The shortest weeks are the longest weeks...

As a teacher, I have always felt that the shortest weeks are the longest weeks.  Although we only had 4 days of school this week, it feels like 10. 

Yesterday I spent my morning at the Opera with my third grade students.  We saw Three Billy Goats Gruff. 
This is a video clip from the Carolina Opera Express giving a preview of the movie.  This is not the cast we saw, but you get the picture.

The morning started off with a fire drill, was followed directly by a transformer blowing (causing the lights in the bathrooms to go out), a walk to the middle school for the Opera, Opera watching and then a one and a half hour music teacher meeting. 

Report cards are due on Monday for grades 1-5.  Nothing like 300 report cards with comments.  Bleck. 

Today was also a challenging day.  It started out with two melt downs in my first class.  I guess I should be flattered because I caused one of the melt downs.  "Bob" was upset and had a meltdown because we were not doing the fruit loop activity we did last week.  Who knew it was such a loved activity.  I will have to bring it back out again sometime.  Sadly, I had to call the administration to come and get "Bob" because he was threatening to throw chairs at other students and I was afraid he was going to hurt someone or himself. 

On a happy note, U.S. Cellular (along with several other wonderful donors) funded my project Music with a Twist!  I'm very, Very, VERY  excited about all the new supplies I will be getting!!!  I'm really looking forward to using the new drums, scarves and FLASHLIGHTS!  Also, I was chosen as a winner of the North Carolina Bright Ideas grant!!!  I will go to Raleigh in November 19 for a luncheon.  I will receive about $1,350 for guitar making kits to use with the second graders. 

ta, ti ti and fruit loops. Oh my!!

We had so much fun today in First Grade!  I am fortunate to see this class two days in a row :) 

Yesterday, we read the poem Big Black Cats.  We worked very hard to figure out the rhythmic pattern of the words  -- which happens to be
ta ta ta rest
ta ta ta rest
ti ti  ti ti ti ti ta
ta ta ta rest
We performed the rhythms using claps, snaps, pats, and more.  Once we had the rhythm under belts, we created new rhythms using ta, ti ti and rest. 

Day Two
Here comes the fun part!  After doing a review of yestday's class we moved on to the fruit loops! 
I have worksheets for the students that have 16 boxes on them.   

Each box is worth one beat.  A quarter note (ta) is represented by one fruit loop.  We know that in 4/4,  a quarter note is one beat, one sound -- ta. 
Barred eighth notes are represented by two fruit loops in one box.  We know that in 4/4, eighth notes are one beat, two sounds -- ti ti.

I said and clapped a variety 4 beat patterns using ta, ti ti and rest.  The students used fruit loops to notate what I clapped. 

They also created their own four beat patterns using fruit loops and then performed them for the class. 

At the end of class, they were allowed to eat the fruit loops (this might have been their favorite part!).

 

Count Your Rainbows, Not Your Thunderstorms

Like any day, today was full of rainbows and thunderstorms.  Let's focus on the rainbows... 

The morning started out with an amazing sunrise and 10 out of 13 green lights on the way to school!  Woo Hoo!!!

In Kindergarten today we were practicing recognizing rhythms to day.  This says "ta", this says "ti ti".  Let's read these rhythms "ta ta titi ta."  I made a comment similar to "Boys and girls you are so smart!"  A student responded "Yep.  We sure are.  I bet we're even smarter than you are Ms. Scott!!"

Several students have requested to hear Wavin' Flag again.  I'm glad that song went over so well.  I'm thinking about using it again next week as their song for their listening journal.  The fifth graders were doing some dancing today.  While they were getting drinks, I let them listen to Wavin' Flag (since it was requested).  I really only taught them the refrain, yet when the song started there was a group of girls singing their hearts out on the verse.  They liked the song so much they went home and downloaded it!!

This morning in carpool I was met by a bright and smiley fifth grader waving her recorder to let me know that she was VERY excited for recorder club this afternoon.  Also today was the first day of recorder club.  I had 14 fifth graders sign up, bring their recorders and spend an hour after school playing recorders.  We learned one duet from Dojo Duets (by Plank Road Publishing) and started on In the Hall of the Mountain King.  The kids are pretty excited about In the Hall of the Mountain King. :)  Also 13 out of 14 students were picked up on time.  Not bad for the first day. :)

At the school book fair, parents donated three of the four books on my wish list!!  Also a wonderful parent brought me a Dunkin' Donuts coffee!!!!!! Just what I needed to make it though the day.

Here's to a week full of more rainbows than thunderstorms!

Wavin' Flag

I was inspired by a blog entry from on of my friends from college. http://alluemkids.blogspot.com/2010/10/identical-flags_13.html
When I saw this link I KNEW I wanted to do something like this in my classroom. The song was also mentioned over the summer on a listserv I subsribe to. My problem is that I tend to dream big and over plan. Because of this, I usually can't fit in all the great ideas I hear about.

This morning I was told that we were unable to get a sub for the Art teacher. PE and Music would have to split the Art classes in half and add them to our regularly scheduled class. My first thought was "Oh man! There go my lesson plans for the day! :( But then I realized I could use this lesson today. Although I had big plans for the song (making flags, talking about hopes and dreams, creating a boomwacker ostinato, movement activity...), sometime SIMPLE is better.

The third and fifth grade classes came in and we did a quick discussion about the song and watched two versions -- the Young Artists for Haiti http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB7L1BIDELc&ob=av2e and the World Cup Coca-Cola comercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTJSt4wP2ME. After comparing and contrasting the songs/videos I put the song on repeat and let the students design their own flags... flags that represent who they are and who they hope to become. It was a very enlightening lesson.

"When I get older
I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom
Just like a wavin' flag"