"Every day can be a better day, despite the challenge"

Today started of fantastic! I sent some tweets out on my Twitter account to help get my blogging out. I also posted on my Facebook page, asking my followers what their go-to songs are that get them up and going in the morning. Some shared some fun songs that I listened to and pumped me up even more. I needed it for our last day of virtual school before Thanksgiving break!

Yesterday I reached out to the parents and asked them to share with me their child's and their own go-to songs to lift up their moods and make them happy. I plan on adding these songs to my Classroom Playlist that I keep on my Amazon Music account. I stream the songs for the students as they arrive in our Google Meet and wait for others to join. I was happy to see that one parent shared with me a song that their child loves. There is no foul language in the song, which is great. But there are a couple lyrics that may deem  "inappropriate."

I played the song when the child arrived in the Google Meet and his face lit up! I tried to end the song early enough before any lyrics that may be questionable. All of the students were bobbing their heads along to the music...it was adorable! I told the class that their one classmate (we will refer to him as "R") requested the song. So many of them said that they knew the song and loved it! I reminded them to have their parents send me a song that makes them happy so we can start off the day happy and upbeat. Mindset is everything when starting the day. If we are in the wrong mindset first thing in the morning, it will end up being a struggle for the rest of the day for ALL of us.

"R's" Requested Song: Post Malone & Swae Lee - "Sunflower (Spider-man - Into the Spider-verse)"

After enjoying "R's" song, I told them that I wanted to introduce them to a song that always makes me feel good. This song reminds me of summer and warms me up!

New Classroom Playlist Track: 

Surfaces - "Sunday Best"
Album: Surfaces - "Where The Light Is"

🎵"Every day can be a better day, despite the challenge
All you gotta do is leave it better than you found it

It's gonna get difficult to stand, but hold your balance

I just say whatever 'cause there is no way around it"🎵

-Songwriters Forrest Frank and Colin Padalecki 

I told them to REALLY listen to the lyrics. I would like for all of you reading this to do the same. It has an incredible message. Surfaces' music always has a positive message. They never sing about anything negative. They use their music and their voices to lift you up. Their words are a good reminder to all of us to emit positivity and love with everything we do. No matter what life throws at us, we will get through it. We will all have our struggles, but it is part of life.

I connected this with everything that is going on in education during this pandemic. We are in school live, then we are virtual. Then some of us are back live on certain days of the week. Then we are all virtual again and we are trying to figure out our schedules. I'm trying to figure out how to meet with all of my students and meet all of their needs, but at the same time, not overwhelm them with too much screen time and work. I'm also trying to make sure I'm not overwhelming the parents.

The one thing that we all need to remember: Balance

Balance is important in everyone's lives right now. It's easy to forget to balance all aspects of your your life. Blogging has actually given me a better sense of balance. Before I started blogging, I would be doing school work until 9:00 at night. My life was completely unbalanced. It was all work. Sure, I'm a teacher. That's my job. But that is not ALL of me. That is not the ONLY thing that makes me who I am.

Who Am I?

Again, I am a teacher...but that is only one part of me. This picture shows how I ended my virtual learning today. But this is NOT all of me. I will not be sitting in front of my laptops all Thanksgiving break doing school work. It would be very easy to do. But being a teacher is not the only thing that makes me ME.

"Who am I?" This is a very important question to ask yourself in order to "rebalance" yourself. You are NOT just one thing. So many things make you "YOU." You should really take the time to think about it. Think deeply...down to the core of who you are. Only YOU have the ability to figure it out. Feel free to comment to this blog or on one of my social media pages where I share this blog post and tell us all about your journey in finding out who you are.

What I plan to do for the rest of the afternoon before heading to my parent's for Thanksgiving break is meditate and try to answer that question myself. I also think I'll stream the rest of that Surfaces album as well to keep this good mood and positive energy going.

Stay positive friends! Lots of love your way...

"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!

🎵😉🎵

After School Unwind Session: “How does it feel..."

I’m writing today’s blog feeling half asleep. I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but it seems like I’m feeling overly tired everyday by the end of the day. More so than usual. I’m attributing this to mental exhaustion. I actually talked with a coworker/friend after school today and she was saying how tired she has been as well. We are somewhat confused by it because it's a different kind of tired. No one has ever experienced anything like this before. It's not so much the work load that is making us feel this way. It's the combination of that along with stress, anxiety, concern for our students and parents, and a lot of computer time and virtual meetings with our students and colleagues as well. With all of the adjustments we as educators had to make since March 13th, it has been mentally draining. And experiencing this type of mental fatigue alerts me that I need to do something about it.

I am going to be brutally honest here...I have absolutely no idea what to do for myself to help with this different type of mental exhaustion. I’ve been going to bed early every night. I’m also taking more vitamins (vitamin C, D, and calcium). I’ve been trying to avoid being on the laptop after school and have taken a giant step back from social media because that ALONE can be mentally draining. I’m also taking some time for self care by listening to music, relaxing, reading, and writing for self reflection. So the only thing I can think of doing that I’m not already doing is to devote time to exercise.  

I used to go to the gym quite often. I used to be there at the very least 4 days a week. I would do cardio each of those days by doing the elliptical machine or the bike for 45-50 minutes. I would then do some strength training on different muscle groups and focus on one or two muscle groups each day. While working out, my favorite thing to listen to would be a 90s Hip Hop channel. It always got me pumped and kept me going. My last day at the gym was March 11. So, I have a feeling that my body is overly craving a good workout regimen. 

I think my main issue right now is that I’m not holding myself accountable for exercising during the week. I feel like I need an accountability partner. My good friend Randy who lives in NY reached out to me and said that we could be walking buddies. We can walk at the same time certain days to motivate each other. We could text or talk on the phone to push each other to keep going. I’m definitely going to take him up on that offer. But we have very different work schedules that might make it difficult on most days. 

So I'm thinking maybe I should have a few accountability partners. I mean, really, I need all the help that I can get. Maybe we can create a playlist of songs together that would motivate us. The playlist is KEY to getting through a workout. It could make you or break you. The wrong songs on the playlist will have you wanting to take more rests than reps.  I also would want to have an accountability partner to think of different exercises that we can do from our own homes that target certain muscle groups and maybe walk “together” before the weather gets too chilly. If you're reading this and you are relating to this blog, PLEASE, reach out to me. Maybe we can do this thing together and support each other! 

On a lighter note, what are some "must have" songs on your work out playlist? Do you play one type of genre for cardio, then something completely different weights/strength training? Please comment and share! As I mentioned earlier, I usually play a 90s Hip Hop mix. I'm curious to hear what all of you listen to !

For now though, some music therapy to unwind and relax a little. 

Now Spinning: "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits"

🎵 "If your time to you is worth savin'
And you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'" 🎵 
-Bob Dylan

"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..." 🎵

"Don't worry about a thing..."

For me, one of the most difficult things about teaching this year is that we have to be "socially distant." My little rock stars (that is what I call all of my students) would normally be getting hugs, high fives, and fist bumps every morning. When they are sick, I rub their back as I walk them to the nurse while carrying a trash can in front of them. When they are sad, I would normally comfort them with a hug. So, it tears my heart apart that I can't do those things anymore without risking the health of them, their families, or myself.

This morning, my first student to arrive had tears coming down her face, wetting her mask. It was killing me to not offer a hug while asking her what was wrong. She stated that she "missed her mommy." This is pretty common with first graders, especially after spending  a long weekend with their families (we had a 4 day weekend for NJ Teacher's Convention). So I asked her to use words to describe her feelings. She stated she was "sad." I did my routine of taking her temperature, got her set up with her breakfast, and was about to talk with her to calm her down when another student arrived.

First let me "introduce" you to this student. This little rock star already has a love for music, which makes our teacher/student dynamic incredible. A couple weeks ago he excitedly entered my classroom, showing me his shirt with pride. "Miss Inferrera! Check out my shirt! It matches the story you read to us!" Now, you could just imagine my reaction! I was so excited and had to take a picture to remember this always.

Now, fast forward back to today. I had to to pick this little guy's brain about the song "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley. I made sure the sad child was included in the conversation as well. He mentioned that the song is special to him. I asked him to explain to our classmate and to me why it is so special to him. He explained to us that "it helps people feel better when they're nervous or scared." Of course I was intrigued to know if he remembers the first time he heard the song. He told us the story about his mom telling him about this song when he was nervous or scared. He thinks it was on his first day of school. He told us that the song helped him with his feelings. I asked him if he still uses this song whenever he gets nervous and he replied that yes, "when I'm nervous, I sing this song in my head."

I asked the sad student if she would like to hear the song. I played "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley for the class and reminded them that I read the book "Every Little Thing" by Cedella Marley. Cedella takes some of her father's songs and adapts them into children's books. The stories, illustrations, and lessons are beautifully crafted. While we listened, I sang the lyrics aloud, even though I have the most awful voice (trust me on this one, folks). Then some students started to sing along. I replayed the song once. Then after listening and singing along during the children's breakfast time, I asked the class to describe their feelings. Some words used were "excited," "happy," and "tired." I then asked the little girl who was crying before how she was feeling now. She explained that she was still a little sad, but definitely not as sad as when she first arrived. 

So, within 10 minutes, the unbelievable power of one Bob Marley song and the discussion about the song helped calm a 6 year old child.

During lunch, I put the song on again. Without me prompting, the little girl called out to me, "Miss Inferrera! I'm so happy now!" She said listening to the music and learning during the day calmed her down.

My take-away of the day? Hugs don't have to be physical to show compassion and change your feelings and emotions. Today, everyone in my classroom (including me) received compassionate hugs from the music.

🎵 "...this is my message to you. Don't worry about a thing, because every little thing is gonna be alright." - Bob Marley 🎵

"Easy Like Sunday Morning"

Well, today I finally started my blog. I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while, but really didn't know what I actually wanted to blog about. Teaching? My meditations? Music? So I found a way to combine it all into one. 

I'm a first grade teacher. Teaching in the year 2020 has been "interesting," to say the least. Sundays never seem to be quite easy for me. My anxieties usually come to surface as I imagine the week ahead of me. I've been working on ways to keep my own anxieties at bay, while finding ways to keep my students' (both who are live and virtual) low. I always found that music can change your mood instantly. It's incredible how certain melodies or lyrics can mess with our emotions! I've always found ways to infuse music into our everyday routines in my classroom. But this year, I want to take it a step further. I want to see exactly how students react to what I play for them, their opinions of the music, and how it made them feel.

I also want to play my own music after school to unwind and decompress. I'm a vinyl lover and have a pretty decent size collection. You may be curious to what I listen to in particular. The answer to that isn't quite simple. I practically listen to EVERYTHING. I'm always eager to listen to new music that friends, family, and even complete strangers recommend!

With that being said, I want to reach out to YOU...yes, YOU, sitting there, reading my first blog post. Something drew you to this page. It was meant to be. 

Maybe it was meant for me to share the music I listen to with you. 

Maybe you are a teacher and it was meant to let you know that you are NOT alone with your anxieties and emotions right now. 

Maybe you were meant to share with me some music that inspires you and conjures up different emotions.

Whatever the reason that you decided to view my blog, I hope that you stick around. Let's go on this journey together, exploring how music affects us.