Student gifts

Being a 'specials' teacher isn't the same as being a classroom teacher.  I don't have a classroom party or gift exchange... good thing because I have 450 students instead of just 20-30. :)  But, I occasionally do get gifts from students and I like to give a special little gift in return to say thanks.

Over my few years, I've come up with this little 'trick': I buy little, durable ornaments at after Christmas sales and give those along with a tag/thank you note to each gift-giver.

My students really like to get a special present from me and I've heard parents say their kids think it's really cool to get their OWN ornament. :)  It's quick and simple enough that I can do it for each gift.

On a side note, my mom made a point each Christmas to put a teeny tag on each of my ornaments, noting the year and who it was from. She did the same for my 5 siblings, so you can imagine the amount of time it took.  But, now we each have our own collection of ornaments and can see who we got each from and how old the ornament is.  It's awesome.  I plan to do the same thing with my kids- I hope!

Merry Christmas everyone!  The giving is the best! :)

Instant Garment bag: whatt!??!

Am I the only person who hadn't already discovered this?  Or am I the first green, lazy, cheap person to try it?

 

Big T- shirt = instant Garment bag = awesome

Seriously.  I can't believe this never occurred to me before!
Enjoy!  Reduce, Recycle and Reuse! :D

Vocabulary Board

It seems crazy that I didn't think of this before- a vocab bulletin board.  I have 4 bulletin boards in my classroom--

• One is full of teacher stuff/notes/schedules/etc.
• One has behavior reminders and forms all over it.
• The other two are basically fluff.  I rarely change them until pre-concert (I put lyric sheets up for kids to take home and practice). 
  
  I have been keeping a list of musical vocabulary words that we cover in each grade level to add to through the year.  But I had the list filed away and secret. :)
  Duh- cover a board with that!  So, here it is.

I added the little background color blob (red, orange, purple, etc) because all my grades are color coded.  I also got a little crazy and decided to try to cut the number/letter of the grade into the corners of the paper- snowflake style.  See if you know what I mean in these pictures:

 

Then I added (double layer) of white scrap paper to write the words on and a little space to expand, if needed.  Now, I have posted lists of words we 'know'. :)  And, I told students if we learn a musical word and they are the first to catch it so we can add it to the board, I'll give them a prize.  More eyes and brains engaged on related info.  I hope. :)

Time for kitties

Haven't had kitties pictured in a while so....

UFO & Pesto

In order to spice & healthy up my typical summer breakfast, I came up with this "recipe".  My typical breakfast is a "UFO"- a piece of bread with a circle cut in the middle where an egg is cooked.  For the "pesto," I just took whatever vegetables and spices I had and thought would go well together, blended/chopped them up in my magic bullet and cooked them quick.  See pictures below for the details :)

 My ingredients: egg, bread and whatever else sounds good

  

 I chose some spinach, red onion, red pepper, jalapeño and cilantro.

 Cook in pan with a little extra virgin olive oil until veggies are done to your liking. Set aside.

 Cut a circle in your bread.

 Again (in the same pan), with a little EVOO, toss in the bread until it gets a little toasted.  Then flip.

Crack the egg into the center of the bread and cook for a bit (very technical) then flip and cook until desired 'doneness'. :) 

Oh yeah- finish off the circle of bread!  Depending on what is left in the pan, I may or may not add EVOO to toast it.

UFO with 'pesto' on top. Tah-dah!

Mary Wore Her Red Dress

Here is the completed torn paper art project.  (See the beginning here.)

Torn Paper Art

It became clear that the song "Mary Wore Her Red Dress" was in need of some props.  So, after some consultation, it was decided that a few BIG props would be better than individual drawings, etc.  The song says "Mary wore her red dress, red dress, red dress.  Mary wore her red dress all day long."  Then it goes to say "Mary wore her red hat...", and has verses for shoes, gloves and finishes with "Mary was a red bird..."  So, I cut out the items from tagboard and students have been helping tear the paper and decorate the items.  (I have to admit I'm a huge control freak and have been going over their work and fixing imperfections.  I need help! :) haha)

Here are some pictures!

Hug me!

Didn't know it, but my husband snapped this when I was napping...

My kitties!!

Walter (his nose was a little puffy this day- I don't know why!)

Walter sleeping and reaching for Mama

My Cece girl

Stanley- looking very lovey :)

DIY Magazine Box (from a cardboard wine box)

I hate throwing stuff away.  Recycling is super cool... but I'd rather use it for something.  But how!?  Well, with wine boxes, I've found they work perfectly for holding my sheet music, financial files, and the list goes on and on.

So, after the wine has disappeared, somewhat carefully pull the top of the box open.  Pull the bag out (you may have another glass or so of wine to enjoy!) and recycle. :)  Then... just find some wrapping paper or contact paper and cover the box!  You can leave the handles, if you'd like--

Or cut them off--

You may even want to cut the corner at an angle like the REAL magazine boxes have.  I don't usually bother.  In the picture above, I used the winter looking wrapping paper for my Christmas music.  You can go nuts with all the details.  I just keep it simple.  Ta-dah!!

Recorder Karate Motivation Board

I have been teaching music for five years and have always used the Recorder Karate system. It keeps kids motivated and accountable. Students earn 'belts' (I use a small piece of embroidery floss) for playing increasingly difficult songs. Students can then display evidence of their skill, dedication, etc. by the number and color of belts on the bell of their recorders. For a little extra motivation, I made this bulletin board. Now, students get to move their name tags up as they earn belts!

Impatient Introduction

Well, I'm too impatient to write my life story here, but basically I'm planning to share my life secrets in this blog. I have a blog for my students (I'm an elementary music teacher and technology coach) but wanted to start one for my 'other' stuff. I do spend about 50 hours a week at school, but- occasionally- I do do other things! I plan to update very sporadically...