"Time may change me, but I can't trace time..."

Today's Earworm: David Bowie - "Changes"

It's fitting, really. 

We had a last minute change yesterday afternoon. These two days that we have left of school this week before the break has changed to all-virtual. Today I was supposed to meet with my all-virtual students anyway. But, I just have to do it from home now instead, not from school. Tomorrow though, I'll have to meet with my kiddos who normally come in to school virtually instead of in the classroom. 

Do I like teaching virtually? NOPE. By the end of the school day, my eyes and head hurt from all the screen time. I do have blue light glasses and they help...but it's not a total cure/fix. I miss my classroom. I miss my kiddos. I miss my structure/routine. And as you can see, I miss my normal dining area in my house that has now become my classroom. Here is a selfie I took yesterday. This was taken at the end of the day:

Now, here is a picture of my "classroom" this morning:

Imagine trying to teach 6 year olds how to read and write VIRTUALLY. I'm not going to sugarcoat this one bit! It's nothing against them at all. In fact, I'm very proud of how hard they are all working during these unusual times. But there are certain things that just HAVE to be taught in person. Here I am, using my fingers to tap out the sounds of a word to help a child decode it.

Example: the word "cat:" pinch first finger to the thumb for /c/, middle finger to the thumb for /a/, ring finger to the thumb for /t/. 

Easy peasy? Nope, no easy peasy lemon squeezy here. Just picture it:

"No, not that finger! We start with our first finger. Point to your pointing finger. One sound for the first finger. /c/. No, don't say the whole word, just the first sound. Watch me. Wait, is that a TV that is on and you're watching it? Yes, I know you have a cat, but let's try to tap out the word to SPELL cat. No, wait, come back! I'll give you time to show me your cat later!"

The one perk right now? At least I don't have to wear a mask while teaching. YOU try teaching the /th/ sound to a child wearing a mask! Normally I direct their attention to my mouth so they can see my mouth formation: bite down slightly on your toungue with your front teeth, making a "tongue sandwich." Nope, they can't see it with my mask on in the classroom. And I can't see if they are making the sound correctly either since their masks are on. Sure I try to listen, but the /th/ and /f/ sounds are pretty similar and are commonly mixed up with the children at this age.

These poor kids and these poor parents! I've had so many reach out to me thanking ME for MY patience! But really, THEY are the real rock stars because they are pretty much becoming teachers themselves during virtual learning while I'm meeting with other students and they are required to do assignments and watch video lessons. So to all the parents out there reading this:

THANK YOU!

And not just my own students' parents. Parents of all young children who are learning virtually everywhere. You have no idea how grateful all of us are for your support! It would be a lot more difficult and stressful if it wasn't for you!

So what am I doing NOW to help my students AND my parents? I'm creating a class playlist. We have certain songs that I've introduced them to already. They can be found on my Classroom Playlist page. But now I'm wanting to hear more from the students and parents. I want to hear about the songs that make THEM smile and the songs that cheer them up when they're having a rough day. What I'm going to do is create an Amazon Music playlist of all of the kid appropriate songs they share and play them for the students and parents as they log into our daily Morning Meetings and wait for it to start. I want to start each day in a cheerful way and play music that resonates with them. I'm continuing to try to use music as therapy with my students, but ALSO with my parents.

This school year has been stressful on everyone...teachers, students, and parents. I'm just trying to make these times less strange for us and make us feel more at ease. We will "turn and face the strange..."

Now, off I go to the hair salon to get these gray hairs colored.

🎵"And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don't tell them to grow up and out of it."🎵

-David Bowie, "Changes"

"Gotta Keep Going...Keep Going...Keep Going...Keep Going..."

One would think that I would be used to wearing a mask by now!

I always keep spare masks in my car, one in my purse, one in my pocket, and the one I plan to wear to school on my face as I'm walking out my door first thing in the morning. After driving for only 2 minutes, I realized I had no masks on me. UGHHHHH...so I turned around and went back home. You may think it's no big deal. Luckily I was only 2 minutes away, right? Well, I live on the third floor of my condo and my parking spot isn't close to my entrance. Needless to say, I decided that was my cardio for the day! I got a ton of steps in AND my own personal stair master!

I introduced a new song to my first graders today that I haven't played for them yet.

Today's Track: The Revivalists - "Keep Going"

I told them that this song resonated with me today because I had a rough morning and just about felt defeated. But I have to keep going on with my day and keep pushing through any challenges that come my way. I played the song a couple times for them and they seemed to really enjoy it! I'm super psyched that I'm turning them into mini "RevHeads!" That is what we call our fan base for The Revivalists.

So, it was a nice learning experience for the children first thing in the morning. They also got to see that I am human and can get frustrated at times as well when things don't go as smoothly as like...even simply getting ready for school today caused some challenges for me. The important thing is to identify our feeling and then handle it in the appropriate way. I told them that I was feeling frustrated and defeated. I was upset with myself, thinking, "How could I be so forgetful?" But I turned around, got my mask, took some deep breaths, played my music, and kept going.

I think this was meant to happen. They always say things happen for a reason, right? Well, today we were scheduled to have our school counselor come in to our class to talk about feelings. It was PERFECT! It was as if I actually PLANNED on having the kind of morning that I did (TRUST ME...I would NEVER plan THAT kind of morning)! We learned more about chameleons. 

Fun Fact About Chameleons

Did you know that most chameleons change color NOT just to camouflage with their environment, but they change color based on what they are FEELING? This was VERY interesting to me! So we watched a video on YouTube of a chameleon changing color numerous times, but not changing to blend it. This video is a must watch! 

Then we all talked about feelings and colors that we may associate with them. She displayed this sign for the class as we reviewed the different feelings and colors. But she said that we might have different colors that we associate with a feeling, and that is ok. We learned to take deep, long, quiet breaths in through our noses and out through our mouths to calm down uncomfortable feelings. We discussed how it's ok if we feel a certain way...we are ALLOWED to feel how we feel. What is important is what we DO with those feelings and how we act. Only WE can control our reactions to things. We cannot blame others for how we behave.

Gotta Practice What I Preach

So, remember how frustrated I was this morning with how forgetful I was?! I even said numerous times, "This is the MONDAY-EST Monday EVER!"

I have to practice what I preach. I can't let a rough morning mess up my entire day. So, I kept going. And going...and going...and going....so much so that I decided to get more cardio in. I wasn't going to let that frustration decide FOR ME what my cardio routine was going to look like today! I spent my lunch walking with my amazing friends/coworkers, Melanie and Sarah. In reality, me forgetting my mask just pushed me to get more steps in today, which is never a bad thing. 

See, things always happen for a reason. 

"...And A-Five, Six, Seven Eight..."

When I hear a count in at beginning of a song, my expectations are always high. You know the band is gonna bring it. Some examples:

• Outkast - "Hey Ya"
• The Beatles - "I Saw Her Standing There"
• Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs - "Wooly Bully"
• The Young Rascals - "Good Lovin'"

This morning on my way to work I was in the mood to listen to some Alabama Shakes. This one song that begins with "...and a-five, six, seven, eight..." came on had me bouncing all around. While sitting at the red light, I'm sure all of my bouncing and dancing was causing my stopped car to bounce and shake as well! The song instantly woke me up and put me in a good mood...so good that I had to replay it one more time on my short drive to school.

Today's Track: "The Greatest" by Alabama Shakes

Album: Sound and Color

After my virtual meeting this morning with the whole class, my five other students who are live with me are so used to our routine that they immediately walked towards the front of the room to begin Number Corner (calendar and other math skills). I told them I was going to change it up a bit. I wanted to get their blood pumping and make sure we were awake enough to start the day. So, I played the first half of the song for them (they were pretty upset with me that I ended the song before it was over, but I had to). They were a little sluggish at first. But when they saw me jumping around like a crazy person, dancing, and playing an incredible air guitar (I have quite the skills), they knew that I wasn't going to stop hounding on them until they joined in. They caved. Halfway through, they all had huge smiles on their faces, jumping around, and even trying to mimic my air guitar. 

It felt good to get that energy out with them. But there were some important things also that I wanted to show them:

• Yes, school can be fun. 
• No, teachers are not robots.
• Yes, teachers like to have fun and dance around the room too.
• No, we do not have to be so serious all of the time.
• Yes, it is important to dance like no one is watching sometimes and just let loose.
• No, we do not have to stick by a schedule and routine every single second of the day; it's ok to change it up.

In the classroom this year, I think it is extremely important to address students emotional and mental health. So many things have changed for my little 6-year-olds since March. Think about it...they didn't even have one full "normal" school year...ever! They don't really know what it's like! So, I'm trying to make things as "normal" as possible, but also bringing in some different components that you normally wouldn't see if you walked into a first grade classroom, like music therapy. We all need these mental breaks and emotional releases. Not just the children, but the teachers.

Don' worry, I did actually do some teaching today. 🤣😂

When you think about it, "5, 6, 7, 8" IS counting...so our jam session WAS cross curricular!

🎵😉🎵

“All You Need Is Love”

Remember last week’s project I did with the kids that involved tracing their hands to put in rulers so we can give distance hugs and high fives? Well, I was super excited to do that project with today’s group of students (I only did it with my Thursday/Friday group). They were just as excited about finally being able to give hugs!

Not only did I play the song “Everyday” by the Dave Matthews Band, but I also played the infamous Beatles song. 

Today’s Track: “All You Need Is Love” by The Beatles

I also held up the boom “All You Need is Love” that I read to them in September and they immediately made the connection. They really enjoyed the song and the meaning behind it. 

As much as I love playing music in the classroom, I have to be careful and make sure I don’t play anything with lyrics while they are working. Listening to lyrics being sung could end up backfiring and cause them to focus more on the song and not their work, ESPECIALLY while writing. Let’s be real...I would end up singing along instead of writing my story that I’m supposed to be working on! But there is a very easy remedy to get the best of both worlds with work completion AND listening to and enjoying music. 

Classical music. 

I took 10 years of dance...primarily ballet. So I love listening to classical music still to this day. But you’re probably thinking “yea, ok. But what 6 year old child wants to listen to classical music?” Well, you would be surprised. 

Please, if you take away one thing from today’s blog, I hope it’s this: listen to The Vitamin String Quartet. Like the sound piano more? Check out The Piano Guys. But for now, let me focus on The Vitamin String Quartet. Think of your favorite singer/band. Got it? Ok...well guess what? The Vitamin String Quartet probably has an album made of their music or at least a song. They range from Aerosmith to Zeppelin. Not just classic rock either! Metallica, The Cure, Eminem, Gorillaz, and yes, even Kanye West. 

Why do I love playing this while the children are reading and writing? I get to jam out to some of my favorite artists and songs, not be afraid whether or not the lyrics are kid appropriate since there are no lyrics at all, and the kids LOVE it! They will always chime in and say “hey, wait! I know this song!” And I’ll say “yes, that’s an Imagine Dragons song!” So today, we got to listen to more Beatles songs while we read and completed our writing assignment thanks to The Vitamin String Quartet!

We want these kids to feel excited about school. I don’t want them to ever feel bored in my class. I have to play to their interests as well as my own to make the classroom environment comfortable, fun, and exciting. Music brings that all together. 

🎵 “There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be, it easy...all you need is love...”🎵 -The Beatles

"Feet Don't Fail Me Now"

We made it to Friday! WHOOP WHOOP!

This morning was another cold, rainy miserable morning...the kind that you just want to stay in your pajamas wrapped in a blanket. I had to change my mindset first thing this morning and put up my energy shield because I was NOT letting this weather determine the kind of day I was going to have.

If I tell you that these kids came in today with a lot of energy, that is a complete and total understatement. Seriously. I wish I had the energy that they had just in their little finger! I hoped and prayed that their energy would be contagious, but my immune system must have been REALLY strong against catching that today. So what to do?

Dance it out, of course!

Today's Track: "You and I" by The Revivalists

"'cause all I wanna do is dance

I just wanna raise my hands

Raise em' up to the sky

It's just you and I"

When the kids come in with that much energy, we have to make sure we take many "brain breaks" throughout the day to get the wiggles and excitement out. Dancing it out to THIS song in particular actually wore them out! Plus, it gave me the jolt of energy I needed to survive the day. (side note: it made me realize how desperately I need to get in more cardio!)

Today, music wasn't used in my classroom to cope with uncomfortable emotions. It was used to release excess energy so the students could focus better on the lessons and their work and not feel restless. But at the same time, the same song was used for me to wake up and give me more energy. How wonderful and powerful it is for a single song to have the ability to help us with our energies in two completely different ways.

Your homework assignment for the weekend (sorry, but I'm going to be THAT teacher right now): really think about my favorite line from this song. See if you can apply it to your own lives...

🎵 "Do you live in the moment when you think about the future?" 🎵

"Pick Me Up, Love...EVERYDAY!"

My students this year definitely have personality. I can have fun with them and joke with them during the school day. One child didn't quite seem his normal upbeat self today. So, when I started asking the class to name their feelings this morning, he said "sad." I asked him if he knew what was making him feel sad and he stated that he missed spending time with his dad. We had a class discussion about how we are all allowed to feel what we feel and no one can tell you NOT to feel a certain way. But what we CAN do for each other is help each other cope with uncomfortable feelings.

I told them about a song that I enjoy by a band that I really like. Ok, ok, I don't just really like them....I guess you may call it more of an obsession since I have seen them live in concert 64 times in the last 22 years in 2 countries and 8 different states. It's more than the music for me...it's the friendships that I've made with some amazing individuals from all over. They are my what we call "Jamily." Anyway, I could have a whole different blog page on this topic, so I'll save you from me rambling on about this.

Today's Song: Dave Matthews Band - "Everyday"

I explained to the children that in the music video they will see a man walking around all over town and going up to people, but the people just walk away and dismiss him. But then eventually people start responding to him. I asked them to pay attention to the words of the song to try to figure out what he was asking of the people. About halfway through the video, they knew that he was asking for hugs. I asked them WHY he was asking TOTAL STRANGERS for a hug? Their responses were beautiful:

"Maybe he was feeling sad and just wanted to be loved."
"Maybe he wanted other people to be loved."

On top of their beautiful responses, one child even made the connection to a book that I read to them back in September "All You Need Is Love" by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Illustrated by Marc Rosenthal. They realized that the songs were very similar with the same message. We should spread love and we want to receive love.

As I mentioned in my past posts, this pandemic is doing a number on all of our emotions. Some of us just want to be hugged and give hugs! So, on top of discussing our feelings, understanding our feelings, watching and discussing the music video and lyrics, I improvised a bit to help this child out with his feelings EVEN MORE (if you don't know this by now, "go big or go home" is part of my classroom teaching philosophy). We all traced our hands and colored them bright, cheerful colors and designed them however we wished. Then I had them cut them out and I taped them on rulers. We were then all about to give each other "distant hugs" and "germ free high fives." They LOVED it! They are so excited to use these every day in school! Oh, and the child who was feeling "sad?" Not sad anymore. Positive energy, good music with a good message, and showing that we love each other can help us all cope with our feelings and emotions.

High fives and hugs:

Showing off our creative hands:

Miss Inferrera's Creative Hands:

🎵"All you need is...what you want is...all you need is lovvvvvvvve...."🎵 - Dave Matthews Band

"Well I'm on my way...I don't know where I'm going..."

...ok, well, that's a lie. I know where I'm going: to school. At least I'm awake enough to drive and know I'm on my way to work.

Sometimes all we need is some light and upbeat music to get us up and moving. If you're anything like me, Tuesday mornings are just as sluggish as Monday mornings. I always have my coffee first thing in order to get me going, but it works best when combined with a great melody to bob my head and dance to while driving to work. Of course I get some strange looks, but they just wish they were in MY car listening to MY music! 

During my short 7 minute drive to school, I decided that every morning I want to ask each child to give me a word or two to describe their feelings. I really want to know and understand what they are feeling and why. That way I know what I'm working with that day and there are no surprises.

Today's feeling words: tired, happy, excited
To get my rock stars' blood pumping and energized this morning, I had to introduce them to a fun, classic song:

"Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard" by Paul Simon

I told them that this is one of my favorite songs to dance around to with my 15 month old niece, Ariya Rose. Trust me, if I have ANYTHING to do with it, this girl is going to be well rounded with her musical tastes and knowledge! 

I presented my students with a challenge. I told them that the beat and melody to this song was so much fun that it is IMPOSSIBLE to sit still during this song. Of course they didn't believe me and said they were too sleepy, so there was absolutely no way this song would wake them up enough to dance in their seat, let alone around the room. I'm sure you would be doubting yourself as you looked around at your 6-year-olds at 8:30am, laying across their desks. 

However, I don't doubt myself when it comes to this kind of stuff. I mean seriously...do they NOT know know me well enough to believe me when I talk about music? Today is the 38th day of school for crying out loud!

Well, can you guess what happened?

Before...

After...

Don't worry, we all made sure we socially distanced while dancing around the room. I don't want anyone to be 🎵 "the queen of Corona..." 🎵