Small Goals for June

Ah!  June!  It's one of my favorite months just because I can almost hear the screeeeeeeeetch of my life as I hit the brakes and try to slow the pace of every day life.  This year, however, is a bit different.  This year I am starting my "new" job.  Due to some medical issues with my husband and my need to have a surgery (with a lengthy recovery) my district has granted me a one year sabbatical.  I am excited to have this time with my kids.  Although my son is 15 and is not terribly interested in spending MORE time with Mom, my three year old thinks that I'm a rock star and can't get enough play time.  I'm also grateful for the time to help my husband heal.

During this time I'll be working on resources for my website and Teachers Pay Teachers store.  I'll also be able to travel and present workshops a little more.   So during June, I'll be working furiously to get things ready for the back-to-school rush that comes during August and September.  I don't want to lose sight of all the other fabulous things there are to do in the summer so I've decided put a few goals down in this blog post.

I'm linking up with Jennifer from The Yellow Brick Road to share our goals for the month of June.

1.  Sleep.

Shut up.  I don't do much of this during the school year.  My body can only go so long on 5-6 hours a day before it shuts down.  I start to feel that every May and am thankful that I only have to set my alarm a couple of days a week during June.  In only two weeks, I've already felt a difference.  Soon, I'll have to give up my sleep all night and sit all day routine for something healthier, but *whew* right now I am loving it!

2.  Organize just a little.

We moved to a tiny little house during May and although it LOOKS like we are moved in there are two closest that are crammed from top to bottom with boxes and bags and stuff that had no other place to go.  I figure that as soon as I've tidied this up and organized the stuff in those closets that I'll have more room to cram new stuff.  Win!

I'm also working on organizing a work space for the next year (no office in the new house).  I've downloaded a great planner and customized it for my needs and am making short term goals to keep me on track.  Later this month I'll blog a little about the planner and let you know how I'm doing.  I'm excited about possibly working while sipping sweet tea and sitting on the patio.

3.  Eat better.  Move more.

I've been avoiding this for about 4 years now.  It's time.  Not big, crazy life changes, but small changes I can do consistently.  Summer is a great time to eat better here in southeast Missouri.  There are TONS of fresh fruits and veggies and they taste fabulous.  Eating better?  Easy!  Moving more?  Hmmmm.  I hate being sweaty.  LOL.  I'm going to explore water aerobics classes.  I've done them a few summers and loved them.  We live about twenty minutes away now, so it seems like a lot more work.  *fingers crossed* 

4.  Give.

I've been thinking about this one for a month or two now.  This Sunday, my pastor challenged us to choose a focus word and scripture for the summer.  I was already there.  My word?  Give.

During the school year it is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life.  This summer, I'm going to focus on giving more.  I hope to give more time to play with and listen to my family.  I hope to give more time to local charities and needs.  I hope to give more to those that may need a little bit of encouragement.  I hope to give more financially as we work to live debt free and on a budget.  I hope to give more of myself so that I can be less like me and more like Jesus.

I know.  That sounds like a BIG goal, doesn't it?  The thing about big goals is that they are really just a bunch of little goals away.  :-)

New Year's Resolutions

Personal

2014 has been a difficult year for my family.  In June my husband was hospitalized for some heart problems.  In July, on his birthday, we were in a car accident.  I broke my wrist and hand and he broke his sternum and received an outrage seatbelt injury complete with bruising, swelling and awfulness.  Not even a month later he had a stroke. 

Due to this craziness, his already weak heart was further weakened.  On December 12 he had an ICD implanted.  This device serves as a defibrillator and a pace maker for my 42 year old hunky husband.  Unfortunately, the drama didn’t end there!  Last Monday he had emergency surgery to remove an abscess and old hematoma from the accident in July.  This left a HUGE (shockingly huge) hole in his abdomen. (Like 12 inches long and 4 inches deep.  Seriously.)

So, it has been a pretty drama filled year on the medical front.  I’ve missed lots of work and it looks like I may have to miss more to take care of the family.  This year we are going to focus on healing!  Eating better, taking superb care of ourselves and following doctors’ orders are top priorities for the new year.

Professional

I’m gonna level up!  I’m sure it is a similar story for some of you.  I didn’t complete my Orff or Kodaly levels right after college because I didn’t have the money.  Now that I have the money, I don’t have the time!  LOL.  Well, this summer I hope to change that.

Classroom

I purchased 15 tubanos for my classroom this fall.  They are beautiful.  I love them.  I can’t wait to incorporate more hands on activities using these beautiful instruments.  I’ve already explored a few activities that I used to do on coffee can drums and wow…amazing.  If you have any tried and true activities, please let me know!

Blog/TpT

Some of my most popular products are those that I find the most tedious to make.  SHhhh!  Don’t tell!  I realize that this is the reason that others would rather buy them than make them.  I have a couple of those projects that I am going to tackle right away.  I love the finished project, so it is worth that extra push to get them finished.

I’m going to add more Composer of the Month kits including several female composers!  I’m also going to add a few more Exit Tickets to my stores as well.   Be sure to grab the bundle before the price goes up with the new additions!  If you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments or let me know on Facebook.

Just for Me

This year I resolve to eat to live NOT to live to eat!  I am emotional eater.  I am a stress eater.  We celebrate with food.  We mourn with food.  Heck, I think that I’m gonna celebrate posting this blog post with a big brownie.  *giggle*  So next year, I’m going to try and look at food differently.  Eat a little cleaner.  Plan a little healthier.  Substitute thing here and there.  Get into a new relationship with food.  I've already started healthier pinning.  Check it out here.

Do you make resolutions for the new year?  Feel free to share them in the comments.  I’m linking up with Mrs. Miracle’s Music Room for this New Year’s Resolutions Linky Party.  Join us!

Songs of the Month

Once upon a time I nearly had a music teacher breakdown.  It wasn’t because of the increasingly difficult amount of paperwork, the political takeover of education or even challenging students.  One April I looked back at the number of songs my kids had learned in a year and was flabbergasted by how FEW there were for some grade levels.  One grade had only learned 15 songs (that included songs for two concerts).  Now, they had composed, improvised, explored, played keyboards and more but they didn’t sing too much more than that.  YIKES!

It was then and there that I devised a plan to remedy that.  There is such a wealth of folk songs, seasonal songs and more that I could not allow this to happen again.  I sat down and devised a plan for Song of the Week.

My plan was to introduce a song (folk song, patriotic, children’s tune, MK8 favorite, camp song, etc…) every week.  I knew that it would be a little tricky because at that time I was teaching Preschool through 8^th grades.  I decided that some classes would just “experience” the song.  Some weeks that meant that PK-2 used the song as a way to keep steady beat and/or explore movement or form.  Some weeks that meant that 7^th and 8^th Graders used that song to identify pitch names, add rhythmic ostinatos or sang it as a warm-up. 

I used a rainy day to compose a list of songs that I might like to use and I sketched a few bulletin board possibilities.  I wanted to create a display so that when we had a few minutes at the end of class we could pick some of our favorite songs of the week to sing.  Here are a few that I've tried over the years.

When I started song of the week I saw my classes for 30 minutes twice a week.  When my schedule changed to see my kiddos just once a week for 50 minutes, I needed a new plan.  I would sometimes go a couple of weeks without seeing a group (especially if they saw me on Fridays).  So, Song of the Week became Song of the Month.  This worked well because students could sing or “experience” the song a few times that month.  They were still getting about 10 “bonus” songs every year and I was thrilled that my whole school new many classics!

Some Ideas for Songs of the Month

August

Star-Spangled Banner (every August, every class)

September

She’ll Be Comin’ Around the Mountain

The Apple Song (MK8)

My Aunt Came Back

Wheels on the Bus

I Love the Mountains

October

Eight Legs (MK8)

There’s a Spider on the Floor

Grandma’s Feather Bed

Pumpkin March (MK8)

Ghostbusters

November

Over the River and Through the Woods

Mashed Potatoes (MK8)

Jingle Bells

Something patriotic for Veteran’s Day

December

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Christmas Makes Me Sing (MK8)

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Frosty the Snowman

Mary Had a Baby

Joy to the World

January

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

Oh What a Beautiful Morning

Clementine

What a Wonderful World

February

Let Me Call You Sweetheart

Follow the Drinking Gourd

Wade in the Water

Peace Like a River

March

Music Alone Shall Live

I’ve Got Rhythm

Music is Always There (MK8)

Over the Rainbow

Danny Boy

Old Irish Blessing (MK8)

April

Red River Valley

Take Me Home, Country Roads

Sakura

You are My Sunshine

The Bunny Hop

May

You Make Me Smile (MK8)

This Land is Your Land

Oh Susanna

Home on the Range

Cat Came Back

American Tears

I know that some of these songs seem random.  *shrugging*  They may be chosen for the month based on a holiday or theme or may just be songs I like doing around that time of the year.  That’s the beauty of Songs of the Month.

Do you do Songs of the Week/Month?  What are your favorites?  Let me know in the comments.

I've created a set of posters that you may like for your songs.  Sometimes I'll use the "Song of the Day" poster and just leave it up for the month.

This year I am using this bulletin board to record our Songs of the Month.  I’m just writing the name of the song(s) on each sheet with a dry erase marker.  I’ve laminated them so I can save them and use them for something else if I want.  You can snag them here.