Monday was exciting because my students and I sang at the Colorado Rockies game. This was the first time I had ridden on the Light Rail. It was very clean, fast, and convenient. Unfortunately we had to walk very far to get to the special entrance at the stadium and it was a bit harsh on my back. The game was really fun though and the Rockies ended up beating the Dodgers 10-0 or something like that. Dan and I were even on TV! The first home-run ball landed right above us while we were standing in the isle. It was a bit scary but very exciting. My students and their families really enjoyed themselves so hopefully we will be asked back to sing again.
This week I got to see all of the A group students. The difficult part about week "A" is that I have kindergarten in the morning and in the afternoon. This cuts my lunch break short and I have found kindergarten to be my most difficult class. Even though it is only 30 minutes I still find myself exhausted after each class. All of the students have A LOT to say about whatever is in their tiny brain and I am finding it hard to focus their attention. I have found new ways to play song games that require them to stay in a circle so they cannot drift off and get distracted. I have also noticed that they could sing and play "here comes a bluebird" forever and ever. This is kind of nice to keep under my tool-belt in case I find myself needing to kill time. My easiest grade to teach is 5th grade, I relate better to older students and they (sort-of) understand my humor. I found a children's book about the Star Spangled Banner for 3rd grade which went over very well. I hope to find more children's books for more lessons.
My S.T.A.R Mentor is one of the most fantastic people I have met. She comes once a week to observe me and to give me helpful tips on how to work on my classroom management, classroom organization, and much more. This week we worked on my "tool-box", things to say to grab student's attention. So far they have been great, "Ready, Set?!" "You Bet!" and "Have a seat!!" "So Sweet!". I have also come up with some pop culture ones like "Lady!" "Gaga!" and "Call Me?!" "Maybe!!". The students love this stuff and it is so much better than "clap. clap. clap clap clap". I also needed to work on making sure my classroom rules and consequences were made clear to the students. I have three rules: Respect Yourself, Respect Others, and Respect the Instruments. These are easy to follow and I spent each class period going over what each of those mean in the music classroom. All of the students seem to understand it and my classes have been amazing since. Also I have three consequences: First offense: Warning, Second offense: Call home, Third Offense: Meeting with parents, student, Ms. Pellerito, and principal. (dun dun dunnnnn)
My goals for this week at school are to create a choir packet with all of the songs they will be learning, attendance policy, t-shirt order form, calendar, and contact information. I also need to learn how to make posters (with our cool poster making machine), and clean out my room. There is so much junk in there including outdated text book and tons of costumes from past plays. I am going to need a lot of help doing all this so I'll have to rally some parents and volunteers.
Dan and I went to my first doctor appointment today at the University of Colorado Spine Program. It was set up exactly like the Spine Program at UofM and I really enjoyed my visit. My x-rays looked great (scary, but straight) and I am to start increasing my daily activity. One thing that surprised me was they said that I need to start swimming every day. I didn't know that I was allowed to swim and of course, our apartment complex swimming pool is closed now... Hopefully I will be doing some swimming at physical therapy which starts on Saturday.
Dan seems to really enjoy his new job at the deli. His work outfit is much better too, and he doesn't come home smelling like sour cream and tacos. (yay!) Dan is working every day this week and then has orientation at DU on Friday. It is strange to me that he is just choosing his classes on Friday, the day before school starts! That would stress me out. Clearly, I have long-term planning issues. Chai is also loving her new home and my iPhone may be filled with cat pictures.... We love her :)
Until next week... Mountain Pictures Coming Soon! (I promise, we will go there!)
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