1. Planner fun!
I have been having so much fun making different planner spreads in my teacher planner this month. I've been using a lot of scrapbook paper and it is so fun to look back at all of the different spreads! If you want to learn more about my how I "decorate" my planner while also keeping it super-functional, check out this blog post. And if you want to read more about my teacher planner/ life planner combination and how I make it all work, click here to see all of my planner-related posts :)
2. Imaginative play with 6-year-olds
It has been absolutely astonishing to see my 6-year-old daughters' imaginations explode lately! They will see something or have a thought and instantly be engaged in some kind of creative project for HOURS. On one of our recent days off of school, the girls set up the entire play room like a school, making everything down to the lined paper for journaling, and then spent 4 hours pretending to be the teachers (with the dolls and I as students). I had to cut it short after 4 hours because I was honestly all schooled-out, but in truth I think they could have kept going for at least a few more hours if I had let them! It is just amazing to sit back and see all of the creative ideas they come up with.
3. Social justice in the music room
This has been, and continues to be, such an important journey for me. I read stacks of books this summer on race, culture, bias in teaching, and more. I'm searching out and listening to marginalized voices as much as I can. And I've been thinking a lot about the role we as teachers, and music teachers in particular, can play in giving those marginalized people groups and perspectives a voice in our classrooms. What we do in our classes- in our interactions with our students- can have such a tremendously powerful impact on how our students view themselves and others. I'll be continuing this series in the weeks ahead so stay tuned, but you can click on the picture above to read the introductory post to the series on social justice in the music room, and read the last few week's posts to hear my thoughts on world cultures.
4. Amazing friends
One of my colleagues in the art department added the quote to this rainbow for my classroom. Is that not the best thing you've heard all day? It is now proudly displayed in my rainbow-colored classroom and it's perfect! I realized this year that this is the longest I have ever taught in the same school, or even lived in the same city, in my entire life (I've been in my current school over 5 years and the city over 6). Isn't that crazy? As someone who moved around a lot, it has been such a blessing to feel like I actually know people and places well enough to develop deeper connections, and this is one of those relationships that I'm so happy to have formed.
4. Music education articles
I love sharing my favorite music teaching blog posts that I found this month! You can click on each picture below to go read the posts- trust me, they are well worth your time.
This has been a busy but amazing month! What were some of your highlights from September? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below. And if you want to stay up to date on all the happenings in the Organized Chaos world, be sure to sign up for the newsletter right here.
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