Wednesday, December 31, 2014

2014 in Review

This past year could be described using many different adjectives: exhausting, exciting, wonderful, joyful, sad, difficult and stressful to name a few.

I became a varsity head coach and I became a parent. I said good bye to my last grandparent (as someone who grew up knowing two of my great grandparents and three of my grandparents,  the fact that my children will not meet any of their great grandparents was a difficult pill to swallow) and I welcomed my first child into this world.

My view of the world has changed slightly in the six months since I have been a mom and I expect some views to change even more as I continue to experience life. Life will change you if you let it. Some of these changes are positive and some are negative.

I look forward to another year of joys, challenges, disappointments and opportunities. I made steps to improve myself as a teacher and a person and I look forward to another year to get even better.
Happy New Year!

Monday, October 27, 2014

Christmas Program 2014

Typically I hate themes, but I saw this idea in a Facebook Group and it became stuck in my head. This year I am going to do "A Night at the Movies" for my Elementary Christmas Program.  There are so many great choices for music so I am very excited for the program.

Kindergarten
All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth from Alvin and the Chipmunks
Jingle Bell Rock from Home Alone

Kindergarten & First Grade
Feliz Navidad from Feliz Navidad

First Grade Scarves- Dance of the sugar plum fairies from the Nutcracker
White Christmas (with unpitched percussion) from White Christmas

Second Grade
Do You Want To Build a Snowman? (with boomwhackers) from Frozen
Carol of the Bells (on Boomwhackers) from Home Alone
Somewhere in my memory from Home Alone

Third Grade Silent Night (chimes and singing) from White Christmas
Jingle Bells (chimes and singing) from White Christmas

Fourth Grade When Christmas Comes Around from Polar Express
Little Drummer Boy (on Recorder) from Little Drummer Boy
Buckets to Trepak from Nutcracker

Choir
Where are you Christmas? from How the Grinch Stole Chrismas

Thank You

This blog has been a wonderful journey. It has transformed a few times and has taken different paths (I presume it will transform even more in the future.) I write for me and for my well-being but it is wonderful to know that others read it; plus knowing others can see it helps me keep some of my ideas in check.

Thank you for taking the time to read my posts and to comment and share your ideas. I truly appreciate your time and I hope that this blog will continue to be a place to share ideas and thoughts and that you will consider it worthy of your time.

Thank you!

Lessons From Observation #1

Two weeks ago I had my first formal observation of the year. As a non tenured teacher (Illinois does not have tenure in the traditional sense but it impacts how often a teacher is observed). According to my district's evaluation tool, I was rated an excellent teacher. Some days I feel like I deserve this title and others (like today) I feel like anything but an excellent teacher.

Do you learn from your observations? I am a busy person and I hate feeling like my time is being wasted. I have decided to make myself learn from this experience (even though I want to feel like it is a waste of time.)

I was complimented for getting to my students level and correcting them individually. I realized I don't do this all of the time and I need to make more of an effort to jot take the "easy" way out.
I was complimented for being organized and using technology in a positive way. I know I am not always as organized as I could be and this was a reminder that I need to be.

Observations are a snap shot of me as a teacher. I need to remember this feelings and and use it when I relate to my students. A class, project or activity is only a snapshot of their achievement in my class. I need to make sure I do not let a small piece of data to define them.

Thank you for reading.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Are You Right?

Since my daughter was born four months ago, I admit I have had more thoughts about what would happen if something bad were to happen to her, my husband or myself. I think it is a normal cycle of me realizing I am now responsible for another person.

This morning I was surfing Facebook and one of the first articles I saw was that the police chief in my town (who is also related to one of my coworkers) passed away yesterday. It hit me particularly hard. I saw this man sitting across from the high school yesterday afternoon. You always hear life is too short, enjoy the time you have, babies grow up to fast and these are all true. The thing that really jumped out to me is Am I Right?

For me as a Christian,  am I right with God?
Am I right with my family? Have I truly forgiven those who have hurt me?
Am I right with my friends and those around me?
Do they know how much I care about them?
Life is too short, babies do grow up too fast and bad things happen to good people.

Spend time doing the things you know you should do now (for me that means praying and opening my Bible) so you can go to bed each day knowing you are at peace with those around you.

Thank you for reading.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

I Failed

Last September I started a daily blog challenge and I failed miserably. I learned a lot from this experience and the biggest lesson is things won't happen unless you make it.

It was a great thought: I will write a blog everyday. Sadly, I never did anything to make sure that it was accomplished.

Whatever you want to do, make a plan on how your going to achieve it because it won't just happen by itself.  This failed project was a great reminder for me and a great lesson for all people to remember.

What do you want to achieve? How are you going to get there?

Thank you for reading.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

My Problem with Student Growth

I love watching my daughter learn new things. At four months old she is just now realizing what surrounds her.

Children (people) learn and it does not always matter who is around them. Yes, great teachers help, but kids are going to learn because that is what kids do.
My problem with Student Growth being tied to teacher evaluation is that it makes it sound like teachers are the only one in control of students learning. If you take a class of students who are from stable healthy families, eat filling meals and are nurtured; they are going to learn more if they have a great teacher rather than an average or bad teacher. Sadly, not all of our students live in this environment.

Students will learn and they will grow as they are ready. Yes, we should aim to put high quality teachers in every classroom, but please realize that teachers are not in complete control.

Thank you for reading.

Friday, September 12, 2014

What I Get To Do

Next week is my last week of maternity leave and I have mixed emotions. I am going to miss having the time at home, but I also miss my students and being in my classroom. The last three and a half weeks have been an eye opening experience. I never thought I would enjoy doing the stay at home thing and although I am not sure if I could do it long term, I have enjoyed the past few weeks. It's amazing how life can change us if we let it.

In all honesty, the first week home was incredibly rough. My husband and I were bickering more with each other and I was feeling like I HAD to do a lot of things. Now that my time is almost up I realize all the things I GET to do. Yes, I deal with more yucky diapers and more crying than my husband, but I get to wake up each morning to a smiley little girl knowing that if I want to lay in bed and cuddle with her I can. That is a true blessing!

Often I go through my day and think of all the things that I have to get done. We all live busy lives, but if I stop and reflect, I realize that I am able to do many incredible things. Working with my students and having an impact on them is far more important than a to do list (yes I realize I need to complete paperwork in order to keep my job).  It's all about perspective.

So, what do you get to do today?

Thank you for reading.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

What Are You Doing?

The other day I babysat one of my coworkers daughters who is two years old. We colored, played with toys, made cookies and picked vegetables from my garden. Throughout the day she kept asking me "what are you doing." Which was almost always followed by why?  Anyone who has spent anytime around a two year old knows they ask this all the time. It may become annoying but the curiosity of little children is very high.

When do adults stop being curious? When do we stop asking why?

There are so many procedures and things we do in school and everyday life that we don't think about. What am I doing? Why am I doing it? These are two powerful questions that we need to reflect on. Because we have always done it that way is not a good answer. 

What are you doing?  Why?

Thank you for reading.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Authentic Servant

There is a well known quote about champions that I hear and see often. "A Champion works when no one is watching."

If we think about this phrase it should force us to reflect. What do you do when no one is watching? Who are you when no one is around?

The other person that still works when no one is around is a servant.

It is a challenge to do the right thing when you know you could easily get away with it (no one will know if I. ..) The same goes for being a servant. As a Christian, we are called to serve all the time. Not only when people are around, or people are being nice to us or because we think they deserve our help. We are simply called to serve.

Working hard when no one is around and serving regardless of the circumstances completely destroys the old argument of "but s/he did this to me."

Our students need us to be servants regardless of how they act. It is easy to help the ones who listen and are respectful but there are many others that need our help too.

It is an uphill battle but the reward is great. Be a servant.

Thank you for reading.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

You Never Know

In the past year, I have had two people thank me on Twitter for being instrumental during a difficult time in their life. Both times these people told me I was left feeling guilty and a bit shocked.

I felt guilty because I vaguely remembered either exchange. The conversation that was so important to them was only a memory for me. I felt shocked because I never realized how important those conversations had been.
Through our relationships we have the ability to influence people and often times our influence is unknown to us. We are having a positive or impact influence on those around us, yet we may never realize until much later.
Relationships matter,  conversations matter. Things you don't think will, matter to other people. It may be small and seem very insignificant to you, but it could mean the world to someone else.

Be intentional,  be kind and realize you have more influence than you realize.

Thank you for reading.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Small but Mighty

This summer my husband and I planted a garden. It was a great reminder that mighty things come on small packages. Our yard is not very large and our garden is fairly small, but you would not be able to tell based on the product. 


Don't let challenges interfere with your ability to be successful. 

Keep fighting the good fight. Thank you for reading. 

Monday, September 1, 2014

App: Simple Mind +

The first project I had my music appreciation students complete was a Musician Family Tree Project. They had to research and artist and find out who influenced them. Through and Twitter conversation on Twitter I discovered the app Smart Mind. It is a mind mapping application,  but I had my students use it to create a tree of who influenced their musicians. I love free apps! This one is great and easy to use. Plus it is another great example of thinking outside of the box when using an app. 

Here is my example of the Musician Influence Tree I made for my class. 

Is It Worth It?

We all get 24 hours in a day. How we use our 24 hours is the difference. I am beginning to learn how to prioritize my life and I have realized that I cannot always accomplish everything that I want to, but often times many of these activities are filler and not truly important: cleaning, dishes and other chores for example.

I am starting to force myself to answer the question "is it worth it?"  I want to make sure I am using my time wisely. What activities constitute being well worth it?  How many students does it need to impact in order for it to be worth it?

This is a tough question and I think the answer varies depending on the situation. I believe all of my students deserve and are worth my full effort. I also realize that I cannot realistically give them all full 1:1 effort because sadly there are not enough hours in a day.

Is the effort worth it if it only impacts 100, 50, 20, 10 or 1?  Teachers put in a lot of effort and sometimes it appears that our efforts are wasted. However the longer I teach, the more I realize that we don't always know when we are impacting those around us.  Even if it only impacts one student it is worth our efforts.

Keep fighting the good fight. Thank you for reading.

I Don't Know What To Write About...

There have been many days the last year that I woke up not knowing what to blog about. Sometimes the ideas come easily and other times they don't. I also do blogging with my fifth grade media students and I give them the same list that I created for myself to help me find blogging motivation. 

1. Something positive or negative that you recently experienced and what you learned from it. 

2. A hobby or something new you have learned. 

3.  A recent experience. 

4.  A recent project 

Where do you find your motivation to write?

Thank you for reading. 

Sunday, August 31, 2014

The Right Device

I often hear people talking about picking the perfect device and I have come to realize that this device does not exist. I use multiple devices: Mac Book,  Dell desktop, iPad and an Android phone. Each device has a purpose and it's own set of positives and negatives.

In my opinion we need to teach our students to use multiple devices because we never know which one they may use in the future. Plus each device allows students to create or use it in different ways. If we give our students a solid foundation they will be able to transition these skills to other areas.

What devices do you use and what are the positives/negatives you see?

Thank you for reading.

A Year Of Blogging

Today is the official end of my year of blogging challenge. I was not able to keep up with a blog a day so I am going to keep writing until I catch up. I may not have been successful with this challenge but I still learned a lot.

I learned that it is vital to be intentional in order to achieve what I set out to do.  Without being intentional, days will slip by without accomplishing my daily goal of blogging.  Blogging has helped me reflect and process situations.

Blogging helps me be more positive and to think about challenges in logical way.

Why do you blog?

Thank you for reading.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

What Do You Need?

I am a strong believer that we all need certain things (aside from food, water and air). These needs do not need to be met by every person, but we need them from someone.

In my opinion these needs are...

To be accepted
To be cared for
To be understood
To be respected
To be loved
To be thought of
To be supported
To be helped

What do you need?

Thank you for reading.

How Was Your Day?

How was your day?

I realized my requirements for a good or bad day were pretty simple. A good day was one that went me way, my students listened to me and things went well. A bad day was one where students didn't listen the first time or things did not go my way.

Why are challenges bad?  I just started reading "Mindset" and it is eye opening.

Thank you for reading.

Friday, August 29, 2014

Day 363: Smile

Daily Blog Challenge Day 363/365

My daughter just turned two months old and she recently learned how to smile. Smiles are great in general, but there is somehing special about a baby smile. It is almost impossible to not smile back.
We all have the capabilities to smile and even though we may not be as cute as babies, our smiles still hold power.

A smile can make someone's day brighter. Smiles share happiness and they spread positivity.
Life is challenging at times and we all go thru rough moments, but we can each be a positive light for those around us.

Smile, it will make the day easier.

Thank you for reading.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Day 362: Why?

Daily Blog Challenge Day 362/365

Why are you upset?

Seems like a simple question, but often times it is more complicated than a simple explanation. 

I am in the midst of my first full with of maternity leave. I love the extra time with my daughter, but this whole stay at home mom thing is an adjustment. I have found myself more irritated with my husband and jealous of him (he gets to go to bed when he wants, gets to sleep thru the night and does not have to worry about our daughter). Now I am not saying this to complain about my husband or to say he is a bad father. I use this story to illustrate my point.

I have found myself irritated with my husband and feeling like I have to take care of everything. On the surface it seems that I am upset because he didn't put his clothes away or do the dishes, but after spending time thinking about the situation I realized the main problem is that I feel unappreciated. I hope this does not make me sound like a little kid, but I am being honest.

This situation reminded me that our behavior and feelings do not always clearly identify what is truly wrong. A student may act out in class because of many reasons that have little to do with their actual behavior. It may seem like one things, but it could be for another reason all together.

The only way we can truly understand why a student (or person) acted the way they did is to talk to them. I am trying to use the Love and Logic philosophy in my classroom and the main thing I like about it is that it allows students to create their own solutions. Students need to realize their are many options but that each has its own consequence.

We need to help students realize there are many ways to deal with a situation.  Childhood is a perfect time to practice different solutions and to learn how they react to different situations.  Childhood enables children to practice making choices while the overall consequences are fairly cheap.

It is not always what it seems.

Thank you for reading.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Day 361: Hope

Daily Blog Challenge Day 361/365

I believe one of the greatest gifts my parents gave me was the gift of hope.

I was taught from an early age that I could be whatever I wanted to be, but that my choices would impact my life and I would have to work hard. I had hope that even on a bad day, the next day could be better.
There are many people in our world that live without hope. Life seems like too much of an uphill battle and there seems to be no hope that it will ever get better.

This makes me extremely sad. Without hope why should I get up in the morning? Why should I try my best?  Why should I work hard?

We all could use an extra dose of hope every now and again. How do you help your students/friends/family feel hopeful for the future? 

Thank you for reading. My prayer for you and all people is that you will feel hopeful today and always.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Day 360: Twitter in the Music Room (Technology Tuesday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 360/365

Technology Tuesday 

Thru Twitter Chats this week I have discovered many more music teachers that use Twitter with their students. I am excited to connect with more music classes this year. We have a bulletin board that shows all of our Twitter and Skype connections. Last year we connected with a lot of general education classes, so I am looking forward to connecting to more music rooms this year. 

My hope for this spreadsheet is to create a list of classrooms with Twitter accounts so that we can all connect our rooms together. If you have a Classroom Twitter Account, please fill out this form

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Day 358: Enjoy the Moment

Daily Blog Challenge Day 358/365

Today I had lunch with a friend from my Woodside Ranch days (summer job during college), her husband and their one year old daughter. I was reminded while we talked that it had been two years since I saw her and four years since I saw him. It honestly does not feel like it's been that long. The time has flown by.

Hours quickly turn to days which turn to weeks, months and years. We need to enjoy each moment because it will be gone before we know it. Stop and smell the roses because soon it will be snowy and cold. Stop and build a snow man because soon it will be above 90 degrees and humid.

Life is full of wonderful things and we need to make sure we are appreciating all of it. Blink and you may miss something wonderful.

What simple joy did you appreciate today?

Thank you for reading.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Day 357: Meet In The Middle

Daily Blog Challenge Day 357/365

I am considered one of the techier teachers in my school.  I have decided this year I want to help my coworkers incorporate technology into their classrooms (instead of sitting on the side and being frustrated that the technology we have is going unused.)

I have connected with two teachers so far this year and am helping them setup Mystery Skypes for this year.  I was reminded that meeting people where they are is HUGE!

My husband is teaching 7th grade Geography this year and I suggested he do Mystery Skypes with his students.  This idea was overwhelming for him and originally he dismissed it.  A few weeks later I was telling him about how I was setting up Mystery Skypes for my 4th grade teachers.  They learn about the states and this will be a perfect opportunity for them to practice and review their vocab and the locations of land features.  Once I finished explaining what we were going to do he asked if I could set them up for his class too (of course I said yes :).  The idea of talking to people he did not know to setup something he had never done was way outside his comfort zone, but with me as the middle person, it did not seem as scary.

Be the change you want to see.  Talk to those around you and be of service to them.  We can all add to those around us.  Meet them where they are and gently push them out of their comfort zone.

What talents and qualities can you give to those around you?

Thank you for reading.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Day 356: ALS Challenge

Daily Blog Challenge Day 356/365

I am amazed at how fiery people have become about the Ice Bucket Challenge.  What started as a few videos a week has become something that is filling up my Facebook News Feed on a daily basis.  In my opinion there has been some confusion about the fact that a $10 donation is still required even if you dump ice water on your head, which is leading to more conversation.

On the other hand, is this challenge going viral because it gives others proof that we are individually donating?  Does it feed into the "look at what I did" culture?

Regardless, it is bringing awareness to ALS and it made me think...

-How many people have Googled ALS?
-How many people had never heard of ALS before this Bucket Challenge started?

I had heard of ALS before these videos went viral, but I was one who Googled it because I was not exactly sure what it is.  Action comes from awareness.  I know there are many arguments against these videos (there is drought and we are wasting water.)  Yes, people could just quietly give 10 dollars and I hope that people still give their donation even if they do the challenge, but these videos are starting a conversation about a disease that a few weeks ago was not a hot topic.

Thank you for reading.


Thursday, August 21, 2014

Day 355: Birthdays

Daily Blog Challenge Day 355/365

I am not a big present person.  For my birthday, I prefer my husband to write a thoughtful card.  Planning dinner or something like that would be a bonus.  My husband and I were discussing last night how in many ways our idea of celebrating our birthdays goes against the "norm" and it made me think about why I want to celebrate the way I do.  What I came up with is that it is all about feeling important, which is the same for everyone I think.  Presents make us feel special and important and in American Culture we only buy presents for those we care about.  We spend energy and time on what is important to us and often we are too busy on a daily basis to show this attention and energy to people.  In my opinion Birthdays and Holidays are a chance to fix this.

In my experience buying a gift require someone to tell you what they want and going and purchasing that item.  There is not always a lot of thought put into this.  I have always been someone who appreciates a letter or heart felt message and I think that is why I prefer this item over a gift.  A heart felt message is not something anyone else can do for you and it takes time, thought and energy.  I prefer words to express my feelings than gifts.  There is nothing wrong with either way.

In the end, I came to the conclusion that birthdays are a day where we want to be reminded that we are important to someone.  Life is busy and full of chores and responsibilities.  Birthdays are our chance every 365 days to be the focal point and to put our energy and time towards people instead of responsibilities.  I believe this is why wives get upset with husbands when special days are forgotten.  These special days put the focus on something other than to do lists and responsibilities.

Like most things in life, this conversation led me back to my students.  I believe we all have this desire to feel important, wanted and cared about.  How do we make sure our students (family and friends) feel this way everyday and not just on their birthday?  Treating people very well regardless of the situation is one of my missions for this school year and my life in general. 

Thank you for reading. 

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Day 354: Accountability

Daily Blog Challenge Day 354/365

Today is the first day of my 4.5 week maternity leave. It is a strange feeling not going to work today, but I am looking forward to spending exra time with my daughter.

I am someone who thrives on routine and structure, so being home all day can be a challenge. I have decided to track what I spend my time on each day.  My hope is that this will help me see what I am spending my time on and help me stay on track. 

How do you keep track of your time?

Thank you for reading.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Day 353: Inservice Reflection

Daily Blog Challenge Day 353/365

We started the 2014-2015 school year with two days of teacher meetings.  These meetings tend to make me cranky because I feel like I am wasting my time.  The beginning of the school year should be a time to be excited and pumped up, but for me these meetings tend to do the opposite. Talking about laws, the new evaluation model and hearing about the ever growing deficit of our district are not topics that pump me up.

Here are a few of my thoughts after two days of meetings.

Illinois is transitioning to a new evaluation model.  I agree that evaluations need to be fixed, but I am not sure if a new form will fix the system.  In the end, evaluations are only as good as the evaluator.  We are so concerned about how teachers are doing, but I think we need to be more concerned about administrators.  They are the ones who are in charge of teachers, so some of the responsibility for poor teachers needs to go back to poor administrators.

Teachers are told to teach in ways that many have never experienced.  We are told not to lecture, yet this is often all that we experience.

In my opinion we are putting our efforts in the wrong areas.  Instead of focusing on rules and evaluations, we need to focus on relationships: with our students, with our schools, with our staff, with the community and with our parents.

Educators and administrators need to be a team.

How do you feel after your meetings?

Thank you for reading

Monday, August 18, 2014

Day 352: Artist Family Tree (Material Monday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 352/365

Material Monday

I am teaching music appreciation for the first time this year.  The 8th graders had the class last year, so I have to find new activities for them.  One project I am going to have them do is one that I found online.  My students are going to create an Artist Family Tree.  They are going to pick an artist and find out who influenced them and then research who influenced each of them and so on.

I have started working on an example for this project and I will post it when I am finished.  My hope is that my students will discover that music regardless of genre is all interrelated and many artists influence each other.  I think this will be a great way to start the class and will open up many other conversations.

What is your favorite music appreciation project?

Thank you for reading.


Sunday, August 17, 2014

Day 351: Blogging Challenge

Daily Blog Challenge Day 351/365

The original challenge was to blog every day.  I did really well for a while, but then I realized it was a bit overwhelming and I was not doing a great job of setting time aside to blog.  I changed the challenge to writing 365 blogs in 365 days.  This would allow me to still complete the challenge if I missed a few days.  As I approach the end of the year long challenge I have to face the fact that I have fallen short and will not achieve my objective.  I will persevere though and although it will take me more than a year I am on a mission to finish.

The challenge now is to write a minimum of two blogs a day.  One to continue the streak and the other to catchup on a day that I missed from earlier in the challenge.

Have you ever completed a blogging challenge?  What did it entail?

Thank you for reading.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Day 350: Servant

Daily Blog Challenge Day 350/365

Being a servant is hard!  It is so much easier to be mad when people are mean or hurt me.


Life is full of choices...

I can think every bad thing done to me was intentional or I can give them the benefit of the doubt.

I can treat others how they treat me or I can treat people well regardless of the situation.

I can act based on my feelings or I can do what is right.

I can have a good attitude when things are going well or I can have a good attitude regardless of the circumstance.

I can add to the life of others if I choose to be a servant.


How do you serve?

Thank you for reading.

Day 349: Follow Friday

Daily Blog Challenge 349/365

I have never used the Follow Friday hashtag because I am always afraid I will miss someone.  At the same time, I always smile to myself when someone else includes me in their Follow Friday.

Why is this?

I believe this is because we all want to feel important and having someone else point out that we are worth following (even if it is just on Twitter) it makes us feel validated.  We all want to be reminded that we are important and that others think about us.  Follow Friday is a simple way of doing this.  In someways it may become a popularity contest, but it also depends on how you use it.

How do you tell others that they are important to you and that you appreciate them?  Do you send out Follow Friday tweets?

Thank you for reading.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Day 348: What is a Bad Teacher?

Daily Blog Challenge Day 348/365

What is a Bad Teacher?  What is a Good Teacher?

I am a sports person, so many of my thoughts become sports analogies.  As a coach, many of my players tell me they want to score more points.  What they do not tell me is how they plan to score more points.  It is easy to focus on results, but we need to focus on the process.

It is common in teaching circles to talk about the importance of having positive relationships and bonding with your students.  We say this and then in the next sentence we are focused on curriculum and tests.

I want to score more points during the game, but I am not willing to spend hours in the gym working on my shot.  It is easy to focus on tests, but hard to put in the work building relationships with students who may not want to connect with me.

It is hard for me to list what a Bad Teacher is, but I know what a Good Teacher is.  It is one that shows their students they care about them and they build positive relationships with them. They see their students as people and care more about these people than test scores.  As we begin a new school year it is another opportunity for us to build positive relationships and to focus on our students as people and not their test scores.

What is your definition of a Bad Teacher?  What is your definition of a Good Teacher?

Thank you for reading.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Day 347: Brain Games

Daily Blog Challenge 347/365

I do not watch a lot of television, but one of my favorite shows is Brain Games.  If you have never seen this show, I strongly recommend it.  It uses games to explore how the brain works.  I have found this to be fascinating and it has made me wonder if we truly use this information in our classrooms.  I am still a rookie with my understanding of the brain, but I believe this information can be powerful and we need to setup our lessons with this information in mind.

How do you use brain research in your classroom?

Thank you for reading.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Day 346: Updating My Blog

Daily Blog Challenge Day 346/365

When I first started blogging I had tags for everything.  After I heard about the idea of using my blog as a portfolio I decided to cut down to only four tags, which corresponded with the Domains of the Danielson Model.

I started the 365 Blog Challenge as a way to organize my thoughts and reflect on my journey.  Writing for a public audience forces me to think and try to be more clear with my thoughts.  The other hope with my blog is that I will be able to share ideas and projects that I use in my classroom.  I have learned so much from other teachers so I want to give back to the cause.

In order to better organize my blog I have decided to add more tags in order to make it easier to search for activity ideas.

Tags I am going to add...
Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Fourth Grade
Choir
Music Appreciation
Media
Reflection (changed from Weekly Reflection)
Listening Activities

How do you setup your blog?

Thank you for reading.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Day 345: Music Is Incredible (Material Monday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 345/365

Material Monday-Bulletin Boards

I am responsible for one bulletin board in the main entry way of my school.  The last two years I have had a "This Month In Music" board and I would include pictures of what each grade was doing for that month, our song of the month and our composer of the month.  This year I decided I need to mix it up a little (plus the art teacher, whose board is right next to mine, had a fantastic looking one and I decided mine looked extra lame compared to hers.)

Our reading theme this year is superheros so I am trying to find a way to tie in that theme into my classroom. I know I saw this idea online, but I cannot remember where and numerous Google searches have failed to find the link.  To start the year I am going to use the Incredibles as my theme.  It is going to say Music Is Incredible and have pictures of the Incredibles.  I am also thinking about adding QR codes and information about what is going on in class and how to connect with our classroom through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

What are your favorite bulletin board ideas?

Thank you for sharing.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Day 344: Broken Record

Daily Blog Challenge Day 334/365

As I try to get caught up on my daily blog challenge I am beginning to feel like a broken record. It seems like many of the ideas I hear and read are similar. Therefore it is easy to feel like I am constantly repeating myself. Over the course of this blogging journey (along with reading, podcasts and reflection) I have learned a few things.  

1.  Relationships are what truly matter in life.
2.  Bible Study and prayer are vital for my life to feel balanced.
3.  Mission: Treat people very well and be gracious.
4.  Look for the opportunity to learn in all situations.

What items make up your philosophy?

Thank you for reading. 

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Day 343: This Is Your One Shot

Daily Blog Challenge Day 343/365 

How many times did you take the ACT? How many times did you take the driving  test? How many times did you take the praxis?

There are few tests as an adult that we are only allowed to take once. The point of these tests are to show mastery on a set of criteria. Everyone can have a drivers license and we do not consider that unfair because everyone passed. The test must be too easy if we are all passing.

School was pretty easy for me, but now that I am a teacher I see how stressful it could be for students who need to work for it. I can't imagine the stress I would feel if I walked into a test knowing I did not understand the content, but I know this happens everyday for some students.

We want our students to learn and grow but we have put fixed mindset limitations on them. We have set up do or die expectations and convinced many students they only have one shot to be successful or to prove they are smart.

Tests should be used to show who has mastered content and to give us information to help those who as still on their road to mastery.

What routines do you have in place to help students master concepts?

Sometimes we all need more than one shot.

Thank you for reading.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Day 342: Don't Listen

Daily Blog Challenge Day 342/365

Yesterday while I was driving I listened to a few podcasts by Joshua Medcalf. One of them was about talking to yourself instead of listening to yourself.

I was quickly given a real life example of this philosophy and it now makes a lot more sense. Last night I was tired and my daughter was being fussy. I soon became annoyed with my husband and my self talk was not helpful in the least.

He needs to help out more.
I am responsible for all this stuff.
He complains.
I don't have enough time.
I have too much to do.

So on and so on. My self talk only increased my frustration. It was in the middle of one of these self rants that I realized I needed to stop. I needed to talk to myself and focus on the positives. 

It seems simple but there is a big difference between telling our selves what to focus on and listening to our selves.  We are told to be quiet and listen but sometimes it is better to talk. Tell yourself what to focus on instead of letting it direct you to all the challenges.

How do you use self talk in your life?

Thank you for reading.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Day 341: Who Am I?

Daily Blog Challenge Day 341/365

I am very blessed with the opportunity to stay home with my daughter for a few weeks at the start of the school year. The workload of preparing my classroom is overwhelming at times and I am feeling a bit lost at times. For the past six years I have been a teacher. My identity has been wrapped in being a teacher and a coach.

Who am I if I am not a teacher? This has been a tough reflection for me. I have written about this topic before but I never realized that it had happened to me. I have let my identity become intertwined wih what I do and now that what I do is different I am confused at what that means for me. Who am I?
I am Marisa. I am a child of God, a mother,  a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend. I like music, reading and sports and I make a living by teaching students about these passions. I teach and I will still teach without a formal classroom.

My class roster just went down to one child for a few weeks and this will be the most important teaching I have done up to this date.

What we do is not who we are. We are people and our personal traits do not change with our job title.

Thank you for reading.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Day 340: Get Over It

Daily Blog Challenge Day 340/365

My daughter is only seven weeks old but she continues to teach me a lot. One skill I am trying very hard to master is the ability to "Get Over It."

My daughter only cries when she is hungry or has a stomach ache. Fixing the hungry cry is simple. She may be completely undone and upset, but the minute we feed her she is done crying and happy again.
What an amazing skill. One minute she is acting like her world is ending and the next she is perfectly content.  The problem has been fixed, so there is no longer a need to fuss about it.

How often do adults fuss over problems that have been fixed? I know I am not always good at doing this. I am going to try my best to take a page out of my daughter's play book and get over it.

How do you focus on the solutions instead of past problems? How do we teach our students and ourselves to forget about past issues and focus on the here and now?

Thank you for reading?

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Day 339: New Ideas for Gamification (Technology Tuesday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 339/365

Technology Tuesday

Last year I started using gamification in my media class during second semester. This year I plan on using it all year.

I like that gamification allows me 1:1 time with my students and it allows students to work at their own pace, which is a skill many of my students struggle with.

Things I am changing this year...


-This year I am going to have worlds instead of levels and each world will be a collection of projects using a specific tool: docs, spreadsheet,  slides, calendar, maps, coding, sites and audio/visual.

-Students will earn badges for showing mastery on different tools.

-I am brainstorming ways to add powers to my setup. Students will be able to "buy" powers with their achievement points: pick where to sit and other things like that.

-We will use Edmodo for our LMS. I will use groups to organize students and their assignments.


How do you use gamification in your classroom?

Thank you for reading.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Day 338: First Project (Material Monday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 338/365

Material Monday

I am in the midst of writing lesson plans for the start of the school year.  I like to start the year with a project that I know the students will love.  I also try to include an improvisation or composition component.

Kindergarten:  Name game, singing games, small percussion and dancing.

First Grade:  Singing games, dancing and small percussion

Second Grade: Rhythm Sticks-We start with rhythm echoes, I lead and than the students take turns being the leader. We also talk about AB form and learn a few basic rhythms to play along with to different songs.  I use popular, up beat music during this project.

Third Grade:  African Drums-We start with rhythm echoes, I lead and than the students take turns being the leader.We do 3-5 part rhythms and Drum Jams where the students listen to each other and play what they think fits.  The students also write a 4 bar 4/4 piece.

Fourth Grade:  Cup Game-We start with rhythm echoes, I lead and than the students take turns being the leader.  Thane learn the Cup Rhythm and play along with a variety of songs at different tempos.  The students also write their own 4 bar 4/4 cup rhythm.

What projects do you start the year with?

Thank you for reading.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Day 337: Yes, You Can!

Daily Blog Challenge 337/365

During personal observations and hearing stories from other moms I have come to the conclusion that many men seem to think that mom's have a magical power to know exactly what their baby needs. I am here to tell you that I for one am flying by the seat of my pants and I am trying to learn as fast as I can.

I do not mention this as a negative to my husband. I have come to realize that he does know how to care and comfort our daughter. The problem is he does not think he knows how to do this.  He is scared to do the wrong thing so he often allows me to take care of the situation. This is a reminder on how powerful our thoughts are. What we tell ourselves matter. How we think about situations matter.

So next time you are don't think you can do something, remember Yes You Can! You know more and are capable of more than you give yourself credit for. You may not be perfect the first time but you will learn and get better.

Yes, You Can!

Thank you for reading.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Day 336: #SatChat Reflection

Daily Blog Challenge Day 336/365

Do teachers fear technology or are many untrained on how to use it? Should teachers be given training or should they be expected to figure it out?

One of the recent #SatChat conversations was about teachers being scared of technology. I work in a district where technology is available but often unused. I am personally tired of hearing that I use technology because I am a young teacher, but I realized during the course of the chat I realized that this issue is more complex than I originally thought.

Many districts hand teachers a piece of technology and expect them to not only to use it proficiently but to teach themselves. Very little, if any training is provided. It would not be deemed acceptable for a teacher to expect a student to teach themself material, yet many expect teachers to use resources and teach in a way that many have never experienced before. This is a loosing battle in my opinion.

I realize that for every district that does it this way there is at least one that offers training and support to their teachers.  There are teachers who are scared to use technology, but there are also many teachers who are hungry to learn and who just need a little guidance.

Technology, like learning anything new takes time and people want to know what they are going to get from their investment. Those of use that use technology can model and encourage those teachers around us.
How do you help support your coworkers? How do you encourage others to use technology?

Thank you for reading. 

Friday, August 1, 2014

Day 334: Relationships

Daily Blog Challenge Day 334/365

I am still amazed by the power of Twitter. I have found that the online contact makes the relationships a little easier. I consider myself to be a shy person when I am in new situations or surrounded by people I do not know.  People go to Twitter to connect, so they are putting aside time to interact. So often in face to face interactions, we get distracted by the challenges of the day and although we are surrounded by other people, we don't spend much of this time truly interacting.  Sadly, I have found I often know more about those I follow on Twitter than I do about those I see everyday.

When I think about activities I enjoy, classes I liked in school or my favorite teachers/coaches they almost all boil down to one thing.  They all included times where I felt connected to the people around me and had positive relationships.  Relationships are often overlooked, but I believe they are most important.

Relationships make life enjoyable (yes, at times they add stress), but they also add purpose.

How do you build positive relationships with your students?  How do you build positive relationships with your coworkers?  How do you build positive relationships with your friends and family?

Thank you for reading.

Day 335: Be The Change

Daily Blog Challenge Day 335/365

I have accepted a challenge and I urge everyone to take on the challenge too.

Be the change you want to see...

If you want to see people be kind, be the kindest.
If you want to see teachers teach a certain way, teach that way.
If you want teachers to use technology, use technology.
If you want to see your players work hard, work hard yourself.

This year I am challenging myself to teach the way that I think teachers should teach: to have high standards for our students, to use technology, to be kind, to treat people well and to share my passion with my students.

What change do you want to see?

Thank you for reading.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Day 333: Balance

Daily Blog Challenge Day 333/365

Balance is never 50-50. It is rarely equal on individual days, but the key is that it eventually finds equilibrium. It is also important to remember that there are always priorities and I need to make sure I spend my time on what is truly important.  When I feel stressed I have found that my priorities are usually on getting stuff done.  I am a bit of a neat freak and I feel better when my house is clean and organized, but I cannot let my life to become a to do list.

What my priorities should be: God, Family/Friends, Getting Better and learning.  Stress creeps in when my priorities get messed up.

How do you find balance in your life?  How do you set your priorities?

Thank you for reading.


Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Day 332: Modern Version of A Baby Calendar (Technology Tuesday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 332/365

Technology Tuesday

Before my daughter was born I had heard about the idea of setting up an e-mail account for her.  I didn't think a lot about it, but one of my coworkers mentioned it to me and I saw the idea online  I decided to setup a Google Account for my daughter.  I recently went through my baby bucket and was amazed at how detailed my mom kept my baby calendar.  I was given a baby calendar from our church for my daughter, but I am not always good about writing things down.  I keep my phone with my almost all the time, so I decided to start a Google Calendar for my daughter.  This allows me to write events down and write a description about each events without having to worry about limited space.

I am excited to be able to give my daughter a keepsake from her childhood and I believe that a Google Calendar is something that I can keep doing for her and for future children.

How do you keep track of keepsakes for your children or students?

Thank you for reading.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Day 331: Innovation Day (Music Appreciation)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 331/365

Material Monday

This year I am teaching a music appreciation class.  I have two sections of seventh grade and two sections of eighth grade.  I see each section every other day for one quarter.  I only have eight weeks of class, but one activity that I want to do for 2-3 class periods is Innovation Day.  My tentative plan is that this will be how we end the quarter.

My plan is to give my students 2-3 class periods to explore anything related to music.  The guidelines are that it has to be school appropriate and they have to be able to show what they worked on.  I have done Innovation Day with my fourth graders for the last two years and it has been a great experience.  I am nervous to try it with middle school students, but I am also excited to see what projects they will come up with.

Do you do innovation day?  How do you set it up in your classroom?

Thank you for reading.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Day 330: Learning

Daily Blog Challenge Day 330/365

I just stated reading the book "Mindset" by Dweck and one of my favorite messages so far is "do you want to learn or do you want to prove you are right?"

One of the things I like about Twitter is that it allows me to learn and it connects me to many other people who want to learn. Not being face to face makes it easier for me to admit that I am wrong or that I don't have all the answers.  Twitter has become a safe place for me to learn because I know I am surround by people that want to help and will not openly judge me (not being able to see eye rolls or body language helps.)

Imagine the level of success we could all reach if we looked at everything as an opportunity to learn and grow? What if we were always looking for things to learn and ways to make ourselves better?

Having the mindset that I am always going to learn is a challenge.  My ego gets in the way and sometimes I just want to be right.  I want to be smart enough and good enough.  Being willing to learn is less stressful than always having to be right though. Being willing to learn allows me to go into a situation with a clear mind and with a focus that I am going to leave a better/stronger/smarter person.  

Do you make decisions based on your ability to be right or on your ability to learn and make yourself better?

Learn  from each moment and be a better person tomorrow than you were today.

Thank you for reading.

Day 327: Specialization

Daily Blog Challenge Day 327/365

I am often told that I am techy because I am young. I took one computer class in middle school and another in high school and even since I was in school the amount have technology has changed dramatically.
I am a firm believer that I am successful now because I was taught a firm foundation of skills as a kid. This foundation has allowed me to adapt and learn new skills.

In youth athletics they often talk about how children who specialize in one sport from a young age have a higher risk for injury. Different sports train your body in different ways. Playing different sports allows your body to train on different planes of movement and in different ways.

I believe the same is true in school. We are specializing so young (getting rid of handwritting, no typing, etc) that some of our students do not have a solid foundation that allows them to adapt to new skills.
There is no way to know what our world will look like in a few years and what skills our children will need to be succesful, but I firmly believe that if they have a strong foundation of skills they will be able to adapt to new skills.  Specialization risks creating adults who can only do a specific task. In my opinion, truly successful adults are those who can learn new skills and can adapt to their conditions.

Thank you for reading.

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Day 329: What Do You Do With Your Time?

Daily Blog Challenge Day 329/365

I have been listening to a lot of Podcasts lately and one powerful take away for me has been the question "What Do You Do With Your Time?  This question was asked in a podcast by Joshua Medcalf and is a cornerstone of the Train To Be Clutch philosophy.

What Do You Do With Your Time?

One fact the podcast point out was that time is the only thing in the world that everyone get equally.  Regardless of who you are, you only get 24 hours a day.  This is a simple truth, but one that I had never really thought about.  While the amount of time we have is equal the distinguishing factor is how we use that time.  True success is directly related to how much time was spent working.  I can not expect to become a master at something if I only spend an hour a day working on it.

How Do You Spend Your Time? What do you want to accomplish? Are these two mission aligned or are they at odds with each other?

Thank you for reading.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Day 328: More Than A Game

Daily Blog Challenge Day 328/365

I always say that athletics helped prepare me for life and I see the benefit of them outside of wins and losses.  Sports can teach us many lessons if they are organized the correct way.  We do not teach people anything if we allow athletes to get away with poor choices, we elevate the status of athletes, we allow talent to overshadow hard work or we allow the heat of the moment to impact our behavior.

Why do we play sports?

Sports can help us stay in shape.  Sports can teach us how to interact with other people.  Sports can teach us how to control our emotions.  Sports can do many things to benefit our lives.

Sports can do these things, but they will only do this if coaches and parents hold athletes to high standards.

Thank you for reading.


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Day 326 Is This Normal?

Daily Blog Challenge Day 326/365

I am the proud (and tired) mother of a five week old baby girl. Since June 18th I can't even begin to count how many times I have asked my mom, doctors and friends "is this normal?"  I learned very quickly that normal does not really exist when it comes to babies. Just when I get used to something she would do, she grows and starts doing something new.

What if we got rid of the word "normal" from our vocabulary and from our schools? What if we just saw each child as they are and each experience as a chance to learn?  I believe this change could be powerful. Instead of labels, we try to help each other grow and learn. In the end, who can really define normal? We are all "normal" in our own way.

Thank you for reading.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Day 325: Media Portfolios (Technology Tuesday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 325/365

Technology Tuesday

During fourth quarter I decided to have my students use Google Sites to create a Portfolio for all of their projects from the semester.  Basically it was just a way for them to link all of their projects in one spot.  This is not only very useful for me and others who want to see their work, but it also introduce them to building a website.  I created a template on Google Sites and had my students add their content to it.  This helped save time and limited a few steps for my students to have to do themselves.

How do you use portfolios in your classroom?

Thank you for reading.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Day 324: Word Wall (Material Monday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 324/365

Material Monday

This year I am trying something new with my word wall. The last two years I have used two pocket charts to display my word wall and organized it by grade level.

This year I am going to organize my word wall by letter under a alphabet line. I found this alphabet line at the Dollar Store and thought it would add some nice color to my room.


Each grade is going to have a color and I am going to write their words on construction paper. I am going to use our die cut machine to cut the paper into circles so it matches the design of the alphabet line.

Thank you for reading. 

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Day 322: I Apologize

Daily Blog Challenge Day 322/365

This blogging journey has been a challenge and I have learned a lot about myself as a writer.  Frustration seems to help my creative juices and I find myself writing a lot more when I am irritated. The main problem with this is that I tend to write very quickly when I have the ideas.  This means that occasionally the formatting, grammar and spelling may not be perfect and I apologize for this.  Sometimes I do not proof read as carefully as I should.

I thank you for joining me on this journey and I hope that you are able to overlook my mistakes.  This blog has been a great reflection tool.

Thank you for reading.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Day 321: Blessed

Daily Blog Challenge Day 321/365

I recently read an article about how Christians should stop saying they are blessed and I agree with many of the points the author made. In this post, I am referring to blessings as the wonderful nuggets that make up my life.

I am writing this post using my phone because my daughter is taking on my chest. This is one of my favorite moments as a new mom and it reminds me of how blessed I am.

Regardless of the many frustrations I experience,  my life is full of many wonders as well.
What actions or words remind you of the wonders that fill your life?  It is so easy to miss them if we do not take the time to slow down and enjoy life.

Our students are bombarded with tests and reminders of how good or bad they are at certain skills. How can we as teachers help them see the blessings in their own life? How can we help them understand their life has positives and meaning even if it seems chaotic and messy?

I believe we can all find blessings somewhere (I realize this is easy for me to say as I live in the United States, have a house, clean water and live in safety), but I do believe there is always something that is good. Once we find the blessings in our life, how can we help others find the blessings in their life?

Do you feel blessed today?

Thank you for reading.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Day 320: To Do List vs Getting Better

Daily Blog Challenge Day 320/365

I am a bit of a neat freak. I want everything organized and in its assigned spot. My to do list is made up of many tasks that include cleaning and organizing various parts of my house. I realized this summer that my to do list is usually dominated by chores and things I have to do instead of tasks that will help me get better.

I think the same can be said for our students and people in general. It is easy to get caught up in the assignments and deadlines, but these are not necessarily the things that are going to help us improve. It is important to set aside time for reflection, relationships and reading.

Are you getting things done or are you getting better? How do you make sure your priorities are towards constant improvement?

Thank you for reading. 

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Day 319: Treat People Well

Daily Blog Challenge Day 319/365

As an elementary teacher I am routinely telling my students "just because s/he is being mean does not mean you need to." It seems like such a simple philosophy, but it is a daily challenge for my students.  I had to finally admit to myself that I too struggle with this.

It is easy to be kind when others are kind, but how do I treat others when I am annoyed and frustrated with them? During these times it is a challenge to still treat them well.  It is easy to come up with a hundred reasons (excuses) for treating others poorly based on my current situation.

No one wants to be around people who are only nice when things are going well. These types of people make life more stressful. The gut check for me was realizing that I am often one of these people. At times, I am the person who is happy when the times are good and cranky when things are challenging.  It is often easier to get sucked into this mindset that to stay focused on the mission of treating people well regardless of what is going on.  

Everyone deserves to be treated well all the time, not just when things are going well.  This is a challenge for me, but now that I see the behavior in myself I am able to work on it.

How to you make sure you are always treating people well?

Thank you for reading.


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Day 318: Twitter Chats (Technology Tuesday)

Daily Blog Challenge Day 318/365

Technology Tuesday

During a recent conversation with @sarahdateechur,  we discussed the idea of starting a chat for basketball coaches.

I have played around with the idea of starting a hash tag or chat for a while, but it always felt like all of my ideas were already taken. Sarah gave me the push I needed to take it a step farther and look up possible hash tags. After searching a few, I discovered that #bballcoachchat, #SBcoachchat and #Scoachchat are all available.

Sarah and I are in the beginning stages of setting up a chat for basketball coaches. We would like to have a formal time along with a hash tag for people to share ideas and advice. We have also discussed the possibility of doing a Google Hangout. I am excited to see where this journey leads and I look forward to learning from other people so I can become a better coach.

*Update*
Sarah recently learned that there already is a basketball coach chat, so we will see what happens.

Have you started a hashtag or a chat?  What was your experience like?

Thank you for reading.