Mid-winter Blues..

It has been a long week at the middle school.  Students complaining about erratic behavior in some teachers, everyone coughing and sneezing with the terrible virus that is going around, some bad behavior that made students weep, because they thought they would never get caught.  Let's just say, it is the doldrums, the mid-winter blues!

 I am happy that it is Friday, but I am also happy that despite the doldrums we got a great deal accomplished as well.  I had the other teams for fifth grade music for the beginning of third quarter, and we did the same project as the groups last week did, on "DYNAMICS"- pianissimo, piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte, and fortissimo!  There were many delightful performances this week using these different dynamics, and every single one was unique.  I told them they could not use any real instruments, only their bodies and things they found in the classroom for their sounds and their composition.  Today I had a group of three girls and a boy doing ballet moves as a part of their composition.  Their pirouettes were pianissimo, their degages and tendus were piano, there was a boy in the back pounding with his feet for mezzo forte, and then they did a pas de deux with yardsticks and then arabesques and when they moved closer to a chair, they made forte sounds with the yardsticks hitting the chairs.  It was a delightful and entertaining performance.

Another performance we had were all boys, I called them the bathroom buddies, because they had been practicing out in the hall.  (The other day they were so loud, they got the attention of the principal and assistant principal walking down the hall, who moved them into another room, where they added more fuel and imagination to their performance piece.)  They enter from the bathroom making lots of noise, singing, "Whey-o" several times.  It magnifies the sound, coming from the bathroom, that is why they were getting called out for it.  They returned into the classroom, answered the phone, hit walls and doors and tables along the way, and then one of them ran down the row of chairs with a metal stick and did fortissimo that way.  It was a moving performance, not moving as in emotional, but moving as in, you had to move around to watch the whole thing.  Pretty clever and innovative!

The last performance I will share with you was written down as well, so I will share their composition papers.

PP-Pencil, Kristen drops it.
P-marker- Abby drops it.
MP-Ruler-Brittney drops it
MF-Wipes- Abby slams on the ground
F-Wall- Brittney hits it.
FF-Basket-Kristen slams it on the ground
subito Piano-Heart tin-Maryem
Subito Forte-Kristen
Trash bucket slamming-Maryem

I called them the Dumpster Divers, because they needed, they said, to use the trash can, and had to take the little bit of trash out of it before they could make it work.  Quite delightful!!

               

This week in Music Class

First week with fifth graders.  Much smaller and shyer than the 6th graders.  Quiet and thinking, and wanting to make a good impression.  I want to make a good impression as well.  So I give them a very fun project to show me how they understand dynamics: pianissimo, piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte fortissimo!  They wrote down their compositions and here are some I was privileged to witness at the end of the final class for the week!

1.) Everyone taps pencils on book. mp
2.) Kade and Tim drop book for subito forte
3.) Drum pencils louder for mezzo forte
4.) Everyone taps books on table loudly.  fortissimo
5.) Everyone taps pencils softly piano
6.)Everyone flips pages through book pianissimo
7.) Everyone slams book shut. mf
8.) Everyone flips through pages of book. pianissimo
9.) Tim and Kade drop one book each. subito forte
10.) Lucy and Antonio tap books on table loudly and then we stop and just hear page flipping.

Some just divided up instruments and then played in the different dynamic levels:
Dingaling: Claire
Door: Kateri
Chair: Emily
Pipe: Ella
Rap: Carlie
ALL INSTRUMENTS PLAY LOUD, SOFT, LOUD, SOFT MEDIUM!

Some were quite short: Book Slam, cabinets, chair, dee-dee, snam, light cabinet bang, spoon tap ..with their names attached to whatever they were doing.  Very minimalist, some of them.
Quite impressive! Can't wait for the next week's groups!

Last Week Reflections on Music Class for two years..

This is my last week with sixth graders, and it is bittersweet.  I have grown very attached to these children and they have grown, every last one of them, immensely throughout the two years.  They have grown physically, emotionally, intellectually, and I have been part of this process.  I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with such wonderful children, and I want to share some of their reflections about their experiences the last two years!

In music class over the past couple years I have had lots of fun. I enjoyed singing and doing the fun motions with some songs. I wish i could do it next year. One of my favorite things was on literacy day, when we sang the banana boat song, and we had to make a dance to go with it. I listened to that song a lot as a kid, so it was very familiar. In this class I learned many things, from how to conduct 3/4 time, to playing the piano. At my house I got a keyboard for Christmas, so now I can play songs and practice at home. I also learned how to determine what a song means. I sang and danced to many fun and enthusiastic songs in music class, and I can’t wait until I can play the piano or keyboard as well as I can play the saxophone. Music class has helped me play the saxophone better too. I wish I could do this next year.

In music we sang many songs, danced, and played. I did and still do not like singing that much but Mrs Frank makes it fun for me. Mrs. frank is a very nice woman that cares about every single one of us and I look forward to her classes every day. I'm sure everybody is going to miss her because we will not see her in the next couple years. Mrs. Frank has always been there for me when I need her the most. But next year you will have my sister.. So I wish you luck, and I thank you for an Awesome 1 ½ years of fun.

Music has been very fun this year. I love how we have fun and get a lot of work done. I love the projects we do because they can be very creative, like the story me and drew made. I had a lot of friends in the class and Mrs.Frank has been the best teacher. Mrs.Frank is always patient with our class even though we don’t always stay on task. I liked playing the piano. The days i had music went by really fast. Mrs. Frank taught me a lot about music, the piano and how to get ahead of people on a task. Mrs.Frank always listen to things I said to her. I would go to her room at the end of the day and we would talk about school and how to deal with some of my problems.

In the past two years we have done a lot in Mrs. Frank’s general music class.

For example, we learned how to play piano. We wrote operas with a partner or on your own. We also wrote songs for our operas and played them in front of the whole class. Many times we sung songs from the purple music books, sometimes we would even dance to the songs. We wrote songs on the piano and played them for Mrs. Frank. We wrote letters to people that we don’t talk to a lot, or if we had gotten in a fight with them. We re-wrote the song “Greensleeves” and changed it to a modern break-up song. We listen to songs from the “Magic Flute” and we talked about it. I had a lot of fun in Mrs. Frank’s music class.

I hope you enjoyed these reflections, I sure did! Have a great week, and keep looking back on my blog for new thoughts and reflections later this week or next!!

Greensleeves

Happy New Year!!  I hope you all had wonderful holidays!  Mine were fantastic, and I enjoyed my time off from teaching very much.  I am also very happy to be back in my classroom and doing some fantastic projects with the kids this week.  I introduced the song "Greensleeves" to them this week.  I used to sing this song with the kids several years ago when the sixth grade did a big Shakespeare festival, because it was written in the Shakespearean time.  However, I let it go for a while because we no longer do the Shakespeare festival.  I am so happy that I brought it back.  I shared the song with them, and asked them what they thought the song was about.  They got it right away.  It is about a man whose girlfriend has broken up with him.  What does "cast me off discourteously" mean in today's terms?  "Text Dumping" they all told me!  Wow, and I thought a writing a Dear John letter was hard!  That is definitely the meanest way to break up with someone.  "Delighting in your company" might mean what in today's society?  "It would mean playing video games, or going skating, or chilling, or hanging out" they all said.  It was a great discussion, with many fun exchanges, and rapid fire dialogue.

Greensleeves on youtube

The next step was for them to re-write the lyrics to "Greensleeves" and make it a modern version of the song.  Here are some of the results from this assignment.  Some of them made me laugh out loud!! (LOL!!)

1. Come on, girlfriend, why did you leave, you ripped my heart cruelly. It was completely out of the blue, but you tried to hurt me.

Chorus: My Betsy left me and she was all I needed. She left me for a handsome man, more than I would ever be.

2. My life was perfect until you broke my heart forever. When you were with

me I felt whole then you broke me meanly.

Chorus: My Betsy left me and she was all I needed. She left me for a handsome man, more than I would ever be.

3. We went to Yong’s, a chinese shop and got a knickknack or two, and we had so much fun, but you went and ruined it.

Chorus: My Betsy left me and she was all I needed. She left me for a handsome man, more than I would ever be.

One day you sent me a snapchat saying its over with a picture,
I miss you so much I bought myself some kitties to replace you.
I remember when we went to Starbucks Coffee and you paid,
Now I know why you left me for that jerk Gronkowski
I remember when we went to Dunkin Donuts and dunked them in coffee,
Now to cheer me up I eat donuts and watch George Clooney movies,
I remember when we went to Starbucks coffee, and you paid,
Now I know why you left me for that jerk Gronkowski.

You broke my heart the day you changed your status to single,
we used to have so much fun hanging out at starbucks and the movies
You were all the fun in my life, the wifi to my phone,
You were the one who made me smile even when other laughed.
I've left you a hundred texts but you still haven't replied,
I've left one thousand voice mails but you still haven't called me back
You were all the fun in my life, the wifi to my phone,
You were the one who made me smile even when others laughed.

The day you left me at that Starbucks you broke me
and you unfriended me on Facebook and you also left a mean comment on my page.
Amanda you broke my heart why would you leave me,
Amanda you were always there for me Come back I still love you!
I have instagram so do you but you left e on that too,
I'm the bird that tweets for you and now your status is single.
(refrain)

she dumped me on my birthday, I looked at her snapchat status and it was single,
I was very angry I got so mad I went to her house and wrecked her garage door.
Why did you dump me? We watched the Martians so many times
We watched it in the regal fancy recliners chairs and to think your name is J. Lo.
We had so much in common how could you dump me on my birthday
We went for coffee every day you like espresso now I will never drink coffee again.
(refrain)

More to come next week on this subject as well! Have a great week!

Happy Holidays

No matter what you believe, the music from England's King College Chapel is incredibly beautiful and worth listening to during the holiday season.  I leave you with this rendition of "Once in Royal David's City, from Christmas Eve, an annual tradition from my childhood listening on the radio.

And it turns out, my colleague posted it on his facebook page today as one of the top ten Christmas carols of all time.  Enjoy, have a restful and healthy and happy holiday, and see you in the new year, 2016!!

King's College Chapel Christmas Eve

                                         
                                                                 Greatest Gift of All
                                                           The Spirit of Christmas 2015

My Dear Companion

This week in music class we sang a song called "My Dear Companion".  We discussed the song's meaning at the beginning of the class, and then sang it together as a group, working on our sightreading skills and discussing the repeated patterns in the song.  The song is about someone who has gone away and does not return and the person who is singing is very sad that they are gone.  I used this as a way to have students write a letter to someone who they care about who has left, gone away, moved, died, or who they had a bad fight with.  I have some wonderful letters to share, including some pictures as well.  Thank you for reading my blog!! and Enjoy my students' great work!

Dear Lily,
I saw pictures of you on facebook. I can’t believe you were Clara in the nutcracker!(Okay, well maybe I can believe it.) Did you have to dance with the nutcracker? I miss going to your house and playing with our american girl dolls. I also really miss playing store.(Remember the money writing contest?) I wish you could visit more often. Maybe you could come this summer! So anyway, back to the nutcracker, what was it like to be the star of the show!?!?! Did you like being Clara? (Actually, don’t answer that. I already know.)How surprised were you when you found out that you were the Clara?!  I’m so happy and proud that I can say “my friend was clara in the nutcracker.” 

So… how’s life? I haven’t seen or heard from you in like FOREVER so I need to catch up. Anyway, time to talk about my nutcracker. It looks like it’s been a great nutcracker year for both of us! I was a party girl, angle, and the black sheep (the black sheep part got me my first solo!) It was really fun being a party girl because my dance teachers 3 year old daughter was my sister in the party scene. Too cute! I’m sooooooo sad the nutcracker is over though. I didn’t want to take off my costume! Me and another girl at my dance school were the oldest angels so we had to keep the younger ones behaved. Of Course, we didn’t do a good job of it. The other angels lost two head pieces and two candles so we had to go without. But since we were at the front, that just made us look like the leads😀. 

   Are you still into American Girl Dolls? Remember when hurricane sandy hit and we got to sleep over? Also, do you remember when the bus was late because of snow and we went sledding at your house? Or what about the summer you came to visit and we built that awesome fort? I wish we could do more together and visit each other more often.


Love,
   Maya Neel

P.S. we have a new family member ;) 
P.P.S. please wright back!

12/14/15

Dear Rowan,  

Ever since I saw you last trip I have missed a lot of things you taught me. One of them is teaching me how to do the rubik's cube. You have a lot of rubik's cubes. I have to say my favorite one is the 1X1 it is really “hard”. Also I have missed playing ghost in the graveyard where you count to twelve and then the grave keepers have to find the ghosts. Remember that time when we were playing ghost in the graveyard and I hid on the top of the basketball hoop so no one would tag me, and you hid in the bushes and no one could find you, that was fun. Another memory I miss is going on the roof of the garage. That was fun because when we did it we jumped to the neighbor's garage roof. Also there was the time when you taught me that game where there was the desert and the cards and  you could not get dehydrated or you would die. Remember that time when you came to Maine and we were at the beach and we were really bored so we built a sand castle and it was at least six feet tall. My favorite memory is when you came from springfield and it was the first time you saw the ocean and you were so happy. It was kind of funny. When you first saw it you were kind of scared and then you went in it and you loved it. My last memory is when you showed me all your rubik's cubes. You have the megaminx, the pyraminx, the egg, the mirror, the 1X1, the 2X2, the 3X3, and the 4X4. I still think it’s amazing how you can solve all of them except the pyramix. How do you remember the algorithms?

I thinks it’s kind of cool how are parents are best friends and we are too. I don’t know the next time we are going to visit Springfield but I hope it's soon. Also I heard that you guys might be moving to massachusetts. If you are where are you moving? If you do move please bring your rubik's cubes, they are fun. Also next time you visit bring the desert game, and teach me how to solve the megaminx rubik's cube. Lastly bring any games or toys, they are always really fun and exciting.

Sincerely,

Damon Whitcomb

P.S How's solving the pyraminx rubik's cube going?

The Gift of the Magi

In my creative drama class I had the idea to take the story "The Gift of the Magi" and read it aloud to my class.  We had an amazing discussion about this timeless story by O. Henry, and then we read it together as a reader's theater.  There are many words that are in that story that are not really 6th grade words, but we talked about those as well as other important subjects.  Most of these students are not familiar with the bible, so I explained the title to them..who was the "magi"?  They were the wise men who brought gifts to the infant Jesus.

What is the meaning of this story, I asked them.  Why are they, the two main characters in the story the "wisest of all"?  Many ideas came up from this discussion, and it was magical.  They are the wisest of all because they know that love is the greatest gift of all, so it doesn't matter that she cannot use the combs for her hair or he cannot use the watch chain for his pocket watch.  They are wise, because they know this and they practice this all the time. There are tiny subtle examples of their love throughout the story.  For example, how she greets him at the end of the day.  How they treat each other, no matter what.  How he says to her there is nothing that could make me love you less, no matter how short your hair was, or how you changed your looks.  It is one of my favorite stories of all time, and certainly one of the best stories ever written.

The most interesting comment that day was from a sixth grade boy who said, "It isn't really fair, how it works out.  Her hair will grow back, and eventually she will be able to wear the combs.  But he will never get his pocket watch back, so he won't be able to ever use the chain."  I explained to him that that is what makes them so wise.  They know that giving the gift is the greatest satisfaction anyone can have, and it has nothing to do with what is even or fair or equal.  Does it matter to him that he can't use the pocket watch but eventually she can use the combs when her hair grows back?  No, because, of course, he loves her so much that to him, the greatest gift is that she loves him so much that she would make such a sacrifice for him, and he loves her so much that he would sacrifice his only expensive possession for a gift for her.   When you love someone that much, you will make any sacrifice for that person, and you never need to have things be even or equal on both sides.  Love is infinite, and that is what this story tells us.  Let us remember this during this time where commercialism and stress seep into our everyday lives and confuse the most important message of the season.   LOVE!