Blessings

Based on my overwhelming response from the last post (none), I decided not to go with my original idea.  Instead I'll just check in occasionally.






Although I always try to be mindful of my blessings, I think Advent is a good time for me to slow down to prepare my heart for Christmas and to acknowledge the blessings that I have on a daily basis.
      Here are some special moments over the past few days:
1. Starting Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp with my family. The family time is as wonderful as the message and the activities.

2. The sweet and simplistic prayers of my sons. Why do we make praying so complicated sometime?

3. Today was a student's birthday. This is a student who is especially close to me. She has been singing for me for 4 years in 2 different groups, plus the musicals. I have also had her brother as a student so I have known her family for a long time. This is her last year with me.  I decided to get her a small birthday gift. So, I asked Matt to buy some candy that he has made at work. We picked out a candy cane, pecan turtles and some fudge. When I gave it to her, she was surprised that I had gotten her a gift, which was expected. When I told her that it was candy that Matt had personally made (She has met my family at concerts and has run into them a few times outside of school), she got a little teary and thanked me and told me that we made her feel "really special."  I guess that was my intention, but I didn't think it would mean THAT much to her.

4.  On my drive home tonight- rushing, as usual- I needed to stop at the post office to get something postmarked. The community is on the coast. As I rode up to the top of a hill (right by the governor's house), I was greeted by a beautiful view. The ocean was slightly choppy looking and the color of the sky was fading to the colors of dusk. What really drew my attention was the clouds, which looked like they were illuminated from below.

5.  I came home to a giant pile of mail! I will share my week of mail at the end of the week. I've been getting some great stuff. I probably won't share any of my picture cards since I won't usually put a picture up without asking permission (except my father-in-law that one time..)

Good for my soul

    This past week was a little rough. It was one of those weeks where you just kind of go through each day waiting to get to the next day. Nothing was great. Nothing was really TOO awful, but things just feel "off."  The week started off well but took a bad turn on Wednesday. Since it wasn't a huge deal, I didn't realize how emotionally weary I felt. The band director suggested I come to the football game to hear the band and just have a night out. In my head I thought, yes, that would be nice. In my heart I thought, one more thing to do- and on Friday night, my only time this weekend that I don't have anything to do. Matt did not want to go. David "doesn't really like football" but Tim, the endless adventurer like me, wanted to come. I thought it would be a special thing for him and I would love to connect him with some of my old students who are in the band.
     So, we went. If you were a band musician in high school, you have most likely played at hundreds of football games. I forgot how much fun they could be. We have a very small band at the moment. Our band director is wonderful and in a few years I bet the band is going to be huge. He's really a classy, nice guy and a wonderful friend to me. It was nice for me to reconnect with families who had "graduated" from the middle school. Many parents came to say hello and to meet my son. Current students said hello on their way by and some stopped to chat. The kids who sang for me and were in band were all happy to see me too. It was a nice (and apparently needed) reminder of the impact of my relationship/teaching to each student. I don't expect that every student will "like" me or that I will be the best match for everyone, but it feels extremely good to see that many of these kids still have a huge amount of respect for me.
     After the game, I was invited to go out to eat with everyone. It was such a blessing to sit with the 25 teens, catch up on their lives, introduce them to Tim and have some great food. I heard good and bad news  about various students (that I didn't always ask for), heard that one of my kids had a 99% average and looks like he might be valedictorian, got invited to other games/events that the kids were taking part in, and reconnected with some kids I was really close with while they were in middle school. One girl, who was very emotionally reserved in middle school and sang for me for 4 years, confessed that she really missed me and thought about me a lot. I confessed that I think about her too every day I have my 7th/8th grade chorus and that I miss her too. I also got a letter from another student that was passed on through the band director. We stayed out until 11:30.
     On my way home, I realized that I had been feeling really low this past week. I was reminded that my involvement with these kids really has influenced who I am as a person and I feel like I am better because of all of them. Last night was a huge blessing for me. I am really thankful my friend "suggested" that I tag along. PS. Tim has been challenged to join the trumpet section in the high school band for next week's game. He is determined to learn the music and give it a try.

      Speaking of teaching, if you are a teacher and have not seen this, check it out. It is important to remind your students that they seen and appreciated. I wish every school would do this or that every child would have a teacher tell them that they are cared about. If you aren't a teacher, check it out anyways. I know that all teachers have felt this way about at least 1 student in their career. I am sure many can name 100s of students they felt this way about.

Update on the fall to do list. Things I've done so far:
Celebrate Tim's birthday
Visit Grammy and Papa
Snuggle in a cozy blanket
Drink hot chocolate
Go see a high school football game
Go hiking/ for a walk
Enjoy a cup of tea on a chilly morning
Get a massage

Painted doors

   Yesterday I spent some time blog hopping and I came across this blog article on the painted doors of Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. I would love to visit that in person. Can you imagine what character it would add to a community if each person had a piece of art on their door? Maybe this appeals to me so much because the upstairs neighbors just painted the front door of our house a disgusting purplish brown color. Anyway, it got me to thinking, wouldn't this be so cool if schools did this on all of the classroom doors?

feeling better

     Despite the fact that I did not receive any sort of apology or acknowledgement of my response to the parent e-mail I got yesterday, I'm feeling a bit better.
     Tonight, my own son had a school concert. He plays trumpet in band, plays chimes and sings in the chorus. It was nice to relax and watch his hard work come to fruition. (It was not nice that we were surrounded by people who chatted through the whole concert.) I'm very proud of him.

Before bed rambling

    Today was a great day. Last night, I ended my "end of the year performances" with a concert of my select choir. The audience enjoyed it. The kids sang well. I was happy. After the concert, a few parents even helped clean up so I could get home earlier. (They did not ask, they just saw what I was doing and helped.)  Then, since I was out slightly earlier than I expected, I drove to the baseball field adjacent to the middle school and watched a little league game in my black, formal dress because a 7th grade boy asked if I would come to see him play sometime. I left my house at 6am and got home at 9:30 pm. I did not see my own children.
       This morning, my oldest son was having major allergy issues. He stayed home from school. I spent a little time with him and gave him some medicine before going off to work. I left at 6:45. On the way to work, I chatted with a colleague about some teaching candidates who would be in today. When I got to school, I helped a colleague with some photocopying because one of my classes was on a field trip. Then I had a prep period where I organized a field trip for my select choir- on a Wed night at 7:30- after arranging the carpool, collecting money, etc. My first class was wonderful. I have a few students who really need individual attention there and I answered a ton of questions, but it was rewarding to see them really understanding the materials.
      My 2nd class was 7th grade, who all turned in projects that seem like they worked hard on them. On top of that, I enjoyed talking baseball with the boys who thanked me for coming to their game and have gained a new respect for me now that they know I actually understand music AND baseball. I even made it through (mostly) unscathed when I was typing a list (that they were copying) on the SMARTboard and accidentally typed a swear when I mixed the word I was saying with the word I was typing. Thank God it was my 7th grade class. Only 2 kids caught it before I turned red, said "Nope, that's not what I meant," and fixed it.
     Next came 5th grade- 24 kids- 8 in line learning how to clap rhythms that they composed, 16 independently working on playing their composed rhythms on instruments and trying to put them together with other group members. 16 kids allowing me to work individually with 8 kids- 1 at a time- without me having to stop to fix behavior or get them back on track.
     My last class was another 6th grade class. This class is so polite and hard-working. They have a ton of personality and are just a delight to teach.
      Lastly, I had chorus. I wanted to tell them all the "last minute" information about the end of the year- how they will sing with the group that will be joining them next year at our next rehearsal and how the band teacher and I will be having an end of the year sundae party for them. Then I allowed them to go back to their advisory period, which is like a study. All but 2 stayed and volunteered to help out, sang, did homework or just hung out.
      After school I had a party for the group from last night. We talked about the concert, ate, and went through the end of the year info for them too. On the way out, a 7th grade girl said she had something for me and gave it to me as they left. It was a book of "poems" about me written by 4 of the girls. It was kind of a mix between a thank you note and a gift. It was very flattering, sweet and personal.
      I left school at 3:40. I got home at 4:30. David had to be at baseball at 4:45 and Tim at tap at 5. Got both boys where they needed to go, waited for Tim to get out and then watched David's game. I had some delightful conversation with another mom despite the fact that we were being bombarded by these disgusting beetle-like bugs.
      We got home at 7:30, had ice cream, relaxed and read. The boys went to bed at 8:30. It was a wonderful night and the earliest night in a very long time.  I corrected a bit, watched about 20 minutes of tv and then decided that I'd like to read a little extra before bed. So, I took my medicine and went to shut down the computer. Wait! Maybe I should check my work e-mail. So... I did- and found an "angry parent e-mail." 
     Long story short, I wrote a suggestion on a paper that was a rough draft for a project. The girl wasn't sure what I meant so she talked to me. The parent note was telling me that they were upset that I had accused their child of cheating (which I didn't), reprimanding me for tearing their child down instead of being an encouragement and then letting me know that they CCd their english teacher. I'm assuming this is because I'm a specialist, which means I'm not a "real teacher" and I couldn't possibly give any educational feedback about writing about something music related. Needless to say, I was furious. To make matters worse, I have had the girl in my class for 2 years and her older brother for 4, so they should know me by now. I e-mailed the parent back and worded it very diplomatically (also CCd the English teacher). Here's what I would like to say to all of my friends who do not work in education:
      Although my contractual hours are 7:50-2:20, I rarely work those hours. Being a specialist, I do not sit at my desk all day and play on the computer while students do worksheets. (I do not know any teacher at my school who does- in any subject). In fact, being a specialist, I never sit down because I'm running all over the class making sure each individual student 'gets it."  I usually hit my 10,000 steps on my Fitbit before 11am.
      There are many times when I am "at home" where I am here but working on school stuff. Timmy's last project was not well done because I was too busy helping your kids to prepare for our concert, their projects (in my classes and others), and talking to families at parent night. There are days where I don't see my kids because I'm doing something that YOUR kids needed or wanted. In my head, there is constantly a running list of due dates and to do lists.
     I worry about some of your children as much as my own. One parent last year told me that they figured out the math- I was the adult that saw their child the most on an average week. In fact, when they combined the time both parents saw the student- it was only 25% more time than I saw them by myself. I get to know your kids over 4 years- I learn a lot and see signs of warning and improvements. Often times, I have difficult conversations to let you know some of the things your children are dealing with/doing or send home messages to say "Great job! Keep it up!" to you and your children. There are many kids who pass through my class once a year (I have 750 a year) that I don't get to know well, but MANY that I do. (About 1/3 of those kids since for me so I know them very well)
     When you tell me you didn't meet a deadline because you "were busy;" I understand this. I am busy too. In fact, because you missed my deadline, I may miss 2 or 3 of my own to make up for the time that was just wasted on the thing that I could not do because I wasn't prepared since you didn't turn in your stuff.
      I work extremely hard to be a good role model for your children. I give of my own time/money/ effort/ strength to do my job well and to provide your child with a great education. I genuinely care about your child and, realistically, about your families too. So... when you send me hateful e-mail that insults me and questions my integrity- it hurts and it makes me forget all of the good things that happened in my day.  It keeps me awake at night and makes me question every interaction with your kid.  It makes me wonder why I teach.   Just as I attempt to try to treat you professionally, in every action I have with you- I would appreciate the minimal reciprocation of that respect and kindness.

Back to school- Mom

     I started back to school last week. The first day of school we had A.L.I.C.E training. It was intense, but I was glad it was introduced to us. This is the first time we've had the training. The 2nd day we had our normal "welcome back" speeches from the superintendent, the principal, school committee, etc. In addition to that, a colleague of mine whom I really respect, won Teacher of the Year. She is the computer teacher at the middle school and she is wonderful. The kids really learn a lot in her class and she does some innovative, engaging projects. On top of that, she's super nice and extremely helpful to anyone on the staff that might need technology help. I was so happy for her.  After our convocation as a staff, we all went back to our individual buildings to get our room ready, have team meetings, etc. I also had a mentor meeting. (I am mentoring a new teacher for the first time.)

     Our students started school on Wednesday. I teach 6 classes a day. For my general music classes I have 1 8th grade class, 1 7th, 2 6th, and 1 5th grade class. I will see these kids for a 52 minute period for 22 days in a row (8th grade has 18 since they have an extra specialist class.) After music is over they will have tech ed, health, gym, computers, art, communications/tv and then gym again. (8th grade will also have robotics this year. This is a new thing and I think it's pretty cool.)  I also teach 3 choruses- 5th grade, 6th and then a combined 7th/8th grade chorus. This is a year long class that is open to anyone. Lastly, I have an auditioned after school chorus that meets 2 days a week until 3:30. This is kind of like an honors chorus and I push these kids pretty hard. Because of that, they tend to be the leaders in my choruses. 

    So far the school year has gone smoothly. It has been really nice to reconnect with all the kids and to meet my new students. Chorus and Chorale get into full swing towards the end of the week so that's when I will feel like I'm really working hard. Honestly, I love my job so I feel very blessed. There is not a day that I don't laugh (at myself sometimes- today I accidentally flung a marker in my own face in one of my classes. I was proud of the kids for not blatantly laughing at me.)  The only downside of the year so far is that we are currently in a heat wave here in Ma. I believe that every day we have had school, the temperature in my room has been over 90 degrees. The students are doing their best to pay attention but I can see the sweat dripping down their faces. Being in the room all day, there have been times that I could barely concentrate because I was overheated. 

    When I talk to someone about my profession for the first time many people will make comments about how they couldn't deal with middle school students. I really enjoy working with kids this age.  Here's why:

1.  Middle schoolers really live on the edge between being a kid and wanting to be an adult. I can challenge them through my teaching and set high expectations. (Higher than you many people would think.) I have students who can hold a conversation about music using all the proper terminology or students who can play at a level that some adults cannot. However, many, many times the kid in them will slip out. My favorite example of that happened a few years ago. I had brought my Chorale to do a concert for the local Masonic Lodge. They graciously provided dinner for my entire group and ate WITH us rather than just sequestering us in some corner. They decided to treat us to Chinese food. The plan was that we would sing an hour long concert for them, have dinner with them and then we would leave while they had a meeting. 

      The concert went really well and we sang some challenging music. Since it was the spring chorale, I had students from grades 5-8. We sang a few songs that were marketed towards beginning high school choirs so I was proud of their success with the pieces. After the concert we had a delicious dinner and at the end of the meal we were served fortune cookies. Many students read the fortunes and didn't know what they meant. One by one they came to me for an interpretation of their fortune cookie wisdom. This little boy in 5th grade came up and said "Could you tell me what this means? I don't get it." So, I gave it my best shot and his eyes opened really wide. All of the sudden he yelled out "I didn't know you spoke Chinese!!!!!" Classic middle school, Middle school kids can be hilarious. 

2. The students (whether they want to admit it or not) are really looking for guidance. If you want an opportunity to be a good influence to a student- socially, emotionally, academically- middle school kids might provide that opportunity for you. They expect you to be firm but fair. 

3. Middle schoolers tell it as it is. They wear their hearts on their sleeves. A gem from this week so far was "No offense, but what time is music over?" (I did take offense..lol) If you get an ugly hair cut (or highlights- my highlights were a big world-changing event for one of my 6th grade girls), a new pair of shoes, sparkly nail polish, etc you will know what your students think. Sometimes they will directly say those opinions and sometimes they will say it in a more subtle way (usually by staring at you with a weird look on their face.)

4. I once read that you should think more about teaching the child than teaching the subject. I think it's great advice, though not always convenient or easy.  If they trust you middle schoolers will give you a lot to work with, Chorus and band are the only classes at the middle school that the kids can elect to be in. As a teacher this means that I can set expectations and "kick them our" if they don't meet those standards. Though it's pretty humbling to think about, many of the kids don't elect to take chorus, they choose to have more time with me. Students never run up and say "Chorus starts today! I can't wait!" It's always more like "I have YOU today!" or "What are we doing in chorus today?" I feel really privileged to know that they trust me enough to try new things (sometimes in front of hundreds of people), to do something they know is outside of their comfort zone (like singing way above or below their normal voice range) or to open themselves enough to sing with their hearts. When we work together it's pretty cool to hear the results. I have students who really look up to me and I really value all of them. 

5. I also love that my job is challenging. I deal with hundreds of different personalities in 1 day (some all in the same kid in the span of 1 hour!) Sometimes I have 100 or more of them together at the same time.  I like that I have to figure out a way to reach each child 'where they're at.' Each day is extremely different and it is rarely boring. I laugh every day and I'm mentally engaged with my subject and with the students. Are there times where I have bad challenges like a defiant kid or a child/parent who is hurt if they don't get into my auditioned group? Yes, of course, but that comes with the territory. 

    

     Do any of you who are reading work with kids? Middle schoolers? If you work with middle schoolers, what made you choose that age group?

I survived!

   These past few months have been insanely busy for me. The past 2 weeks I had a bunch of important things that happened. So, as a quick glimpse of my world, I'll just write a few sentences about each thing.

Chorale Concert- Performed for a local Masonic Lodge and they cooked dinner for us. They also gave me a donation. Hundreds of students have benefited from the generosity of this group. I was happy with the concert and the entire night
Broadway/Matilda- A colleague of mine set up a trip to NYC where 25 students took a musical theatre/choreography class with Geoff Packard. It was awesome and I love the advice Geoff shared with them. After, we ate lunch in Times Square (an adventure) and then saw Matilda, which I really liked.

Broadway/Matilda- A colleague of mine set up a trip to NYC where 25 students took a musical theatre/choreography class with Geoff Packard. It was awesome and I love the advice Geoff shared with them. After, we ate lunch in Times Square (an adventure) and then saw Matilda, which I really liked.

Chorus Concert- 5 different groups of performing kids that I was in charge of. 3 grade level choruses and 2 small, special groups. Was happy with my 5th and 6th grade, had huge attitude issues in my older grades (VERY unusual for this group). Was sad to have a negative last concert with my 8th grade.  I'm sure it wasn't as bad as it felt to me to the audience, though there were some obvious mess ups. The next day..

Festival- Started the day with a very honest "heart to heart" with my chorus kids- mostly geared toward the older kids.I am glad that I was real and that they heard what I was trying to say.  Took 88 kids to a music festival where they sang for judges, had a short workshop, got a rating and then went to Six Flags New England. The whole day was extremely positive (after my chat) and I really enjoyed just being myself with my students. They also sang well. Both choirs got a gold rating (out of bronze, silver, gold and platinum).

In my personal life:
Family- Boys are busy with baseball. We're having a blast. We're going to celebrate my Nana's 90th birthday in a surprise party tomorrow. I have planned a Mommy Date for the boys to go see Newsies in Boston at the end of June.

Letters- I'm way behind. I have not written to anyone in weeks. I will work on catching up now that I can breathe. I only have 1 more concert this year.

Make it stop....

     I am not a person who usually complains about snow. However, tomorrow is our 5th snow day. Being a person who teaches on a rotating schedule, I have been missing rehearsal with the same kids over and over and over. Boo.... I have not seen them since 1/15 and won't see them again until 2/26.
      I bet mail will get messed up this week again too.
      On another note, here's the front of my house. That pile of snow is over 6 feet tall . We're supposed to get another 2 feet or so tonight into Tuesday... then more on Thursday. There are times that I have wished that I was a hermit- I'm seeing that I could survive that- even enjoy it on some days.


   Here are the upsides of the snow (not in order of importance):
Exercise while shoveling
More planning time for school
Family time with the kiddos!
Appreciating that I have somewhere warm to live and that I really don't "need" anything
Appreciating that I live somewhere that the snow is an inconvenience but nothing like what I see in areas affected by tornados, floods, hurricanes, forest fires, etc.
Letter writing/reading/art time
More of a chance that I will do housework
Working without a schedule
No alarm clock
Time to cook and eat meals
Wearing comfy clothes instead of having to dress up for work
Not having to drive in the town I work in (which has a DPW that works really hard, but the roads are never fully plowed)

    What do you like to do when you're "trapped" by the weather?

Concert

   I'm so proud of all my students! Some of you might think that that means the concert was perfect- it wasn't. Here's why it was great though..

    I asked my students to get there by 6:15. I had kids and parents there by 5:45. (I told you they know I hate when they're late) Only 1 boy from 8th grade came after I had started warming up/last minute announcements but he was decked out in a full suit (rather than just normal black and white) and apologized on his way up. By the way, the risers and piano were all set up and ready to go.
     I was missing less than 10 students from the whole concert (out of 183). Over half of those kids were home sick from school or had talked to me ahead of time. 3 kids are in the METCO program, which means they live in Boston instead of the town I teach in. I missed them and hope that I can reach out to see what we can do for those kids next time.
     5th Grade- Had 2 announcers- They were both adorable. I asked who was brave enough to start the whole concert and talk to all those people before the concert started and one of my nicest boys in the grade volunteered. He was very charming and did a great job. Then the little girl was an incredible reader.
    The 5th grade did have some of the problems I thought they would with the words but they performed well. I was excited that most of them were there and it was great to feel their excitement. I sometimes get annoyed with the whole "Hi Mom!!!" thing with the wave on the risers, this group didn't have any of that. I did watch their faces light up as they found their parents in the audience and smiled at them. There was one boy in particular whose happiness to see his dad (His dad talked to me after the concert. His joy about his son was just as heartwarming.) gave me quite a smile.
      So 5th grade 1st song was good. 2nd song was very pretty. 3rd song was the one I was worried about. My alto section almost blew it until this angelic little voice, Zack, sang out bravely (and alone on the right words.)  I saw him after the show and said "Zack! You SAVED the alto section! Great job! I'm really proud of you." He laughed and said "Thanks! I was terrified." Ha ha.
     6th Grade is my smallest group. Not only could I hear them but they were extremely musical. I sincerely enjoyed just listening to them. There were a few girls who sang out that are usually a lot quieter than they were tonight. They worked together as a group to listen to each other and adjust accordingly. They sang with expression and their behavior was impeccable. I wanted to hug them all.
     7th/8th- My 2 speakers for this group were also very professional. I purposely chose people who would show the progression from 5th-8th grade. It was amusing to see the audience's reaction to hearing the boy with a changed voice making the announcement.
      I am most critical of this group because I expect a lot from them and because they can handle someone having realistic expectations for them.  I was disappointed that 3 kids kept pronouncing a word in Hebrew wrong, which made it sound like the whole chorus was singing the word wrong. There were also 2 girls in the alto section who were giggling or something during our pieces, which was distracting and stuck out like crazy. OTHER than that... they really sang out. 1st song the sopranos led really well and took a risk to sing way louder than normal. The 2nd song is structured strangely. I totally messed up at one point when I flipped 2 pages instead of one. We basically made up 4 measures and then got back on track without anyone noticing the mistake. The kids who really knew this stepped up as leaders here. The 3rd song starts with all the gentlemen. I cannot always hear them and I gave them of a bit of a "Trust me" "Take a risk" conversation the other day. They all did and I was really proud of them. There are boys that I have barely heard over the past 4 years that I heard tonight singing confidently for the first time. The altos kept balance and the sopranos led the piece where it was supposed to go. The last piece was clean and open. Again, baritones sung out. Altos were consistent and the sopranos were brave.
     After the concert I met many new families. One of the moms came up to me and just hugged me. I'm a hugger, but this was my first time meeting this woman. She was just so excited and I went with it. Another woman thanked me "for giving them the gift of getting to listen to these beautiful children share their music."  I had another woman sign her daughter up for chorus after she had left in October. The 8th graders all got together and took pictures. (This 8th grade is very special to me. I will actually have a difficult time when they go to high school- not because they're such great musicians that my program will be hurt but because they are such good people that their words, excitement, compassion and humor will genuinely be missed by myself and many of the other kids they sang with.)  Parents were friendly and talkative to each other. Adults were talking with the students and the students were proud and respectful. I was also really happy to see some of my colleagues. My vice principal came, 2 aides and 2 teachers. The kids were happy to see them too.
     I am looking forward to giving the kids their written evaluation of the concert to see what their thoughts were about the night. Alright... I'm going to bed. haven't stopped to relax since 6 this morning. I wish I could share some pictures with you.

Incoming mail 11/12

Incoming!!!

    Finally, a great mail day. I have 2 things that are going out in the mail:
1. letter to my latest Chemo Angel
2. This card of the Rebecca Nurse Memorial, which is about 2 miles from my house. This card is headed to Australia

    When I got home from school, preparing to finish my 408 grades that were due today, I headed to my mailbox expecting a gift I had bought for one of my Chemo Buddies. Not there. (Yet- it came later today). Instead I found these 2 great cards. This one is from California:

    Then I got this one from Germany:

    Here is the best part about this card. Here is my address on the card:

Somehow this still got from Germany to me in 8 days! One of my friends at the post office once laughed at me when I mailed something to the Ukraine and it had come back in the mail to me even though there was no return address. He told me I'm the only one around here who gets "weird, exotic foreign mail" and explained that anything that fits in that category but is unexplained will most likely end up at my house. Then he added that I'm also probably on a "no fly" list somewhere because of all the weird things that  people mail to me.. lol.

     I got the package for my ChemoBuddy a little later. I got him this book, which I just read a few weeks ago. The author, Levi Stack, sent me a copy of the e-book (which may be free on Amazon right now), and then a copy of the next book in the series too. He seems like a really nice guy and I enjoyed the books. So, I figured I'd buy a copy of the 1st book and send it to my friend.

    Imagine my surprise when I walked into our hallway to see this waiting for me:

Ooh.. mysterious. Once I saw the return address I was super excited. Yes, I'm a nerd. It's from Stamps Teach. Check out their website.  (Sarah, I think this would be great for your classroom!)  I got this to use at home with my kids but I will definitely pass on the information to the teachers my kids have.  Look at all the interesting things inside!

Educational activities:

 Commemorative 1st day issues

 Magnifying sheet

 Postcards!

 Pamphlets

 Stamp albums

 Coloring books

 More resources

 More Envelopes

 More educator's guides

 Worksheets

 Letter, review cards, etc

 Bag of stamps with this hilarious note on it. Good to know if you're using in a classroom

 Stamps! They are so interesting. Just glancing through I saw some from: US, Canada, Chad, Trinidad and Tobago, Iraq, Uganda, Ireland, Netherlands, France, Poland, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, etc. There are many African countries that I have never seen stamps from. I can't wait to explore these more.

Teaching

      I have almost completed my first month of teaching for this year. I have been thinking a lot about my profession lately. My schedule changed a bit so this year seems a little more hectic but the past few weeks have reminded me how much I love teaching. Here are some notes from the trenches:

- Everybody gives middle school kids a bad name. These kids, trying to be adults, can be the sweetest little people. If they know that you care about them, most of the time they will attempt to do what you ask them (or at least the minimal expectations).  Some of them will go way above and beyond because you took the time and effort to invest in them. If you have prejudged them, they're smart. They can usually tell that right away and you have just made yourself (and your class) unimportant to them.
- If you meet a teacher don't say things like "Oh! You're the music teacher. How FUN!" or "Wow, it must be so nice to not have to do anything during the summer" or talk negatively about other professionals in the building. (or other people's children.. that's really bad too.) You should show interest in what your child might be learning and sharing information about your child is helpful too- especially if they're struggling with something you know that teacher is trying to work on in class.
- Music is an extremely rewarding subject to teach. I have been blessed over the past few weeks while watching kids discover that they're pretty good at things they didn't know they could do, listening to 75 kids ending the day in song, and seeing the students grow in their musicianship over a period of a few years.
- As a teacher, sometimes I know that I am one of the only adults in a student's life that actually cares about their well-being. It's not many kids, but even 1 is just too many. I'm happy to say that I have not discovered "this child" yet for this year but I know that I am very important to many of my students.
-Yes, policies, standardized testing, administration, colleagues, students and parents can all be annoying but I really do love what I do. (And I can be annoying too.. sorry.)

      Here are some things that I have experienced over the past few weeks that have made me smile:
- 8th grade students in a choreography lesson. Adult enough to want to do a good job and have their movement fit to the music but kid enough to be HILARIOUS while doing so. It always surprises me which kids get really into this lesson.
- Having someone in administration mention me in a meeting as someone who works really hard. I wasn't in the meeting and I didn't even know this person had any idea what I actually do. I don't like a lot of recognition or a big deal being made, but an acknowledgement of my efforts over the past years was really touching to me.
- When you give 6th graders a bunch of junk and tell them to make it into an instrument, their creativity will amaze you. One group "invented" an instrument that "sounds like a mix between a trumpet and a dying whale."  It was beautiful.
- I have a group of 8th grade boys writing an opera based on Phineas and Ferb. They make me smile everyday.
- I have to walk my 5th graders from recess to my room every day. I hate lines. I secretly change the pace, walk in zigzags to frequently stop just to see how many funny things they will follow me through. Only 1 girl has caught on.
- I have 6 students who consistently take a few minutes after chorus to straighten up the chorus music.  They have no idea what a blessing it is to me that I don't have to crawl around in my room making sure everybody put their music back where it was supposed to be and that it is neat.
- I got 4 super nice parent e-mails. One e-mail from a dad thanked me for exposing his son to something that he (dad) was really interested in and opening up lots of conversation at home. He also said that he was discouraged at the state of music ed support in our school but very excited that his son had me as a teacher. This kind e-mail touched me deeply. It probably took him 5 minutes to write it. I wish we all did that as parents.
- I have no 7th grade girls who are eye-rollers... yet! Amen.
- I ended my day on Thursday just enjoying listening to my 7th/8th grade chorus. I switched from the role of director to accompanist for a few minutes and just felt proud of all their hard work and how lucky I am to be a part of the lives of these kiddos.
- New students keep signing up for chorus. Friday I had 2 really nice, super sweet 6th grade girls try it out. I always lose a few at the beginning of the year but I think this year I have gained more than I have lost.
- I had 10 students (out of 38 who had the project due) turn in their projects early so I didn't have to grade them all at the same time. They're all high quality work too!
- I got confirmation that we will be bringing a group of current students to see a former student playing a lead in the national tour of Cinderella.
- Every student who says "thank you" or "have a nice day" after a class.
- The fact that I get to laugh at myself every day as well.
-Having 2 days off for Rosh Hashanah. I'm not Jewish so I spent today going out to lunch with my husband, getting a massage and hanging out with my kids once they got home.
- An former student of mine, now in 9th grade, saw me after a faculty meeting and came up to give me a big hug and tell me how much she misses me.
- New lessons that work and watching the engagement of the kids.

    Wow.. I could go on for a while. Unfortunately, sometimes when I hear negativity I can get drawn in and I could write a list just as long and a lot less edifying. I was reading Psalms last night and I read Psalm 141 which said:
Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
    keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil
    so that I take part in wicked deeds
along with those who are evildoers;
    do not let me eat their delicacies.

   I am not a person who will purposely do anything "wicked" but I can be negative and critical.  I am hoping that I continue to have a great year and that I check in with the blog more often. 

Question for you:

In October I am hoping to join up with 31 Days, I'm having a hard time deciding what to write about. Any ideas? It would be a good time to jump back into primarily writing about my mail but I'm willing to write about anything people are interested in reading about. :)

Have a blessed day! I'd love to hear from you if you are a new reader (and some old friends too!)