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Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Currently 10/7

Watching:
     I've been watching the newest season of Castle.
 I've liked that show for a while. I like all of the characters. I'm not sure about this season yet, but hopefully it holds my interest. I like all of the actors and actresses involved in the show too so I feel a weird loyalty to the show. I know I'm weird.
     I'll probably watch Survivor tonight to wind down.

Reading:
     James Patterson's Unlucky 13.
   It's a quick read but I'm finding it a little slow. I enjoy it when I'm reading it, but I'm not really invested in the characters or the story. 

Listening:
    To all of my new choruses. Personality wise, they are VERY different from last year. Here's my thoughts so far:
5th grade- super chatty and "young" but they have potential. Once people stop talking to their friends instead of singing, things will move quickly. They are doing very well moving quickly, singing different parts from each other and following directions... when they stop talking. I'm about 20 chairs short in my room for this group, which doesn't help. (I have about 65 chairs in my room already. I don't think we're going to be able to fit 20 more.)

6th grade- Lots of potential. I'm very excited about this group. Many of them continued from last year. I lost a few great singers (Chorus is opposite what is essentially a study so the "busy" kids figure out they can get their homework done IN school and I lose them.) and a few chatty kids who distracted the group. I also gained a few new students to the district. We continued right where they left off last year and they are doing great.

7th/8th- I lost a TON of really responsible, kind, talented 8th graders last year and I'm feeling their loss big time. My 7th graders are good and hard-working but my 8th graders are probably weaker than most of my grades. (Weaker in leadership skills and effort.)  There are a handful of kids who are where I hoped they'd be but it's hard to have them after a year of having stellar students. I'm anticipating that the 7th graders are going to step up as the leaders of this group. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. On a good note, I started off with 3 boys (Gasp... horrible. I had 28 in there last year. Did I mention I miss last year's 8th graders?) and now I'm up to about 10, so that is good. I worked with the 7th grade boys yesterday and they're really working hard for me.

Chorale- This is my after school group. They are shy as a group but they are serious and are following many theory things I've given them. I've worked through some pretty complicated concepts and skills over the past few rehearsals and they're exceeding my expectations with a few things. They need to come together as a group a little bit more. Once that happens, there will be more growth.


Making:
     Nothing. I have been so busy. It's sad.

Feeling:
     I've been feeling a little... cluttered lately. I have had a lot of my mind and a lot to do. I have been craving some quiet time with God and some quality time with friends. I have also examined some of my relationships and I've discovered that I am drained by negativity and that some of my friendships are way weaker than I had thought. I need to re-prioritize my time and energy. (Coming in November I think...)


Planning:
     Working on revamping some music curriculum at school. I'm also trying to adjust to Matt's changing work schedule. For the first time in many, many years, each week is different, which is creating havoc in our schedules.

Loving:
    My boys and musical theater. Timmy and I went to go see Billy Elliot last week. It was pretty good. If I hadn't seen it for the first time on Broadway, I would've been blown away. The boys who played Billy and Michael are getting a bit old for the role. There were some notes that Billy strained on, but I loved him. He was very knowledgeable about how to make his voice work for him and if I didn't teach voice, I would have barely noticed the strain. Michael, on the other hand, had some notes that were out of his range or out of tune.
     This is my favorite song from the show. (Take out the tissues) I seriously cannot listen to this without crying. I think if I was going to try out for a show, I would like to be Billy's mom. Here's me and my real boy :)
    Tomorrow I get to take the other little guy out. This is going to be a really special night. 1) I'm going out with David. 2) I'm seeing Andy Jones, one of my former students  play the role of Prince Topher in the national tour of Cinderella. (I'll also see his beautiful fiance again) 3) I'm seeing another one of my old students, Shane, there. 4) My friend Jessie and her daughter, Teagan, will be joining us. I think this is Teagan's first real show and I know she'll be mesmerized. 5) My first music teacher, Ms. Kelley, knew Andy was one of my students so she planned to be there on the same night. She is treating David and I to appetizers and I'm going to introduce her to Andy after the show. It will be such a special night to me to be with so many important people in my past and present. I'll put a cute picture up sometime over the weekend. 



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