Being on stage again

When I was in kindergarten, our school put on a musicial (Pinnochio). For some reason, we got to watch the auditions, and as I saw the older girls trying out for the role of the Blue Fairy, I knew I could be up there. I walked up to Mrs. Piola, my teacher, and said, "I can do that." So she brought me up, spoke with the teacher in charge, and I was allowed to audition.

I got the part. And the bug took hold.

I was in various productions during school all through elementary, middle school, high school and college, but once I started teaching, I didn't have time to be a performer. All of my energy went towards teaching, music directing productions, grad school, and then parenting. After watching my friend get back up on stage after many years, I knew I wanted to do it, too.

The one problem was, how to find a production that fit into our crazy schedule. I work part-time in the afternoons, and then when I get home, my husband goes to work. In June, I saw an ad for auditions for the Connecticut Gilbert and Sullivan Society's production of "Yeoman of the Guard." They rehearse on Sunday nights---the one night of the week Scott never has to work, and some Tuesdays, which we could swing. Problem is, I saw it precisely 3 days before the auditions, which left me little time to prepare. But I scraped a song from my senior recital together, and auditioned. I was thrilled to be cast as the understudy to Phoebe, and in the chorus.

My friend Noelle (understudy for Elsie) and I thought this sign was hiliarious. Especially because we were cracking jokes backstage, not concentrating. 

Although I never got to perform the role of Phoebe for an audience, I had plenty of opportunities to peform it for the cast in rehearsals, and received great feedback from cast, crew, and the director. I was even more excited when the music director offerred me an opportunity to sing one of the arias with the orchestra at one of our dress rehearsals. Best of all, my daughter got to be a part of the townspeople scenes, and I had a great time with a WONDERFUL group of people.

Can't wait until next year (and neither can Lori!)

Me in my "drapes" (I swear the costume fabric were drapes in a former life) and Lori readdy to perform!

I'm just one of those people

The first time Lori slept away from home she was 6 weeks old. I cried almost the entire time, and woke up early to pick her up, but I got through it. Since then, she and Hunter have both slept over my parent's, my in-law's, and other aunts' and cousins' houses.  I love that they are independent enough and comfortable enough that it is never anxiety promoting. In fact, when I drop them off, the reaction I usually get is, "okay, Mom, see you, bye." It is also a great way for them to connect with other family members, and get some special treatment. 

Bonus: I get a lovely break from my mostly fabulous but at times annoying children. I'm just one of those people who needs a break from my kids every once in awhile. 

This weekend was a special treat. Hunter slept at my mom's alone, and Lori stayed with  me. 6 year olds are especially delightful when they don't have a 4 year old around to annoy them. We ran errands, went for a long walk, collected leaves, read books, and she played by herself for hours without needing me to do a single thing. It was blissful. It was easy. It was so great to have a night where she was the sole focus of attention. 

Bonus: Scott and I got through dinner and a breakfast out with friends without having our conversation interrupted with, "Mommy.Mommy.Mommy.Mommy." 

I really love my boy, but man was it nice to have the break from his incessant chatter. 

I know, I'm horrible for saying that. But I know I will enjoy him much more tomorrow after having some time apart. 

Making myself "useless"

I wrote a grant last year with a colleague to purchase several ipads for my students to use--we had 2 already, and saw great potential for how students could use them in small group settings. I was very excited to win the grant, and have been working on implementing them in different ways.

What I found so far is that many of the "mundane" parts of my lessons could be done in a much more engaging way using the iPads. For example, when presenting and practicing rhythms, I often use flashcards with the entire class. As you can imagine, it is necessary, but gets boring. Here is what I tried:

• Downloaded the Bitsboard app and then created flashcards by taking pictures of them, and creating "sets" of the various rhythms I use
• When you import the picture, you also have the option to record audio to go with it. I chanted the rhythm for each pattern, and then adjusted the settings so that students can only hear the audio when they tap the screen, not when they swipe the card
• Put the kids into groups of 4 using the Teamshake app--you can assign kids "levels" and many other factors, so that when you "shake" to create the groups, it mixes them up so that multiple ability levels are in each group. Amazingly, they never complain about the groups because the iPad picks them, not me!
• I structured this in a few different ways. Sometimes I split the class in 1/2--1/2 worked on Bitsboard while 1/2 were with me working on something else and then they switched. I liked having a small group to work with--I never get that opportunity in my general music classes. The kids working the iPads were really engaged. Other times, I have them all practicing on the iPads.

What I have noticed so far is that when I have them working like this, I am "useless." I structure the task, but because of the audio embedded in the app, the questions are automatically answered for them. They can also choose whether to try and clap/say the pattern first before they listen, or if they are stuck, they listen first. It has really empowered them, and they are definitely way more engaged. Because they are in cooperative groups, they assess each other and correct each other when needed. 

It was really liberating for me not to be "on" the entire time I was teaching. The only thing I haven't figured out is that by having them work this way, it makes it more difficult for me to informally assess how they are doing. I did notice that student performances of their rhythm compositions were better than usual. That could just be the group of kids, so I'm anxious to see how it works for my other 2 batches of students this year.