Aaaaand . . . we're back!

And just like that, another year has blown by and here I am posting my (not-so-intentionally) annual post. Haha! One of these days I will get the hang of juggling being a mom, and a wife, and a teacher (all FULL time jobs, if done right!) and be able to post about it to my blog.

This last year was a tough year.  I changed schools and left many dear friends and very dear students and families in McKinney.  I felt like a first year teacher all over again with a new team, new students (750+), new curriculum, new expectations, etc. I had to learn to divide my time between being the dedicated "always there" teacher I am used to being and the "my arms ache to hold my baby" mommy that my heart cried out to be (still learning that lesson, btw).  Add to that being faced with situations and conflicts that I've never had to deal with before and I'd say last year could have easily been my last had I had any other options.

That's not to say that there weren't wonderful things about the year.  I think I learned more and grew more as a teacher and a person than any time of my life.  We had some amazing musical experiences.  My choir received the highest marks at a contest (the first time I've ever taken an elementary choir to be judged!) and glowing notes from our judges!  I had a few glorious break-throughs with some of our tougher students (though there are still some that I fear I will struggle with again this year).  I have established some good relationships with my students and their parents that I look forward to continuing this next year.  And I made some wonderful friends who helped me along the way.

Even still, it has taken a full summer, those wonderful friends, a couple of dear mentors, some excellent professional development (God bless my Orff friends!), leaning heavily on my faith, and the sweet support of my family to convince myself that I'm not just ok with going back, but I'm actually excited about it!  Granted I may be a little more guarded than the stary-eyed young teacher I used to be, but I'm excited none-the-less.  So here I am, beating the odds (did you know that as of 2011, 46% of teachers left the profession before their 5th year? Wowzers!), and going back for year 6!

A few of my Orff friends

Our PCE Tech Team presenting in Ardmore, OK

Our PCE Tech Team presenting at the Lonestar TIA conference

I truly am excited for what this year will hold.  I'm OH SO HAPPY to be in my 2nd year at this school and already know my kiddos and how things run!  I'm excited about our new technology team and the awesome things we have done together this summer (and the things we have planned for this next year!).  I'm excited about getting my choir up and running again - we have a concert on September 26!  Am I crazy?  Probably.  I'm excited about the research I have planned to do in my music class and what it will mean for my students now and in the future. I've got big plans!!

So here's to a new and better year - one full of positive, uplifting experiences, great friends, engaged learning (for me and my kiddos), and beautiful music!  2013-2014, here we go!

Whew! What a Year!

Well, that was a crazy 12 months!  I'm happy to finally back from a long hiatus from this blog.  Let me catch you up on a few big things that have happened in the last 12 months.  Right after school started last year Mr. Stewart and I found out that we would be having a baby!  My due date was set for May 9, 2012 - so I spent the entirety of the last school year pregnant.  After about the third week of school fatigue set in and I went into survival mode.  My grand plans for the year were altered (for example, it's hard to have a full on 3rd grade production when you're 8 months pregnant) and my priorities began to shift from my precious students (who, up to this point, always took the spot just behind my husband on my priority list) to the precious baby that we would soon see.  Needless to say, keeping track of this teaching blog didn't just get put on the back burner - it fell off the stove entirely!

Fast forward 12 months.

Ella Elizabeth, 3 Months

I'm the proud mommy of the most beautiful 3 month old baby girl, Ella Elizabeth and after spending the entire summer with her (her whole life to this point), I am now preparing to go back to work and send her to a wonderful home daycare program here in our neighborhood.  I never thought anything could make me not want to teach, but oh what I'd give if I could stay home and take care of her every day!

With that thought in mind, we come to another important change in my life.  After much prayer, debate and, I admit, quite a few tears, I resigned from my dream job in McKinney, Texas and will be teaching at a great school that is much closer to home (3.8 miles, to be exact).  I'm still sad about leaving my friends, my students, (my instruments!), and the place I've come to call home for the last three years, but I know this change is for the best - for me and especially for my family.  No more 40+ minute commutes means nearly an hour and a half of extra time with Ella every day!  That alone is worth it.

I am starting to get excited about the start of the school year (nothing can make that giddy teacher-excitement totally disappear), and about getting set up in my new school.  I have one week left of summer break before teacher inservices start and I will probably spend quite a bit of it in my classroom (with Ella, of course) getting things set up and finding my way around.  Hopefully I will have a chance to post some classroom pics once I get everything squared away.

It will be a different year for me as I learn a new school and discover how to balance my family life and my school life all over again.  I'm up for the challenge though!  Here's to a new year!

Classroom Pictures!

Welcome to our music room!  Before we get to the class pics, I have to show you my new toy!  As part of an Apple pilot program with several Title 1 schools in our district, our teachers were given MacBooks and some were even given iPads/iPod Touches!  How great is that!  No iPad for this music teacher (at least, not yet!), but I'm thrilled with my MacBook!  I can't begin to tell you how much easier it is to get work done on this compared to the ancient desktop in my room!

I have to say, though, it has been a very long time since I've seen this logo in a classroom.  Isn't it pretty!

Now for the class pics.  Forgive the unfinished-looking bulletin boards.  They are awaiting kids' work and class names (part of my reward system).

Instrument Alley (channeling my inner JK Rowling . . .)  Thanks, Leigh!

Word Wall

My "I Will . . ." statements posted just outside my door.

 Some fun 2nd Grade compositions from the first week of school.  I am so proud of them for remembering their 1st Grade concepts!!  This next week we'll add body percussion and eventually perform it as an instrumental piece!

(yes, it's crooked.  yes, I had to fix it.  #OCD)

Check out some other great classroom ideas at Teaching Blog Addict's Classroom Photos Party!

Pinterest Linky Party!

Hi, I'm Melanie, and I'm addicted to Pinterest!  Especially now that so many teachers have joined and are contributing!  Talk about an amazing learning community!  If you're already on Pinterest, click my "Follow Me" button (and pay special attention to the "Teacher-y Things" page).  If you're not hooked yet, check out the Pinterest Linky Party over at Michelle's Math in the Middle blog.  I'm sure we'll have you convinced in no time with all of these great ideas!!

As my friend Tina says, "Sharing is caring!"

Enjoy!

Ready or Not, Here They Come!

My lessons are done and reviewed, my classroom is the cleanest it will be all year, my brain is full of new ideas and strategies from a full week of PD, my clothes are ready for tomorrow, my hair is freshly cut (oooohhhh menthol scalp massage at Tangerine Salon . . . .), my cutest lunch box has been rescued from the pantry floor, and my teacher materials are packed in my bag by the door.

Yep!  I'm ready!  Bring on the kids!!




PS - Check out this GREAT free clipart from Discover Education!  (Isn't that the cutest little backpack?!)

I Will . . .

We had a wonderful staff development day at Burks - maybe one of the best I have been to yet.  Our brilliant principals started off the day tugging on our heart-strings (and especially mine) by showing a couple of clips from Mr. Holland's Opus.  It's only my favorite inspirational movie of all time (runners up include Sister Act 1 and 2, The Sound of Music, and Mary Poppins).  I have never watched that movie without crying, and now that I'm in my fourth year of teaching music and have watched dear friends get cut due to budgets it just hits me even harder.  Thanks for the sob fest, Pam and Garry!  You definitely know how to get my attention!  :)

Gets me every time.

We also revisited and reaffirmed our belief statements and mission statement that we wrote for our school two years ago.   It is very nice to see that those statements are still true and speak to what we believe as a staff, and what I personally believe as a teacher.  Afterwards, we discussed what it looks like to live out those beliefs in our classrooms with our students.  We were challenged to create our own set of "I will . . ." statements and post them outside our doors.  These will serve as reminders to us and allow students, parents, and staff to hold us accountable.  I wanted to share mine here.  

Why I Teach Music

Taken from the the Do-Re-Mi Blog.


Why Teach Music


Music is mathematical.
It is rhythmically based of the subdivisions of time into fractions which must be done instantaneously, not worked out on paper.


Music is a foreign language.
Most of the terms are in Italian, German, or French; and the notation is certainly not English, but a highly developed kind of shorthand that uses symbols to represent ideas.  
The semantics of music is the most complete and universal language.


Music is history.
Music usually reflects the environment and times of its creation, often even the country and/or racial feeling.


Music is physical education.
It requires fantastic coordination of fingers, hands, arms, lip, cheek and facial muscles, in addition to extraordinary control of diaphragmatic, back, stomach, and chest muscles, which respond instantly to the sound the ear hears and the mind interprets.


Music is all of these things, but most of all, music is art.
It allows a human being to take all of these dry, technically boring (but difficult) techniques and use them to create emotion.  That is one thing science cannot duplicate; humanism, feeling, emotion, call it what you will.


That is why we teach music.
Not because we expect our students to major in music,
Not because we expect them to play or sing all their life,
Not so they can relax,
Not so they can have fun,
But so they will be human,
So they will recognize beauty,
So they will be sensitive,
So they will be closer to an infinite beyond this world,
So they will have something to cling to,
So they will have more love, more compassion, more gentleness, more good, in short, more life.
Of what value will it be to make a prosperous living unless you know how to live?
That is why we teach music.


author unknown

Warming Up for 2011-2012

      Instrumentalists have a routine they go through when preparing to play a rehearsal or performance.  Getting the horn out of the case, checking its parts, cleaning and oiling (if necessary), and then playing a series of notes/scales/passages all to make sure they are ready to join the group and play their best.  Whether it's conscious or not, most musicians have their own little routine that they go through each time they prepare to play.  It's their warm up.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                              I and my fellow teachers are in the middle of our "warm up" routine right now.  Most of us have been in and out of our classrooms for the last couple of weeks by now, even though our contract days officially started this past Friday.  Beginning tomorrow we have a week of professional development with a little time thrown in for classroom prep and lesson planning.  We each have our own routines that we go through as we prepare to give our best to the kids who will come through our doors in just one week.  This will be my third year at Burks Elementary and I am thrilled that I've been here long enough to establish my "warm up routine".  My instruments are clean (no more killer dust-bunnies in my xylophones!), my bulletin boards are almost finished (minus a little laminating I'll do tomorrow), and my books are organized.  All I need to do now is organize my desk and get my first weeks of lesson plans finalized and submitted!  I'm nearly finished with my warm up and I'm ready to play!  Let's get this school year started!




(x-posted to http://melaniecstewart.weebly.com/blog.html)

Summer Living

It's been an intense summer of continuing ed so far.  We finished wrapping up the school year with our kiddos on Thursday, June 3 and finished up "summer-izing" our classrooms on Friday, the 4th.  I left the next morning for Lubbock where I officially earned my Level 3 Kodaly certification (one more to go!!!!!!!).  I just got back this past Friday (yep, that's right - nearly two full weeks in Lubbock) and I'm still trying to catch up on the sleep I lost from staying up past midnight doing homework.  Whew!  Now, I must finish up the last bit of my Kindermusik training (which I plan to devote my day tomorrow to).  I've been told that I should be able to finish up in about 5 hours.  That's great news - especially since I start teaching my first classes week after next!  Hooray!

My district's summer PD extravaganza is going on this week and, if I really really wanted, I could get my 3 technology PD credit hours out of the way.  I think I'm PD-ed out though.   I earned 80 hours at Kodaly (ever so slightly more than the required 18), so I think I'm ok for now.  :)

More Kindermusik news as it comes!

Kindermusik! - 2

Yep! This is what I get to do with my free time now! What a blessing! :)

Kindermusik!

(x-posted from The Stewarts' Little Family from March 27, 2010)
 
I'm going to be a Kindermusik teacher! Hooray!!

I've been considering getting my license for Kindermusik for some time now. I have many friends that teach who have been telling me for years about how wonderful it is and how much I would enjoy the program. Over Spring Break I did a lot of reading up on it and checking out the materials on their website. I noticed that one of the teachers listed in my area on the website was looking to hire in the next 6 months. On a whim I emailed her on Friday of Spring Break just telling her that I was interested and sent her a short version of my resume. In just a few short hours I got an email back asking if we could meet that Saturday! Well we met and I now have a job (provided that I finish my certification requirements by this summer)! The sweet lady I'll be teaching for is amazing! She's a past president of the Kindermusik Educators Association, helped write the training curriculum for teachers, and has been mentoring new Kindermusik teachers for years! I couldn't have fallen into a better situation to start learning about Kindermusik. Plus, she's just a genuinely sweet person and she has a huge passion for instilling a love of music in children. She's exactly the kind of person I would want to work with!

I don't know which of her facilities I'll be teaching at, but it will most likely be two or three around the north part of the Metroplex. We're even looking into starting a program here in Providence Village - which would be fantastic! Now, all I have to do is wait for my next paycheck, order my training materials, and get started! It shouldn't take me any more than 8 weeks, which will be perfect timing to be ready for summer classes. The great thing is, this is something that I can continue even once the next school year begins since I can offer my classes on week nights or on Saturday mornings!

I don't know how or why I keep getting blessed with all of these wonderful teaching opportunities out here, but I am oh so thankful!

Donors Choose!

I have a new Donors Choose project up and running for my classroom!  Hooray!

For those of you who don't know, DonorsChoose is a website where teachers can request materials for their classrooms and students.  Teachers "shop" for the needed materials though vendors that are associated with Donors Choose.  Teachers then write a short essay explaining their situation, need, and how these materials will help their students.  Once approved, Donors Choose will post the essay and request on their website.  ANYONE can donate any amount you wish - it works just like checking out on Amazon.com!  When the project is fully funded, Donors Choose will purchase the materials and send them to the teacher's school.  Everyone that donates gets a thank you (if you donate over $100 or you are the donor who gives the last amount to fully fund you get homemade thank you cards from the students!).

You may remember that last year I was able to get two new cd players for our music room at my old school in Odessa.  I am teaching in a new district this year and I am requesting a digital video camera for my classroom.  You can view my teacher page at http://www.donorschoose.org/mrs.stewart and view my project from there.  Or you go directly to my project page at http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=362881.

Please please pass this on to anyone you think would be interested in helping us out, or if you're so inclined, donate a little yourself (even if it's $1).  Every little bit helps!

iMuchas Gracias!

Holiday Programs are a Success at Burks!

Our music program had a busy couple of weeks leading up to our holiday break.  We had a Kindergarten program and three choir performances!  I could not be more proud of our students and the hard work the put into making these performances successful. 

On Thursday, December 10, our Kindergarteners gave a fantastic performance of some of the best known holiday tunes.  Each class had a special song to sing (and hat to wear) and got to hang their own homemade Christmas ornaments on our tree as our principal, Mrs. Bendorf read "Twas the Night Before Christmas".  It was a great way to kick off our holiday season.

The following Monday, our Burks Honor Choir went on their Winter Tour and performed at Colonial Lodge of McKinney and at Stonebriar Mall.  They sang their full winter concert on Tuesday night for a cafetorium full of parents, family, and friends.  Then on Friday morning, our choir students led the school in our Christmas Sing-Along.  What an outstanding group of singers and young leaders we have here at Burks!  I am so blessed to work with this fine group of students!

Classroom Pics!

So I finally got around to taking some pictures of my classroom.  There are still some things that need to be done (for instance, at some point soon, the SmartBoard on my wall will be replaced with the one that's chillin' in the back of the room) but I've done just about all I can.  Enjoy!

View from the door.  The wall to the immediate right is a bookshelf and my rocking chair.  Along that right wall is also my SmartBoard and piano.  On the far left you see the new SmartBoard that will soon be replacing the one bum one on my wall.  The giant atrocity that my tv is on will hopefully be gone by the end of the year.  Our schools are removing all the tv's (and their stands) since by the end of this year, all classrooms will have a SmartBoard.  Straight ahead is a cubby shelf full of fun little instruments (covered in fun fabric to keep little hands from exploring) and behind that is my desk.
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Closer view of my desk, the drumming table, two of my four student computers, Allie Gator (haven't found a good home for her yet - she's a prop from a previous program), and my word wall.  We're still reviewing and prepping new elements at this point so we don't have any words up there yet, but we will soon! 

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 Looking from the edge of my cubby shelves to my SmartBoard and the door.  Currently the only thing I can use that SmartBoard for is to tape pictures to - but that should be changing soon.  The spots you see on the floor are velcro pieces with numbers on them.  Each kid has his/her own special number that they sit on.  My friend Emily used this in her music classes.  It works great!  To the left of the SmartBoard is our new school song.  To the right is our School Creed, our BRAVO Expectations (i.e. school rules), my Bravo Board (also taken from Emily), and a list of rewards to be earned by getting stars on the Bravo Board.

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Continuing on around the room, counterclockwise from the first two pictures.  You see the edge of my desk/cubbies to the right, Allie Gator, bookshelves and cabinet unit, and my new SmartBoard.  On the floor is my awesome Wenger Footnotes carpet (it has a grand staff on it and interchangeable clefs - it's pretty cool).  The two doors in the back of the room are both currently used for storage, though the one with the window is supposed to be a "practice room".  I would eventually like to clean it out and actually get some use out of it.  Between the doors is my awesome finger puppets stage that I found for less than $5 at Ikea (my favorite place).  To the left of the doors is your first glimpse of a magical place called Aria Island.

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And here is Aria Island.  The people on this island only understand you if you use your singing voice (even if you need to go to the restroom!).  It's so much fun!  Beyond that you see more cabinets (that have every Kodaly book I could ever want/need!), my bass bars and some percussion, and my other two student computers.

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There are those two computers to the right, moving to the left from there you see my Wall of Fame (one of my Bravo Board rewards), my dry erase board, my CHAMPs chart (our school-wide way to show classroom rules/procedures.  It works really well), my A Team (any child who can sing an "A" by himself without hearing it in class first - another idea from Emily), and the hallway door where we started our tour.  Oh, and you also see some of my bigger mallet instruments (I have more in my closet.  This place is amazing!)

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I am so enjoying being at this school.  I have amazing support (obviously) from my Fine Arts coordinator.  I know she's got my back for anything I need.  I couldn't ask for a better specials team.  The faculty and staff as a whole are some of the kindest and most welcoming people I've ever met, and the kids are well, they're just kids, and you can't ask for more than that.  There are some brilliant kids here and some that we are working hard to get help for.  And every single one of them just need to be shown that someone cares about them and loves them.  It's not an easy job, but it is so rewarding.  I can't imagine myself doing anything else or in a better place.  I am truly blessed.

Food for Thought

More about this soon. Stay tuned!

Donors Choose Update

Yet again, within hours of posting, ALL THREE projects from teachers at my new school are FULLY FUNDED! Thanks to all who gave or shared! You are making a difference!

If you didn't have the opportunity to contribute this time around, I know of several more projects from my teacher friends (and maybe one or two of my own) that will be posted soon. Stay tuned!

New Donors Choose Projects

Many of you remember my own Donors Choose project from last spring, "Help Us Hear the Sounds of Music." That project was so successful that it was funded within the first 48 hours! Because of that, many people who would have gladly pitched in did not get the chance. Well, here is your chance!

While I do not have a current DC project of my own, here are several projects from teachers in my new school that could use your help. Since, as a music teacher, I see every student in the school, these projects directly affect my own students. Please check out my giving page and consider supporting these projects and my students by donating or sharing this page with others. Thank you for making a positive impact on the life of these children!

My Giving Page

(cross posted on our family blog, The Stewarts' Little Family)

Getting Ready

I'm in love! Seriously! But I can't decide what I'm in love with. I don't know if it's my cute-as-a-button school building (built in the early 50's, it has a certain charm), the great "backyard"/playground (that reminds me so much of Camp, btw), having my own classroom, the AMAZING faculty, or just the excitement of a new school year. Or maybe it's all of those things. One thing is for sure, there is nothing on earth that I would rather be doing than preparing myself for the upcoming school year. I have truly found my calling.

I feel like I fit in so well here - even more than I did in Odessa! The teachers here are so passionate about what we do, so inviting and welcoming of new people (me!) and ideas, and just crazy enough to let go and sing and dance to Princess Pat with me! I've only just met these people, and already I feel like I belong! I can't begin to tell you what a wonderful relief and exciting feeling that is! I just know this school year is going to be amazing! Now if I can just finish my classroom and survive another week of inservice we'll be ready to go. Countdown to the kiddos: 9 days!

New Ideas

Well, summer's drawing to a close and I'm getting excited (and admittedly a little nervous) about the coming school year. Brandon and I are finally in our new house and, now that we're somewhat settled, I'm ready to start lesson planning, organizing, and preparing my new classroom. I have only seen it once (when I interviewed) and, though I've been by the school several times since, I have not been able to go in. Gah! I want to get started!

In the meantime, I've been gathering my things, and finding some super cute manipulatives and new ideas. My two favorite things that I'll be going in with are from Ikea and Bobby McFerrin (of all things). :D

With my younger kiddos, one of the biggest things I work to develop and identify is "steady beat." I use heart icons a lot for this (since a heart "beats") and the kids really seem to relate to it. When I went to Ikea a few days ago to get some kitchen stuff, I just had to look around the kids' section. I found the most perfect thing for steady beat! It's a huge plush heart pillow with arms and big plush hands! I can just see my little ones hugging the heart and using its hands to keep a "steady beat"! It couldn't be more perfect if a music teacher had come up with it! It's my own version of Emily's "Steady Freddy"! Now it just needs a name . . . what do you think?
My other new idea came from a video posted from the 2009 World Science Festival. Bobby McFerrin demonstrates how anyone, anywhere can have a basic understanding of the pentatonic scale. I just saw this today, but I'm already working on a way to incorporate this into one of my choir programs this year. How cool would it be to have my choir sing a little solfege melody while the audience provides the accompaniment! I can't wait to try!

Here's the video.

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

School's Out for Summer!

Last week was the official end of the school year here in Odessa, and thus the official end of my first year of teaching. I can't believe how quickly it flew by! There are so many things I want to say, and I may (when I get the time) do a nice long wrap-up post. For now, here's a quick overview of what's to come in the next few weeks/months in this teacher's life.

Starting tomorrow I will be spending two weeks in Lubbock, TX working toward my Level 2 Kodaly certification. I've been desperately trying to finish up and organize everything for my year-long homework that I have to turn in soon. Plus, I'm having to pack to live in a dorm for these two weeks. Ugh - I thought my dorm-days were long gone. Other than the dorm thing, and, of course, the whole leaving-the-hubby-and-puppy-for-two-weeks thing, I'm really looking forward to this. I learned so much last summer and I can't wait to start soaking things in again now that I have a year of teaching under my belt.

Not long after Kodaly ends, Brandon and I are picking up and moving to our first house just outside of Denton, TX! He will be starting his doctorate in music at UNT and I will be getting to know a whole new school full of kiddos at Burks Elementary in McKinney. It was hard to say goodbye to my kids and all my teacher friends here in Odessa last week, but I am so excited to get things started at Burks! I'm sure there will be many more posts about it as the new school year gets closer. Until then . . . "stay tuned"!