology tools.

Virtual field trips allow students to be exposed and experience new things without actually leaving their school.

YouTube is a great way to expose students through videos.  It may not be as good as actually being at the concert hall, but this is a great way to take a virtual field trip.

Another great tool for virtual field trips is Skype.  Through conversations on Twitter, I was able to connect with three band teachers who are willing to have their students give a mini concert to my students.  We study a different instrument family each quarter and these mini concerts will allow my students to see and hear these instruments.  We go to our Middle School once or twice a year to hear the Middle School Music Department perform.  I love this opportunity for my students and Skype just adds another opportunity.

What programs do you use to help your students experience new things without leaving your school?

Thank you for reading.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Day 149: Musicians In The News (Material Monday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 140/365

Material Monday

One of my fellow music education majors from college posted on Facebook that she was going to use the Super Bowl as an opportunity to study Opera with her students.  I usually do an Opera/Musical Theater towards the end of the year, but I figured this was a great time to expose my students to this music now.

Last week I introduced Renee Flemming and gave a brief background.  We talked about the differences between plays, musicals and operas (this is review from when we watched Polar Express before Christmas) and listened to a few examples of her music.  We also talked about the classical style of singing and why they sing that way.

I decided to add to my "bulletin board" outside my classroom and include information about Musicians in the News.  So often we talk about a bunch of dead people and the news is full of Musicians in the News for wrong reasons.  I hope this board will bring more awareness to Musicians doing positive things.  Plus it is a great start for many discussions.

Thank you for reading

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Day 148: Lessons Learned From A Weekend of Basketball

Daily Blog Challenge Day 148/365

This weekend was an emotionally charged two days of basketball.  For the second week in a row, my husband's team found itself in the championship game.  Once again, things did not turn out how we would have liked and we came home with second place.  In the grand scheme of things, it is a great accomplishment, but in the heat of the moment the disappointment can cloud the positives.  Over the course of coaching this past year I have learned a lot of lessons and this weekend reminded me of many of them.

I love athletics for many reasons.  They have provided me with a positive outlet throughout my life, they have helped me stay strong and fit and they have taught me many lessons that have enabled me to be successful.  Many of these lessons are erased if we just focus on winning.  In the end, no one will care if you won a trophy in 8th grade or even in high school.  It is the lessons you learned that will impact your future.

1.  Overall, people are far too negative.
2.  People do not focus on the positives nearly enough.
3.  Research has shown that 5-1 positives to negatives is optimal for marriages to be successful.  We need to praise far more than we critique.
4.  "No news is good news" is not a positive philosophy when it comes to interacting with people.
5.  People in an emotional state do not want to hear reason or logic.  Just let them speak their piece.
6.  The worth of a person/player is not dependent on how they perform.
7.  We all have a role to play.  Some may be more glamorous, but none are more important.
8.  We cannot all be the Super Star, but we can all be a positive, contributer to the team.
9.  We play sports because they are fun (yes, we want to win), therefore do not let the outcome impact if we have fun or not.
10.  It is far easier to see faults in others than it is to see those same faults in ourself.
11.  Adults are often more emotionally invested in youth sports than the players.
12.  Overall, people are doing their best.  If it was a simple choice to do it right (and not get yelled at) most would simply do it.
13.  Simple is not always easy.
14.  Relationships matter.
15.  If a behavior is not acceptable when you are losing, it is not acceptable when you are winning.
16.  People will justify many behaviors "acceptable" if they are winning.
17.  Trust your coaches/teachers/bosses.  They more than likely have more information than you do.
18.  It is easy to think you can do someone else's job better.  Focus on doing your job.
19.  Just because something is not happening does not mean the coach/teacher/boss has not instructed for it to be done.
20.  Life is too short to get stressed out about a game/test/project.  Do your best and focus on the process.
21.  Remember the real reason why you do what you do.

Thank you for reading.




Saturday, January 25, 2014

Day 147: Role Players

Daily Blog Challenge Day 147/365

Everyone wants to be the Rock Star, but even the Rock Star needs a manager, bus driver and support staff.

I am in the midst of coaching my second basketball season for this school year (I help my husband's team) and I am preparing to begin my first year as Head High School Softball Coach.  All of these positions have forced me to reflect a lot on roles.

In the game of basketball, every player wants to be the one who scores 20+ points a game.  In softball, everyone wants to be the home run hitter.  These stats are the glamorous ones.  Few people mention rebounds, steals, defense or the non listed stats (attitude, leadership, sportsmanship, effort and teammate) when they talk about great players.

When children dream about what they want to be when they grow up; few say a plumber, electrician or bus driver (the list is endless and I am in no way discounting any of these positions).  Everyone wants to have the "glamorous" job, but I think we all understand that without all of these jobs, our lifestyles would be very different.  We don't all have to be the Rock Star, but that does not limit the importance of each person (whether on a team or in an office setting.)  We ALL have a role to play and our team and coworkers rely on us to do our best, regardless of our current role.  This also means our role can change.

I believe this is a crucial concept for our students to understand.  We may not have what it takes (I will never be able to dunk or be a home run hitter) to be the super star, but that does not mean we are not valuable or important.

"Be OK with what you can't do because there is so much more you CAN do." -Sam Bearns

Thank you for reading.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Day 146: Stealing Ideas

Daily Blogging Challenge Day 146/365

My husband coaches 7th/8th grade Girl's Basketball at the local Lutheran School.  I coach 6th Grade Boy's Basketball and our season ended before Christmas, so I go along and help him with stats and coaching as much as my schedule allows.  The last three weekends he has had basketball tournaments.  I was able to make it to two of them and I love being able to see many different schools and classrooms.  It is always great to see how other teachers organize their classroom and schools decorate their schools.

Here are the ideas I have "stolen" from other schools and classrooms.
1.  Include many areas with students work throughout the school.
2.  Hallways with color (even if it is just a doorway.)
3.  Classroom walls with a purpose (CAFE, Daily 5, Math Wall...) Don't include too much color.
4.  Different parts of the room have a clear purpose (reading, research, math...)
5.  Purposeful decorations (everything hung up should have a purpose.)

Visiting schools and classrooms is a great way to gain ideas on classroom setup.  Not everything I saw was useful in my classroom, but I was still able to take away many different ideas that I can change and make my own.

What are the best ideas you have gained from other classrooms or schools?

Thank you for reading.


Thursday, January 23, 2014

Day 145: The Best Me

Daily Blog Challenge Day 145/365


Softball is 33 days away and I am in the midst of preparing to begin my time as the Head Varsity Coach.  I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos, listening to podcasts and reading interviews by coaches.  One of the philosophies that really stood out to me was the idea that we all need to be who we are.  We need to accept our strengths and accept our abilities.  Yes, we can improve our strengths, but some goals are unrealistic.

In softball, everyone wants to be the home run hitter.  It is unrealistic to compare ourselves based on one metric (as the above picture demonstrates.)  In high school basketball I was a three point specialist.  If I based my success on my ability to post up, I would have been considered a failure.  

We need to find our skill set and focus on being the best we can at our role (even if it is not the most glamorous role.)  We as teachers and coaches need to help our students realize their potential and their role.  Maybe a student is a fantastic artist, but struggles in math; or they are strong in math but struggle in reading.  There is always a positive and all students (people in general) should be able to list what they like, what areas they are strong in and what areas they need to improve.  

What are your strengths?  What makes you special?  How can you make these strengths even better?  How can you use your strengths to make your classroom/team/office better?  We all have a role in this life and all roles are significant.

"Do not let what you can not do; interfere with what you can do." -John Wooden

Thank you for reading. 

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Day 144: The Ultimate Goal

Daily Blog Challenge Day 144/365

In the moment, I find it is very easy to justify many behaviors: yelling at players (I have already told them a hundred times) or getting upset with my students (I have told them the same thing tons of times before).

What is my ultimate goal and does this kind of behavior lead towards this goal?  As I have written in other posts, I believe these behaviors are modeling negative behaviors for our students.  We do not want them to think anger is an accepted way to deal with frustration.  It is easy to say; don't show frustration, don't yell, but how do we go about this?  I believe we do this by focusing on building positive relationships, focusing on the positives, remember the small successes and taking care of our health.  I know I am much easier to be around when I am well hydrated and well rested.  We owe it to our students to take care of our health so we can be the best teacher/coach/parent for them.

Life is full of stress and challenges.  We as teachers need to model and help our students learn how to handle challenges.  Pointing out areas of improvement is one way we help students improve (people need to be aware of their weaknesses), but we need to also focus on the things they are good at (people need to be aware of their strengths).  No one wants to hear a list of negatives.

As a teacher, I want my students to learn content; as a coach, I want my players to learn how to play the game, but more importantly I want to use sports and music as a way to teach my students the skills necessary to be successful in life.  I tend to get caught up on the little things (not sitting still, talking...) and I forget to focus on helping my students love learning.  Possibilities are endless if you love to learn and are willing to try to things.

It is painful to realize that my behavior at times is taking away from my ultimate goal.  Although it is painful, this reflection is necessary in order to realize that I can do things differently and better.  We need to be the change we want to see in our students.  We need to model the behavior we want them to display.

What is your ultimate goal as a teacher?

Thank you for reading.


Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Day 143: Gamification In My World: Part Two-Media Class (Technology Tuesday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 143/365

Technology Tuesday

This is part two of my Gamification In My World posts.  You can find part one here.

I setup my Media Class a little different than in my Music Classes.  I use the same 4 levels:  Novice, Apprentice, Practitioner and Expert.  These levels align with our Self-Assessment Rubric, but I do not use this Rubric as much in Media as I do in Music Class.  Students need to achieve Gamer Points (GP's) in order to level up.

In Media, students have specific projects they must choose from in each level in order to move to the next level.  They are only allowed to work on projects within their current level.  Projects are single missions and a few are group missions.

5th Grade Media Class Structure

After a few days of struggling to keep up on giving feedback to my students, I created a checklist for each Level.  They also write down on their sheet (or I do) their points earned so far.  Once a week I go through and write their total points on the top of the sheet.  This helps students know how they are progressing. Students tell me when they have completed an activity and I write it in the grade book.   I have one page in my grade book for each level and I have a column for each activity.  This has really helped me stay organized and keep up to date on points.

My Media Class is 1:1, so my students use our website as a reference point to know what to work on, directions for projects and mission details.





Do you use gamification in your classroom?  I would love to hear how you set it up.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Day 142: Rhythm Reading in Primary Music (Material Monday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 142/365

Material Monday

I have always struggled with teaching primary music.  I feel much more comfortable teaching older students.  My kindergarten students keep amazing me with their abilities and I feel like I am slowly learning where to set my expectations.

Our Daily Routine consists of singing our Song of the Month, rhythm reading practice and solfege practice.  At the primary levels we do the rhythm and solfege mostly by rote.  I am learning that my students can handle reading rhythm much sooner than I originally thought. At the beginning of this year I used bean bags with my second graders to practice composing and clapping Ta and Ta rest rhythms.

Last week I had my kindergarten students try reading Ta and Ta rest rhythms and I was astounded at how well they did.  We do a lot of moving, clapping and singing, but I need to include more writing rhythms and reading rhythms in the primary grades.  I like the Bean Bag activity and it is a great start, but I need to start adding more rhythm reading/writing activities to my repertoire.

I found this Rhythm Activity on Twitter and it looks great.  I am going to use it with all of my students.  It will be great practice for my primary students and great reinforcement for my older students.  I like that it associates specific notes with their values.

How do you organize rhythm reading in your program?  Which primary rhythm activities are your favorite? Thank you for reading.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Day 141: Gamification in My World: Part One-In Music Class

Daily Blog Challenge Day 141/365

Towards the end of last year I started transitioning my 3rd and 4th grade classes to a gamified model.  I had a very basic idea of what gamification meant and I tried to make it work.  I had success, but I discovered after talking to a few teachers on Twitter, that there were better ways of organizing my classroom using this philosophy.  Sarah (@sarahdateechur) showed me her model for her Computer Classes.  Having a model to look at really helped give me ideas on how to implement this philosophy in my classroom.

Along with using it in 3rd and 4th grade Music, I am using this model in 5th grade Media.  All of the activities are ones I want my students to do anyways, but this model allows me to give my students choice on when/how they accomplish certain tasks.

I created 4 levels:  Novice, Apprentice, Practitioner and Expert.  These levels align with our Self-Assessment Rubric and have become the foundation of the assessments in class.  Students need to achieve so many Gamer Points (GP's) in order to level up.  In music, I chose not to specify which activities needed to be done for each level.  There is a list of activities for students to complete and each activity leads to Gamer Points, which in turn add up and enable the player to level up.

There are a variety of activities for students to complete.  Some projects are whole class, some are small group and some of individual.  My hope is that this will encourage students to participate in class activities.  So far, I have seen pretty good results.  It is still early on and I am learning and adjusting as we go.  My school is not 1:1 at this level, so I have a print out of the activity options.

3rd Grade Gamification Structure

4th Grade Gamification Structure

Do you use gamification in your classroom?  I would love to hear how you set it up.

Thank you for reading.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Day 140: They Remember...

Daily Blog Challenge Day 140/365

This past weekend during my drive to a basketball tournament, I listened to the Energy Minute Podcast by Jon Gordon (which I strongly recommend).

During one of the episodes, he mentioned research that proves that people remember very little of what they read or see, but they remember in detail how others made them feel during a specific situation.

How do your students feel in your class?  How do your teachers feel in your school? How do your families feel in your school?

These are difficult questions to answer, but I believe they help focus our actions and decisions.  We can tell our students/staff/families great things and have fantastic lessons, but if we do not show that we care about those around us and we do not help them feel positive, they will learn very little.  

I have experiences this research in my own schooling.  Teacher who had the greatest impact on me are the ones that showed they cared, believed in me, pushed me to do my best and helped me achieve success.

How do you ensure your students know that you care about them?


Thank you for reading.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Day 139: Biggest Success

Daily Blog Challenge Day 139/365

I recently had to do a lot of driving, so I loaded my phone up with podcasts to help keep me awake.  I was also looking for a way to spend my hours in the car in a positive way.  I discovered the Jon Gordon (A Positive Moment) podcasts and downloaded many of them.  I strongly recommend this podcast.  Most of them are very short, but they are filled with useful and practical information.

One of the podcasts I listened to talked about the idea of Biggest Success.  It is easy to focus on the negatives and we don't always spend enough time thinking about our blessings and all of the positive parts of our life.  Jon explained how each night he asked his children what their biggest success of the day was and he recommended all people do this.  This forces us to focus on the positives and all of our little accomplishments, which often are overlooked.

I started doing this with my 3rd and 4th grade students last week (although I only remembered to do it with two classes.)  We work on many different skills everyday in music and it is often hard to remember all the positives.  It is easy to remember the skills or concepts that are difficult.

My hope is that by spending the last few minutes of class talking about their successes, my students will stay positive and enjoy music.  I also believe this is a valuable life skill (one that I am working on using everyday in my own life.)  Life is more fun when we focus on our accomplishments instead of our failures.

Thank you for reading.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Day 138: My Passion Rediscovered

Daily Blog Challenge Day 138/365

Last Monday I decided on a whim to participate in the Music Teacher's Chat on Twitter (#musedchat).  Recently I have been lacking motivation to participate in chats.  I find my energy and motivation level to be lacking.

I am extremely glad that I decided to participate.  The discussion turned to using Skype in music and after an hour of talking with fellow teachers I had six teachers who agreed to setup Skype Performances with my classes.  Two of these are from Ireland, which I am pumped about.

Three of the sessions are going to be with band classes.  Each quarter we study a different section of the orchestra and these bands are going to give my students a live performance of different instruments.  Money for field trips is limited.  YouTube and Skype are great free ways to provide my students with performance opportunities.

This hour of conversation left me feeling motivated and excited to teach the next day.  Technology allows us access to a wealth of information and I love how easy it is to bring these resources to my students.  Teachers can now provide our students with great experiences without leaving our classrooms.

Have you ever experiences a Twitter Chat or PD session that left you feeling motivated and excited to teach?   What was it about and why did it motivate you?

Thank you for reading.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Day 137: My Magic Bullet

Daily Blog Challenge Day 137/365

I have recently discovered the magic bullet for teaching and it turns out it is incredibly simple.  The magic bullet comes in two parts: create positive relationships with all of your students and try everything that may help reach your students.

Now, I said these were simple, but neither one of these is easy.  Just another reminder that simple is not always easy.  The concept of positive relationships is simple, but we all know that it is not always easy to do this.  We need to stop looking for the programs or curriculum that is going to cure our problems.

The bottom line is people work harder when they feel cared and respected.

There is no cookie cutter approach to being a great teacher.  All great teachers look different, act different and do different things with their students, but I am confident that ALL of them try a variety of ways to reach their students and they ALL have positive relationships with their students.  Despite all of the differences, these are the two core similarities.

I have been having issues with a few of my students and I was reminded during a conversation with a coworker that I should focus on building (rebuilding) a positive relationship with these students.  Again, it may seem like the simple answer, but I strongly believe that relationships are key.

What is the first thing you look at when you are having issues with students?

Thank you for reading.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Day 136: Padlet (Technology Tuesday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 136/365

Technology Tuesday

Towards the end of last year I discovered Padlet and started using it to create monthly newsletters for my Elementary Music Classes.  I have around 180 students on the elementary so I feel like sending home a lot of paper copies is a waste of paper.  I am still working on getting my community accustomed to electronic resources for sharing information.

Padlet is similar to a virtual bulletin board.  You can include videos, pictures, audio and writing.  It is very simple to use and the results are great looking boards.  Everything is click and drag so it is easy to add media and writing.

I include highlights from the previous month, main focus for each grade, our Song of the Month, our Composer of the Month and media from in class activities or performances.  Here is my newsletter from November of this year.  On the original newsletter, I included pictures from our Veteran's Day Assembly.  I have taken these pictures off this example board to protect my students.  Here is my newsletter from September of this year.  Some months I used pictures and some months I have limited media files, so I use more writing.

What programs do you use for a newsletter?  Thank you for reading.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Day 135: Winter Concert Music

Daily Blog Challenge Day 135/365

My Middle School performs once concert each quarter.  Our next concert is in March.  I have not passed these selections by my students yet, but I am hoping they enjoy the music.  Some of the songs have been on our "want to do list" for a while.

I admit, this concert is a little pop heavy.

Roar by Katy Perry (Girl's Song)
Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning by Andre Thomas
Africa by Toto
Hakunnah Matata (Boy's Song)

Our concerts are usually for grades 5th-8th.  This concert is only a 5/6 concert because our 7/8 have a District Music Concert.  Therefore, we can do 4 songs for this concert, while we have more time.

My boys complained that all of my songs are "girls" songs, so they got to pick a song for them to do.  There are only 7 boys in choir for second semester, but they have decided they want to sing all by themselves.  I applaud their courage.

What songs are you doing for your next concert?

Thank you for reading.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Day 134: Role Models

Daily Blog Challenge Day 134/365

I have been reflecting and working on this post in my head for a few days now.  This is a more personal post than normal, but I always find writing to be therapeutic. 

My grandmother passed away on Thursday at the age of 84. We had all come to terms with the fact her health was failing, but we were not expecting things to play out as they did. Although it is still not easy, it is of some comfort to know that she passed peacefully (which is what I believe she would have wanted), without a drawn out battle. 

Her passions were playing cards, dancing, baking cakes and her family.  With four siblings, six kids, twenty grand kids and seven great-grand kids, family usually gathered in herds. Regardless of how many of us there were around , she always treasured her time with us. 

I feel blessed to have known my grandmother for as long as I was able to.  I know there are many that cannot say the same thing.  Through my experiences with her I learned many valuable lessons and her funeral has forced me to reflect on all that I have learned.

1.  Live your life with faith and family as your focus.
2.  Sometimes you just need to kick yourself in the butt to get things in gear.
3.  Positive self talk is powerful.
4.  Share your passions with your family and friends.
5.  Holidays should be about family and conversation.
6.  You don't have to see someone everyday to have a big impact on their life.

Thank you Grandma for being a positive role model and giving your grandchildren a great example on how to live our lives.  You are missed by many!

Remember, you matter.  We all influence those around us.  Thank you for reading.




Saturday, January 11, 2014

Day 133: Do We Ruin Them?

Daily Blog Challenge Day 133/365

I have a two year old niece, who has brought a joy to my family's life (like all children should).  She is full of curiosity, determination, energy and attention to detail; she fills the house with laughter and happiness.  I am constantly amazed at how quickly she learns and which information she holds onto.  

Life is all about learning from failure and it is a vital lesson for our students to learn.  When I watch my niece, I see a child who is determined.  She spent months learning how to master the skill of rolling over, which led to crawling and eventually walking.  She did not give up when she fell repeatedly.  

She loves to imitate what she sees and hears (I know this is a normal/expected behavior), but I am still amazed at how accurately she imitates others.  One of my other sisters had foot surgery last year and spent a few months in a boot, so she had to hop around.  After a week, my niece was hopping around on one foot like Aunt Kakey.  She also pretends to hold a phone and fake laughs just like her mother.  These are just a few of the countless examples of her remembering what others have done in the past and doing it herself.

After spending a week at Christmas with her and being filled with even more examples of her learning I started wondering what happens to these characteristics (curiosity, determination, energy and attention to detail). These characteristics seem to be something she was born with, for it is not something her mother or my family has taught her.  She is not in school yet, but is still learning a variety of concepts and skills.

Does school kill these characteristics in our children?  

I know it is not our intention, but I think we create some of our own problems.  It is clear to me that most children are born with the desire to learn.  It is our job as educators to make sure we are encouraging this desire. 

I would love to hear your thoughts.  Thank you for reading. 

Friday, January 10, 2014

Day 132: My Favorite Blogs

Daily Blog Challenge Day 132/365

I am now two whole days into my Blog Reading Challenge and I have already realized what I have been missing!  There are so many wonderful blogs out there.  I have been to three different blogs already and I always end up reading more than one post.  There is so much fantastic information available that is written by other teachers for teachers.  Plus it is FREE and can be explored from the comfort of my own home.

I am trying hard not to list every blog that I have read here because it will become overwhelming.  All of the posts I have written have been fantastic.  This list is more of a reflection of the blog as it pertains to me as an educator.

My List of Recommended Blogs

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Day 131: Tickets, Points and the Treasure Box

Daily Blog Challenge:  Day 131/365

For a few years now, I have had a fear of PBIS, Tickets, Points and Treasure Boxes.  I am not saying these are wrong, but I think implementation of these ideas are usually done in a way that don't align with my educational philosophy.

I understand the need to have a reminder for students about proper behavior, a visual for feedback on how they are doing.  As an elementary teacher, I have seen the benefit of these ideas.  However (and this is a big however), I don't believe we should be dangling carrots in front of our students in order for them to behave properly.  In my opinion, there is a big difference between giving a student a treat (reward) for great work and dangling the reward in order for them to do the great work.  I realize I may be splitting hairs, but I think this difference is VITAL!

Research has shown that rewards increase desired outcome, but that the desired outcome diminishes when the reward is taken away.  Are these programs achieving our goal of teaching/enforcing intrinsic motivation if we dangle rewards in front of our students?  I think we are doing more harm than good for our students.  I understand it may seem easier, but easy is not usually better.  As teachers, we need to remember that these programs are designed to help us teach our students, not make our lives easier.

I think I struggle with grades for the same reason.  At first we give the "best work" A's and that works well.  Soon, we start using grades as a way to motivate our students to perform (to care about their work), so we start giving A's to work that should really be getting B's in an effort on our part to encourage our students.  Eventually the bar becomes so low that everyone is earning A's in our class.

I believe the same is true during most implementation of PBIS, Tickets, Points and Treasure Box programs.  We start by rewarding only the best behavior and eventually everyone is earning regardless of their behavior or how often they demonstrate positive behavior.  Plus, students tend to loose interest if they do not deem the "reward" to be worth the effort.

I believe all of these programs and ideas have value and the real trouble  is not the program/idea itself, but in how teachers implement them.

I would love to hear your thoughts on behavior programs.  Thank you for reading.


Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Day 130: Blog List

Daily Blog Challenge Day 130/365

The longer this Blog Challenge continues (I am FINALLY caught up, WHOHOO!), I find myself having a hard time keeping straight blog posts I have actually written and once I have thought about writing.  To help me I created a Google Doc (once again Google Apps to the rescue.)  I don't always write the blogs in order (especially when I am playing catch up), so I am sharing this as a tool to list the blogs I have written about so far.

Blog Title List

Thank you for reading and joining me on this journey of learning!




Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Day 129: The Power of Connecting (Technology Tuesday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 129/365

Technology Tuesday

I took an unintentional hiatus from Twitter during second quarter.  For whatever reason, I lost my desire to spend time connecting and learning.  Finally during Christmas break, after committing the first week of break to my family, I finally had the desire to interact on Twitter and I was quickly reminded why it is such a powerful tool!

Within three days of being committed to connecting on Twitter again, my knowledge as a teacher and my resources for my students have been greatly expanded.

Through My Connections I Have...
1.  Learned ideas on how to implement One Word in my classroom.
2.  Learned how to improve gamification in my classroom.
3.  Connected with teachers and started planning Skype Performances.
4.  Learned about new web resources to expand my knowledge of teaching using the Orff method.
5.  Talked to two teachers about connecting our technology classes through a blog.

I strongly recommend all teachers get on Twitter and spend time connecting with other teachers (on social media and in person.)  I know we are all busy, but this time is a great investment.


Monday, January 6, 2014

Day 128: Project One Word (Material Monday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 128/365

Material Monday

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I have been thinking about ways to include "One Word" into my music class.  I decided I was going to have my 3rd and 4th graders choose their one word as it applies to their goals in music class (I think this might be easier to help them focus their energies in class.)

At the moment I have a chunk of empty wall behind my Orff instruments.  After brainstorming ideas with Shannon Clark (@shannonclark7), I decided I am going to make a giant One Word poster to hang on the wall.  I am going to cut "One Word" out of paper (the giant rolls found in every school in America).  During class I am going to have my students choose their "One Word" and write it on a post it note, which will be color coded for each class.  We will then stick their words on the poster.

My hope is by seeing them everyday, it will be a reminder of our new focus during music this semester.  I am also going to use Tagxedo to create a class word art that shows all of their words together.

I would love to hear how you are using "One Word" in your classroom.  Thank you for reading.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Day 127: One Word

Daily Blog Challenge Day 127/365

There have been a ton of tweets lately about people choosing their "One Word" for 2014.  I think I picked a word last year, but clearly it was not a long term focus.  I like the idea of choosing a word to be my focus for this year.  I have so many goals and things I want to accomplish, so it is nice to have a singular focus.

The more I talked to my PLN and exchange ideas, I decided to pick my own word for the year and to have my 3rd & 4th graders choose their word that focuses their energies during the second semester. 

After a few days of reflecting I came up with a list of possible words:  connections, focus, communication, dedication and growth.

2014 is going to be filled with new and exciting challenges, some I know and some I have yet to discover.  I was recently named the Head Softball Coach of the High School in my District and there are personal changes coming as well (positive ones).  I often feel like I am going in a thousand directions and it is sometimes hard to keep all aspects of my life in a balance that is acceptable to me.

After considering all of these variables I decided to go with Focus as my word for 2014.  I want to strive to focus on what I am doing in the moment.  I wear many hats during the course of a day: husband, friend, daughter, coach and teacher.  All of these jobs are important and I need to focus on the job I am doing in the moment.  

Here is to a year of FOCUS.

What is your word for 2014?  Thank you for reading. 

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Day 126: Blog Reading Challenge

Daily Blog Challenge Day 126/365

I wrote in a previous post about paying it forward.  Finding acts I appreciate and finding ways to perform these acts for others.  I committed myself to a new challenge: reading seven posts a week and commenting on at least two of them each week (either through Twitter or on the Blog itself).  I am setting up this post as a way to track my progress and to share great posts.

*Update:  I find myself two weeks behind, so I am using a Snow Day from school to play catchup, so it may not always be seven blogs a week, but the ultimate goal is to read more blogs and articles. 

Which blogs would you recommend?  Thank you for reading.

Week of January 6th
1.  Grades Do More Harm Than Good by Chris Crouch (Commented through Twitter)
2.  What Do Music Teachers Do On Snow Days? by Kelly Riley
3.  The Orff-Shulwerk Classroom by Eric L. Young (Commented on the Homemade Tubano Post)
4.  I Have Been Using Facebook WRONG All This Time... By Aaron Maurer (AKA Coffeechug) 
5.  Standards Based Learning and Standards Based Grading In The Trenches (Part 5) By Garnet Hillman
6.  Aurasma in the Music Classroom by Cherri Herring
7.  How Do We Lead Towards A Better Assessment System? by Jill Berkowicz and Ann Myers

Week of January 13th

Week of January 20th

Week of January 27th
5.  Lego Music Maker by Eric Young (Ruby Boyden) (Commented through Twitter)
7.  A Recorder That I Used To Know by Eric Young (Commented through Twitter)

Week of February 3rd
1.  Madison's Memorable Moments by Rik Rowe
2.  Motivation in a Standards Based Culture by Garnet Hillman
3.  New Flipped Classroom Section by Jerry Bradley
4.  It's Monday, What Are You Reading? by Shannon Clark
5.  On Snow Days by Joe Guarr
6.  How Big Is Too Big, When It Comes To Your PLN? by Scott Totten (Commented through Twitter)
7.  Why 4BetterEducatio? by Scott Totten (Commented through Twitter)

Week of February 10th
5.  The Burden of Fraudulence by William Stribling  (Commented through Twitter)


Week of February 17th
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6.
7.


Week of February 24th
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7.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Day 125: Pay It Forward

Daily Blog Challenge Day 125/365

This morning I received an e-mail alert saying that someone had commented on one of my blog posts.  I don't blog so others can read my work (although I love when people read and relate to what I have written.) I blog as a form of personal reflection.  Blogging helps me put my thoughts in a form that is acceptable in a public forum, which helps me sensor my feelings and beliefs.  That being said, knowing people have read my posts makes me feel good about what I have written.

I realized that I don't spend enough time reading blogs and I spend even less time commenting.  Sometimes its easy to feel like your ideas are not valued and worry about how others will perceive my ideas, but as educators we need to share and support one other.  One way I can do my part is by reading blogs by members of my PLN, sharing great posts and commenting on their work.

As we begin 2014, I am focused on treating others how I want to be treated (clique I know.)  I am challenging myself to read a minimum of 7 blog posts a week and to comment on three of them.  

What actions by others do you appreciate?  How can you pay it forward by performing these actions towards other people?

Thank you for reading.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Day 124: Blogging Homework

Daily Blog Challenge Day 124/365

During Christmas Break, two people assigned me the "Blogging Challenge" (Kevin Dengel-@kevindengel and Rebecca Tharp-@beckitharp).  Below you find my finished homework.


11 Random Facts

1.  I played college softball at Clarke College (now Clarke University) in Dubuque, Iowa.
2.  I taught for two years in Salcha, Alaska (45 minutes south of Fairbanks on the Richardson Highway.)
3.  In 6th grade I wrote in a paper that I would have to complete lost my mind in order for me to become a teacher.
4.  I am a self professed Book Worm.
5.  My main instrument is percussion.
6.  Living in Alaska cured my fear of flying (I cried on the plane during my first flight when I was a college freshman and we few to Arizona for Spring Training.)  Thank you Milk Run :)
7.  I have a two inch scar on my stomach from falling down a tree when I was in middle school.
8.  My nickname growing up was monkey (number 7 sums that up.)
9.  I weighed three pounds when I was born.
10.  I have had 7 sets of tubes put in my ears (birth-7th grade) and suffer minor hearing loss.
11.  I like to wear crazy socks.


My 11 Questions 

1. What (or who) made you decide to be an educator?  I had two fantastic band directors in high school and I hope I can have the positive impact on a few my students like they they did on me.
2. Who is the most intelligent person you know?  My husband.
3. Have you watched the entirety of the music video "What does the Fox Say?"  No
4. If you were a giant mega monster what city would you rampage?  Somewhere on the East Coast, just so I could visit.
5. What was your first mobile phone? Whatever the free phone from Altel was when I was a sophomore in college.

6. What potential talents do you think you might have if you worked at them? I could have been a better musician and athlete in college if I did not spread myself in as many different areas.
7. What do you consider is the most important appliance in a house? Coffee/Hot Water Maker
8. What song sums you up?  Still thinking...
9. Name your favorite Great Lake. Come on, everyone's got one... Lake Michigan
10. Are you a morning person? Yes, as long as I get to sleep by 9 pm the night before :)
11. What would you call your autobiography? Not Just a Music Teacher


My 11 Questions for You

1.  Which state or country do you most want to visit?
2.  What is your favorite educational book?
3.  What is your favorite book to read for fun?
4.  If you could do anything with your time what would it be?
5.  Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
6.  Who is your favorite musician?
7.  What one thing do you want to learn to do before you die?
8.  Which historical person would you most like to meet?
9.  If you could meet one famous person, who would it be?
10.  What is your life motto?
11.  What sentence best sums up the influence you hope to have on your students?

Blogging Homework Rules

1. Acknowledge the nominating blogger.
2. Share 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you.
4. List 11 bloggers
5. Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate and let the bloggers know they have been nominated. Don’t nominate a blogger who has nominated you.
6. Post back here (in the comment section) with a link to your finished assignment.


11 Bloggers

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Day 123: Because Why?

Daily Blog Challenge Day 123

The longer I teach, the more I am starting to question why we do things the way we do. I often hear teachers and administration talking about doing what is best for kids, but are we really doing what is best?

I see many things that are "traditions" that seem to benefit the adults with very little thought on the possible impact for students.

1. Start times.
2. Length of breaks and summer vacation.
3. Class schedules.
4. Setup of schools.
5. School meals.

How can we ensure we are really doing what is best for our kids? Thank you for reading.