Meet the Teacher

Well.. I officially linked up with I'm Blog Hoppin' this week!

(http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/) --I'm not super great at adding a link, so I figure adding the website is the next best thing!

Here's the deal: Everyday there's something new to blog about and once you get on their blog, you can check out as many other teacher blogs as your heart desires! Since today is all about "Meet the Teacher Monday" - here is my contribution!

Tell us a little something about you...

I'm Lindsey and I am so ready for my classes to start! I teach music and I have been bombarded by adults over these past few professional/work days, and I am ready for some smiling faces! I live in an historic house in a medium-sized town that is almost 100 years old! (I'm LOVING it!) My hubby and I have been married for close to 3 years now, and along the way, I found the sweetest pug, Wrigley, who is a daily burst of energy. Then about a year and a half ago, we adopted her "big brother" Pete, who added just the right amount of personality and love to our growing family. (Pete and Wrigley look absolutely nothing alike, and are pretty much as close to opposite as I could've gotten with them both being pugs.) "Real" kids are planned for the future, but probably later rather than sooner at this point.

How long have you been teaching?

This is my fourth year of teacher music. My first year was the biggest challenge so far, but I have an inkling that this year may run a close second. (More to come on that in later blogs.) I taught PreK-12th grade in a very small school, and it was exhausting! It was also 40-minutes one way from our home, which didn't do much for my car or my marriage. We powered through (we the marriage, not the car - she didn't make it), and I was able to find an elementary position in town. It was a traveling position and I stayed there and LOVED it for two year, but I transferred this year and I hope it can be just as great. It has a lot to measure up to though.

You might not know...

Teaching wasn't my initial career choice. Growing up with parents that were both teachers/coaches, I decided that by high school that I didn't want none of that cake. I saw the long hours, disrespect (by adults and kids alike), and financial burden it took with my siblings and I. When I got to college, I had full intentions of becoming a wedding planner. Didn't last long. By the first semester in, I had already talked to the music ed. advisor and gotten enrolled in choir and never looked back.

What are you looking most forward to this school year?

I'm most looking forward to a fresh start. In all honesty, I'm very nervous about some of the negative energy in the building, and I hope that it doesn't last all year. I have had some really discouraging days this past week, and it's not going at all like I expected it to. That said, I refuse to let anything stand between my happiness (and sanity). I will choose to make the effort every single day to make this year worthwhile for the students and myself.

What do you need to improve?

There's always something I'm thinking about that I want to improve. Summertime is usually my time to focus and reflect on what went well and what went poorly. I want to make sure my students know more about the classics. Composers, classical music, everything! Yes, I realize there are only so many hours that I see them, but I will cram everything I can get them to grasp into their sweet ever-growing brains before the year's up.

What teaching supplies can you *not* live without?

Love my Sharpies. I seriously cannot do a project without color-coding everything. Each grade level has its own color that I've continued for the past 3 years. It works, and I'm slightly obsessed with it.

Of course, I keep a healthy stash of Dr. Pepper around at all times. It's a sad, sad addiction.

I cannot live without my office supplies. Labels, markers, pens, post-its... Everything has it's place!

My SmartBoard is a-mazing! Every class will have a "Musical Moment" (or a "Martian Moment" since I'm all about my space theme this year... Guess I should decide that within 24 hours now.)

Books, books, and more books! It's another crazy addiction, and my husband cannot understand it. I'm doing my best to find him some good ones though. He claims he's not a reader, but I'm working on him.

Hope tomorrow brings just as much fun with Talk Teacher Tuesday! Have a great week!

On the Move

In the spirited (read: stressful, discouraging, anxiety-filled) days that have become of this week, I completely overlooked the fact that I have posted my 50th post!! So excited to get to this point! (Even if it has almost been a year that I've been posting...) Still proud! :)

Our school has been under some major construction this past year. Many schools have had serious renovations over the summer - to the extent that the insides aren't even recognizable! (The updates were definitely needed!)

The problem with construction in Oklahoma though.. It's hard to bid on a job due to weather. Our summer has been one of the hottest summer's of the decade! I know there are many states that are used to this weather, but 111 degrees multiple days in a row was a slow torture. (You have to count our famous wind that felt like a blow-dryer slamming into your face.)

All of that said brings me to my next point. OUR SCHOOLS ARE NOT FINISHED! Poor teachers this year have had to come back to their rooms and hallways upside down, boxes of their things and furniture packed into the middle of their rooms, and meetings upon meetings. I would like to be able to say that our "Opening Day" was there to motivate us and give us confidence and courage to tackle the new year, but, sadly, it was not. I love me some true professional development, and I'll be the first to say that I am a giant nerd in that department, but I also don't like to waste my time when there is already so much on my plate for the new year.

However, I have to say that honestly, there are always those few who complain (and they complain about anything and everything), but they are not the majority this time. There are teachers out there that were just allowed into their classrooms TODAY! And even though the students don't start school until next Wednesday, our classrooms have to be set up for Open House on MONDAY!!

To those who persevere:

Despite the late move-ins.

Despite the negative attitudes surrounding them.

Despite the classrooms that look like a war zone.

This and above all,

dedicate their lives to children.

3 cheers to those teachers who shoot among the stars!

Helping Hands

This week has been so much fun! I am helping out teacher-friends at other schools (a- because we're all fabulous, and b- because I'm not allowed to work in my classroom until tomorrow since they are waxing floors), but we're having a great time anyway!

My fifth grade friend is going with an underwater/fishy theme and she just found a few really awesome free fonts that she downloaded, and our first grade friend is going with a tiger/safari kind of thing. Put both of those with my outer space theme and we've got a great time!

I'll post a few pictures when I can, because you can believe that you'll want to see how my classroom has transformed. (That, and I'm just a little bit proud of my hard work. I have to show off sometimes.)

Lastly, I met with three other music teachers in my district for lunch today. We're just way too much alike in the fact that we want to give our students the best music education that we can, but I love it because we all have so many different -- but fabulous -- ideas to share! We had our own "teacher share party" and we each brought a couple of things to share with each other. (Which was hard, because most of what we all do is a lot alike!) We still managed. :)

Hope everyone is having a GREAT first week back (or a great week if your already back or haven't started yet). Peace out.

Let the Countdown Begin!

Just starting the countdown! School officially begins for me in 12 days! I'm mid-organizing my brand new classroom, so pics will be posted soon!!