April Favorites 2020

I didn't write a "favorites" post for March. I just wasn't ready to think about silver linings and finding the good yet. Life is still really hard in many ways, but now that I'm over a month into school closures I'm in a place where I can appreciate some of the highlights from life in quarantine. As is my practice with these monthly posts I'm pulling pictures from my Instagram feed to remember some of the "favorites" from my day-to-day, and compiling the articles I shared on my Facebook page from other bloggers. I hope this brings some much-needed joy and inspiration!

1. Distance Learning Planner Template

After realizing how fruitless it was to try to continue planning out my week using the same lesson planning template I had used when school was open, I threw together an attempt at a layout that would allow me to better track my new normal. It ended up being so helpful and I am still happily using it several weeks later! I sent this template out as a free download in my newsletter and I also posted it in my planner group on Facebook if you'd like to try it out yourself.

2. Work Spaces

 

I set up a space in our basement (which functions primarily as a play room for my daughters) with items I brought home from my classroom that I set up for recording teaching videos. I also set up my work space for the majority of the work I do day-to-day attending virtual meetings, answering emails, and responding to students online working at my kitchen counter. It has ended up working well for me to station myself in the kitchen because I have a built-in "standing desk", I'm next to the best window in the house, and I'm in a central location where I can prepare meals and monitor my children while I'm working. If you want to see a video tour and explanation of what I brought home from school and how I set things up for my teaching videos, click on the picture above.

3. Car Parade

I didn't get a picture at the actual parade because I was too busy soaking up the experience, but this poster that I brought home from my classroom was the one I put on my car. I organized a car parade for the teachers to drive around the streets where our students lived, and it was absolutely wonderful! I cried the whole second half of the parade- I just couldn't hold it together.

4. Music Education Blog Posts

It has been amazing to see so many in the music education community come together to share ideas and offer support through this crisis! Since I didn't write a "favorites" post last month I'm sharing all of the posts that I collected from March and April below- be sure to click through to read the full posts!

I hope focusing on some of the positives from the last month is helpful for you- I encourage you to pause and reflect on your own highlights as well! It has certainly been a good exercise for me. Stay well.