Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Bathtubs, soap suds and recorders, oh my!

Not many people can honestly say " I took home 75 recorders last night, sanitized them and gave them all a bath". When asked tomorrow what I did last night, this will be my answer. I love my job. 
We are finally at the end of our 4th grade recorder unit and it's time to get them clean and ready for next year's crew. 



The grant I received this fall from Donors Choose helped me purchase 80 recorders for my classroom. Having them year-round next year will allow me to do recorders in smaller doses rather than 2 straight months after Christmas vacation. I hope to also tie them into other areas of my curriculum and make it a gradual process. I have some brainstorming to do this summer. 😊
Pinterest has been a huge help in gaining new ideas and helpful hints when it comes to recorders. Pinterest is not just a time-sucker for me. I'll admit that when I need a good laugh, it's the first place I go, but it's not all about recipes, fashion and funny cat pictures. 
I use Pinterest as a means of personal professional development. Being the only elementary music teacher in my district, I don't have another co-teacher to bounce ideas off.  (side note) I had a student teacher this semester and I thought my head was going to explode with new ideas and just someone to talk to who knew what I was talking about. 
Pinterest isn't always the answer, but is often a springboard for how a new idea will work in my room. Recorders aren't super exciting to teach and for the non music students they can be torture. If I can turn playing a really ugly-sounding instrument into a game, or they get to throw a football for extra points for their team, then that's what I need to keep them all engaged. 
Go Recorders!!!!


No comments:

Post a Comment