Summertime

This has been a pretty busy summer for me. I have attended two 3-day conferences, one at the University of North Texas and one at the Round Top Retreat Center in Round Top, TX. Both were excellent conferences.

The first was with John Feierabend learning his way of teaching general music to the kiddos. I've had his books for a while now but didn't quite know how to start. Now I do!

The second was "Capturing Kids Hearts" and not only was the material good, the location was fantastic! If you're ever offered a chance to attend "CKH" anywhere-it's worth the time and money. If it happens to be at the Round Top Retreat Center, even better.

For the first conference, I stayed in a dorm room/cubicle and except for occasionally (I just spelled that correctly without spell check!)eating lunch with people in the class, I pretty much did things on my own. The second conference, I stayed in a beautiful room full of antiques and a friend from my campus and learned that I really need to socialize more. I have one regret from that trip: I did not go into town with them the first night and missed a great opportunity to bond with other teachers from my campus and my district. Feeling left out is not good, but to essentially be the one who chose that for myself was more than not good. I was able to find lots of things to take pictures of around the grounds and that was wonderful, but...

That's all for now. Enjoy the pictures!

a program I really didn't want to do

At the beginning of the school year I met with the other two elementary music teachers in my district to strategize. (For some reason the spell check is not recognizing the word "strategize.") When our curriculum director came in to talk, they balked on me and I was urged to do a program with my second graders. I've been in to the workings of it with the kids since January. They are doing a Texas program. They know several songs, one in Spanish, and a couple of dances (square and a polka)and are doing rather well with it. The program is scheduled for Thursday and I've been getting things ready for it including some decorations. Here is a picture of the cowboy I just finished with--no, I didn't draw him--used an opaque projector and a free coloring page off the internet. I did chalk him in though and I think he looks pretty handsome even if I do say so myself. I'll be glad when Thursday night is over.




Adios amigos!

no fighting no biting

In all the years I have been teaching, I have never had a kid try to bite me before. Until today. It was NOT a good way to start my day. I was a bear the rest of the day.

I also just realized that I don't really remember exactly how many years I've taught. It's either 21 or 22 I think. My husband and I have been discussing it and we'll probably be retiring in 4 1/2 years. That means there are a lot of things that need to get done between now and then. Update two bathrooms, furnish the bedroom that my daughter recently moved out of and purchase a new vehicle. I need one that I can rely on to get me to and from wherever I want to go--which is really wherever my daughter decides to live, visiting my sister in Wyoming and my brother in Vancouver. (I have to get a passport before that trip though.)

As far as retirement itself, I really don't know if I'll actually miss working/teaching full-time or not. I don't miss it during the summer and yet I plan all summer through reading, actual lesson planning, etc. so nothing gets boring. I do have other hobbies I haven't given much time to lately. Also, I will probably still teach the occasional class at Lamar-Orange.

Travel, quilting, photography, reading for fun or to learn something I'm really interested in sounds really inviting. hmm