Eight Weeks in a Blink

778 pages of reading

144 hours of classes

16 hours of tutoring

6 new professors

10 group assignment members.

9 papers

5 quizzes

4 exams

6 group projects

3 birthday parties

2 sleepovers

3 dentist appointments

8 piano lessons

8 tumbling classes

8 skating lessons

1 school concert

32 boxes of girl scout cookies sold and delivered

2 scout meetings

Yep...I'm tired. Thank goodness for Spring Break!

Three Cheers for Stuart Little

I made a pact with myself this semester to take in as many Bradley University cultural and sporting events as possible. (As the Captain would be quick to point out, my tuition is subsidizing them after all.) Yesterday we attended the theatre department's production of Stuart Little. It was a huge hit with the kids and adults alike. Today at 2:30 is the last performance, so, if you're in the area, try to take it in. If you aren't, look into live theatre performances near you. The right script and performers can unleash a child's imagination better than Pixar or Disney, even at their best.

Hitting the Books

The Cons:

1. a dirty house
2. unimaginative cooking
3. group work with partners who consider watching the NFL a longstanding commitment
4. homework and more homework
5. lunch from a thermos four days a week
6. less exercise, blogging and writing in general

The Pros:

1. less housework
2. fewer trips to the grocery store
3. reliving my youth vicariously through my classmates and students
4. learning more than I ever expected and loving it
5. not taking time with my family for granted
6. getting out and interacting with people every single day

My Trip Off the Blog Wagon

African Piano designed by Anna-Marie D'Cruz

in her book, Make Your Own Musical Instruments

(The Rosen Publishing Group, 2009)

Botched by Mighty Mom

South American Rain Stick

I knew, even as I set it, that a goal of 360 blogs this year would be next to impossible. I guess my point was to get myself blogging, even with the new burden of school. Blogging is my way of recording life as I see it and I didn't want to look back three years from now and have nothing saved. Well, my diligence lasted until my first interim semester course: Music in the P-8 Schools. Here's just a snippet of what was required of me this past weekend:

A Lesson Plan:

The Orchestra in Four Parts

Age Level: 7 to 9

Duration: 40 minutes

Materials:

Computer with iTunes software, The Orchestra Playlist, and speakers

Worksheet, one per student (see attached)

Pencils

Resources:

Moss, Lloyd (1995). Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin

Garriel, Barbara S. (2004). I Know a Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello

Crossword Puzzle Maker courtesy of http://www.puzzle-maker.com/CW/

The Orchestra Play List:

1. Piano Concerto #20 In D Minor, K 466 - 1. Allegro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
2. Spring from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi
3. The Coventry Carol (Brass Quintet) by Robert Croo
4. Concerto For Flute & Harp, K 299 - 2. Andantino by Woldfgang Amadeus Mozart
5. The Battle Of Stirling by James Horner, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra

Objectives:

• Students will be able to identify the four sections of the orchestra based on their construction and method of sound production.
• Students will be able to match the following terms to their correct definition.
• Students will be able to place a selection of instruments into their appropriate sections.

Procedure:

• Begin by asking students if any have gone to see or listened to an orchestra. Guide discussion toward the number of musicians, the types of instruments, the type of music played and whether the musicians played by themselves or in groups.
• Play Track 1 from The Orchestra Playlist as an example of a large orchestra all playing together.
• Introduce the concept that the orchestra can be divided into four sections. Read Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin, asking students to look for clues to justify what instruments they would group together to form a section. Hint: instruments are grouped together based on how they make sound.
• At the dry erase board, write the names of all ten instruments in black ink. Invite students to come to the board to circle instruments they believe are in the same section with like colored marker (i.e. all strings circled with red; all woodwinds circled with blue; all brass circled with green. See answer key attached.) Once complete, introduce the correct terms for the different sections: strings, brass, and woodwinds. Play tracks 2, 3, and 4 from The Orchestra Play list (15 to 30 seconds each).
• Remind the class that one important section is still missing. (Percussion) Allow students to offer suggestions as to what is missing and then read I know a Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello watching for new instruments they may not have seen in the first book.
• Add new instruments to the board: saxophone, fiddle, cymbal, kazoo, and bell. Invite students to come up to the board and classify the new additions, offering their justification. Add percussion as a section including the cymbal and bell. Discuss whether a kazoo belongs in any of the sections. Play track 5 from The Orchestra Play List as an example of percussion instruments.
• Distribute activity sheets. Allow students to work in small groups to complete. Younger students may require a word bank. Older students should be encouraged to refer to the texts. Meanwhile instrumental tracts in the background in sequence.
• During last five minutes gather group’s attention and discuss section and instrument preferences.

Evaluation:

• See attached crossword puzzle. (Not included here for reasons of potential copyright infringement. While I wrote the content of the puzzle myself, I'm not sure I'm allowed to share it.)

ISBE Standard Addressed:

26.A.2c Music:

Classify musical sound sources into groups (e.g., instrumental families, vocal ranges, solo/ensembles).

As you can see in the photo above, I also constructed a few instruments, none of which particularly excited me half as much as they impressed the girls.

So that's what I've been up to. My blogging goal will most assuredly not be met, but I'll be sure to check in with a good excuse from time to time. Honest!

Simple Flute designed by Anna-Marie D'Cruz

(also known as the most annoying noise maker in the world)

Back to Basics

I arrived at the test center thirty minutes early, not because I'm like that, but because my email confirmation insisted that I must. I was there to take the ICTS Basic Skills Test, the first of three licensing exams that will qualify me as a teacher.

As the name suggests, the Basic Skills Test is a five-hour-long series of questions designed to ensure that I can read, write and do basic math. (Somewhat disconcerting, isn't it, that the public school system of the US and Canada can't be trusted to achieve this.) To be honest, I was more concerned about having enough time to finish than I was about the test's content. Clearly, I can write, but good writing takes time. In any case, I was fully equipped for the long haul. I had a water bottle, two oranges, a banana and a bagel, ear plugs and my antibiotics. I also had four pencils, an eraser, and a pad of paper. I was as ready as I would ever be.

When I entered the test center, there was one examinee already waiting with her mom. I imagined my mom was home getting ready for Bridge. I was handed a copy of the test rules: no food, no water, no earplugs, no paper, no nothing! I would be issued a plasticized tablet and a dry-erase marker. Ironically, I was not to erase. If I filled my tablet I was to raise my hand and another would be issued to me. I would be video and audio taped throughout the exam. If I needed to leave the room for any reason, I had to raise my hand and wait to be escorted. I would be photographed and finger printed on my arrival and every time I entered and exited the examination room. Should I want ear plugs, a pair would be issued to me. I would also be issued a locker in which to place my effects. (At this point I was thinking that the test center could give some great pointers to the Department of National Defence.)

I did everything I was asked and even smiled for the camera. A young woman requested I turn out my pockets before entering the exam room. My personal set of foam earplugs tumbled out. "You can put those in your locker," she said.

A full half hour after my arrival I was escorted into the exam room. I left five hours later hungry, thirsty, and with a raging headache. I was fingerprinted again before I could retrieve my water bottle and snacks. It was over. I'd share more, but then I'd have to...well... you know!

Let the holidays begin!

First Impressions

Today marked the end of my first semester as a non-traditional student. Over dinner I asked the girls what they thought of university. Mouse's reply was, "Weird."

"What's so weird about it?" I asked, thinking hard about the day I brought her along for a team meeting. For the life of me, I couldn't think of anything too unusual about it.

"The boys don't pull up their pants and you can see their underwear."

You hear that boys? Pull up your pants. Six-year-olds notice!

A Rare Specimen

As part of my studies, I am required to take a class in Communications. For your entertainment, here is the speech on self-concept I gave on Monday to my freshman classmates.

A Whole New World

I knew from the very beginning that the school I volunteered and worked at in Geneva was exceptional in virtually every way. Tuition for kindergarten started slightly above 15,000 Swiss Franc a year. While not every parent was abundantly wealthy, it was not uncommon to see a handful of Porsche Cayennes in the parking lot. Designer-clad eight-year-olds sporting cell phones were not unusual. But the kids were still kids and, with as many as 18 different mother-tongues in any given classroom, their proper education was a challenge. The teachers were outstanding: respectful, caring, highly skilled and responsive. Support services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy and special education were at the ready. Field trips were a regular occurrence as were invited guests that included theatre troops and published authors. The library was extensive. It was an ideal world I wonder if I'll ever see again.

This week I began my field experience in the public schools of P-town. From now until the end of term I will spend one to two mornings a week at an area high school and two afternoons in kindergarten. The kindergarten class serves an exceptionally poor population. The school itself was established to help the most at-risk families in the area. Most children live at or below the poverty line, therefore qualify to receive breakfast, lunch and two snacks at school. I've been told that, for some, this may be the only food they receive all day. The high school is the institution that these kindergarteners will eventually attend. There I've been assigned to the Behavioral and Emotional Disorders classes: rooms filled with some of the biggest personalities I have ever met. (Considering I worked three years at an inner-city hospital, that's saying something.) It should make for an interesting ten weeks, to say the least.

Stay tuned: I'll share what I can here.

What do Mighty Mom and Canada have in common?

Three A's!

The Mature Student

When I completed my first degree, I didn't need a computer. I had an electric typewriter with an LCD screen that granted me a fifteen letter lead time to catch mistakes before they were printed. Research was performed at the library; class hand-outs were the norm; and access to professors was limited to their office hours. I shared a landline phone with two roommates and a cat who liked to re-program the answering machine. Perhaps it is needless to say, but twenty years has changed a few things.

For one, a computer is an absolute necessity. Not having an email address is tantamount to living in a cardboard box and hoping for the odd telegram. Research is performed on online databases; handouts are now downloads; and professors dispense their home numbers with strict instructions on when not to call. Cell phones are the bane of every professor's existence: texting during lecture will result in your immediate dismissal. Phones must be turned off, not to silent. And homework is submitted, for the most part, electronically. It's a whole new world.

So how am I liking it? I'm loving it, but it is quite the juggling act. I'm behind in writing to friends and reading their blogs. As it is, I should be sleeping right now, not writing this. I've completed one and half weeks of fourteen. Here's hoping I can keep things together for another twelve and a half!

Dis-orientaton

"Hi, my name is Shelly and I'm a freshman from Streetor, Illinois."

"Hi, my name is Britney and I'm a freshman, too, from Springfield."

The room is filled with girls in their late teens wearing make-up that says "I'm trying to look older," but doing just the opposite. I feel nostalgia for the person I was at their age: determined, dedicated, but ambivalent.

I have more in common with my professors than my classmates. I won't be partaking in the campus-wide water fight later on this evening. A course syllabus rests on my nightstand. I don't want to be twenty again. Couldn't be. It's strange to be wading the same waters, revisiting the eddies of adolescence, if only from the water's edge.

Tomorrow I will attend my first classes and step out into the fray. Let's hope I can keep my head above water and my feet on the ground.

Death By Anticipation

If it were possible, I'd be six feet under by now.

Days before I start school: SIX!

Feeling...Mature

I entered the university admissions office dressed like I was going to a job interview. From my floral-print linen blouse to my sensible shoes, I was the picture of sensibility, commitment, and drive, a 'future teacher' poster child if there ever was one. Without a lick of hesitation, I presented myself to the receptionist. 

"I'm here for Campus Orientation.  Am I in the right place?"

"You sure are, honey." She handed me a course calendar, campus map and name tag. "Have a seat over there."

I followed the line of her hand to a large cluster of chairs behind me where sat at least a dozen other prospective students — with their parents.  To make matters worse, I'd missed the 'jeans only' memo. I had a sudden urge to colour my hair. 

A lot has changed since my last university experience.  For instance, the campus library stays open until 4a.m. and serves munchies at midnight. I told my tour guide, a bright-eyed junior, that I hadn't been up at 4a.m. with any regularity since breast feeding. She smiled incredulously. "Really?"  

That was it: I would buy some Clairol on the way home. 

In all honesty, I expected no less.  The good news is that I've been accepted to study education in the fall at an NCATE-accredited school only fifteen minutes from home. So what if I'm the oldest person in the room.  It's worth it.