Presentation to My County
Thanks to my 4 year old, my presentation went really well! I practiced the night before and went through the stories of Pitch Hill and the accompanying lessons. My 4 year old was in stitches. Now of course she is the best audience no matter what, but she reminded me that kids LOVE Pitch Hill and it is a great way to teach solfege. I felt very nervous, but more confident in sharing with the music teachers in my county. The teachers were awesome and so kind. I think we all had a great time with it!
My Hallway
Next order of business was to actually get ready to teach next week! I had to take everything down this summer for painting and it took way too much time to get back up. This combined with other events at school has prevented me from doing some lesson planning. I am hoping to spend most of tomorrow laying out the first few weeks.
Today, I put my hallway back together. I have a pretty big hall that leads to the music room. I like to decorate a little bit.
When you get to the top of the ramp (the door you see is the stage; my room is across the hall to the right in the picture. You are looking at myComposer/Musician of the month wall. I keep them up all year and replace each month.
Just beyond the composers and stage door is my Summit Hill Idol board. Students can perform at the end of class and then they sign a star post-it and put it on the wall. I use post-its so I can toss any that are inappropriate.
Clipboards
I also repainted my clipboards. Every year I have kids who write their name, naughty words, silly pictures, etc. and I got tired of the “Mrs. Tomich, look what I found!” So I decided to spray paint them with semi-gloss paint. The instances of writing have gone down significantly. I re-coat them every year. It took a long time the first year but has gone quickly in subsequent years. Again, just one more little housekeeping thing today. Hopefully I can finish up the room tomorrow and show you some pictures of my room!
Wrapping Things Up
My final advice? When in doubt, bake cookies! (Pillsbury makes an excellent pull apart cookie dough, I must say). A dozen cookies on someone’s desk can make them feel warm and gooey inside (pun intended). This strategy has been around since the beginning of time and is a tried and true method.
If you are new at school and looking for lessons for the first day, you might also enjoy this post on first day lesson plans!
Who did I miss? Any other key people in school we should add?
Musically,
Shelley
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