Well it's officially been 1 week since I was hired as a Kindergarten Teacher and I'm still excited :) I'm also a little more frustrated than I was a week ago because I want to know more information about when I get into my room, see the rest of the school, do paperwork to become official, etc, but no one really seems to have the answers to my questions. Nonetheless, I'm still doing little bits here and there. I have a 2nd bedroom in my apartment filled with boxes of books and supplies for crafts and projects (like light bulbs, jars, pipe cleaners, etc.). I need to get this stuff out so I can actually do something with this room! And I want to see my classroom! I'm so excited about getting things ready for my Kindergarten babies :)
I worked in itunes yesterday to start making some playlists. We got to sit in on some Quantum Learning training during Student Teaching and the one thing that really stuck with me was the impact of music in the classroom. She mentioned 3 specific categories: Energizers, Focusers, and Soothers. Energizers are exactly what they sound like: songs that get you up and moving and wake you up! I'm trying to find some good dance type songs. Here's how I choose: I listen to the song and close my eyes; if I can picture 5 year olds jumping up and down to it, laughing, and playing around, then it's an energizer! For Focusers, I'm using a lot of instrumental, classical musical. Research shows that classical music stimulates the brain and instrumental means there are no words to distract you (or at least that's my thinking.) Soothers are calmer, "chill" type songs. I actually tested this out with my student teaching class and it worked wonderfully! For 3 days, I had them on my own. The 1st day, they came in at 7:45 like wild people! The noise and energy was shocking. So the 2nd day, about 5 minutes before they came in, I turned out a low-key song and played it quietly in the background. The difference was amazing! At 8:00, they were all sitting quietly in their seats working and talking softly. It was so quiet that other teachers were coming in to see what I had done :) Needless to say, I will definitely be implementing soothers into our daily playlists!
I am thinking that if I don't hear from Metro soon about getting paper work done, that I'll be heading to the beach with Kevin and his family. It'll be a nice way to celebrate having a job and a last hoo-ra (sp?) before school starts in full swing! I'm still working the details out, so Mom, Dad, and Oma- I will call you as soon as we have a definite plan! :)
Adios!
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