Things are winding down...it is a bittersweet time, more so this year than others. I am done teaching at church for the year. The Lord really blessed our concert and my ministry there as a whole this year. While I am excited and looking forward to next year, I am ready for a break.
My two string concerts are over as well, and the Lord blessed them as well. Right now I am in the midst of report cards, inventory, and other misc. things. There is a chance that I could be teaching general music there next year. I'm not sure that I'm ready for it, I've thoroughly enjoy my break from it this year, and having my Monday's off have been wonderful. But I guess I have to trust the Lord to work that out.
The bad news is that they are cutting the 3rd grade string program (district wide) for next year--a sad event for everyone involved. Many of the current 2nd graders think that they are going to take a string instrument next year, but they will have a rude awakening when they get to CH next year.
This morning was our year end party for the 4th and 5th graders. As I was creating my awards to hand out, I was struck by how many of my kids have just been awesome this year in helping me set up and tear down for each rehearsal. I even had kids come in and help with the 3rd grade orchestra. Overall, my kids have been wonderful to work with this year. If I had to make a choice, I would much rather work with kids who have great attitudes than kids who can play well. A child's attitude and willingness to help out are more important to me than his or her ability to play an instrument well. If only I had learned this lesson when I was young!
Before I head off to shower and work on report cards, I have to say that it feels good to update and write on this blog. My life has been so hectic lately that I haven't been able to think about writing. The Bible says that He won't give us more than we can bear, so I must trust that He knows what He is doing in this regard. Have a good night!
Showing posts with label 3rd grade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3rd grade. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
What a Week....
Two things this week have caused me to be very thankful for what I have. The first is my classroom. Because the NYS Education department sees it necessary to test fourth graders in English, math, and science, the rest of us in the building have to suffer for three weeks out of the year. This week's science testing is the worst because I am actually kicked out of my classroom. As a result, I am having orchestra rehearsals in the gym and teaching lessons in the auditeria (cafeteria/auditorium). So I am shuffling things between four rooms in order to teach this week.
Teaching lessons in the auditeria--here's an example: I was working with a group of 3rd graders yesterday afternoon. The kids are up on the stage playing, I am down on the floor (because that's where the piano is) trying to keep the kids focused and actually accomplish something. As I'm trying to focus them, the custodian walks in and starts folding tables. Lunch ladies are cleaning up around us, and I'm trying to get the kids prepared for an upcoming concert. We are about to start a song and one of the kids turns to a friend and (completely out of the blue) says, "I have a game at home with recipes where you can make cookies." At this point I truly wanted to throw in the towel and go home for the day.
Today a couple of other teachers and myself took a group of kids over to a nursing home to perform and play bingo with the residents. I found out this morning that I was in charge of a whole busload of kids, some were my kids, some were chorus and band kids. It absolutely amazed me that the 3rd graders were quite well behaved and the 5th graders were out of control. Go figure.
We also found out today that one of our student's father passed away last night. When you stop to think about it, that really puts things into perspective. I worked with this student for two years and had many pleasant interactions with this man. I pray that his family would come to know the love of Christ in the midst of this--that He would be their strength during this time.
Teaching lessons in the auditeria--here's an example: I was working with a group of 3rd graders yesterday afternoon. The kids are up on the stage playing, I am down on the floor (because that's where the piano is) trying to keep the kids focused and actually accomplish something. As I'm trying to focus them, the custodian walks in and starts folding tables. Lunch ladies are cleaning up around us, and I'm trying to get the kids prepared for an upcoming concert. We are about to start a song and one of the kids turns to a friend and (completely out of the blue) says, "I have a game at home with recipes where you can make cookies." At this point I truly wanted to throw in the towel and go home for the day.
Today a couple of other teachers and myself took a group of kids over to a nursing home to perform and play bingo with the residents. I found out this morning that I was in charge of a whole busload of kids, some were my kids, some were chorus and band kids. It absolutely amazed me that the 3rd graders were quite well behaved and the 5th graders were out of control. Go figure.
We also found out today that one of our student's father passed away last night. When you stop to think about it, that really puts things into perspective. I worked with this student for two years and had many pleasant interactions with this man. I pray that his family would come to know the love of Christ in the midst of this--that He would be their strength during this time.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Here we go
Today was the second week of 3rd grade orchestra, aka 45 kids trying to play together at 8:05 on Wednesday mornings. 
I was trying to finish tuning the last few kids when it was brought to my attention that there was a kid who was about to cry. Thankfully 5th grade helper #1 took the child out of the room and successfully avoided a complete meltdown. A few minutes later that child came back and we finally started playing. As the last note of the first song was dying, someone called out my name, bringing my attention over to the violin section where a child held an instrument that had literally exploded in his arms. This time, 5th grade helper #2 was called on to take the child down to the string and assist him in finding a different violin to play. So in the first 15 minutes of the rehearsal we had two near catastrophes. I can't tell you how thankful I was to have those 5th graders to help out. There is no way I could've left 45 kids alone in the school gym to deal with the things at hand.
As I was driving home and rethinking through this event, I couldn't help but laugh. Last week a teacher in the faculty room said to me that she doesn't know how I do what I do, listening to violins all day. I told her that I could never do what she does--be a classroom teacher, I would go crazy. I would take broken instruments and crying kids over a classroom job any day.
(If you're interested in what how the violin exploded--the tailgut on the bottom of the tailpiece broke. This part literally holds together the whole instrument (strings, bridge, tailpiece). See below for a diagram.)
I was trying to finish tuning the last few kids when it was brought to my attention that there was a kid who was about to cry. Thankfully 5th grade helper #1 took the child out of the room and successfully avoided a complete meltdown. A few minutes later that child came back and we finally started playing. As the last note of the first song was dying, someone called out my name, bringing my attention over to the violin section where a child held an instrument that had literally exploded in his arms. This time, 5th grade helper #2 was called on to take the child down to the string and assist him in finding a different violin to play. So in the first 15 minutes of the rehearsal we had two near catastrophes. I can't tell you how thankful I was to have those 5th graders to help out. There is no way I could've left 45 kids alone in the school gym to deal with the things at hand.As I was driving home and rethinking through this event, I couldn't help but laugh. Last week a teacher in the faculty room said to me that she doesn't know how I do what I do, listening to violins all day. I told her that I could never do what she does--be a classroom teacher, I would go crazy. I would take broken instruments and crying kids over a classroom job any day.
(If you're interested in what how the violin exploded--the tailgut on the bottom of the tailpiece broke. This part literally holds together the whole instrument (strings, bridge, tailpiece). See below for a diagram.)
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