September Highlights 2020

Now that classes are in full swing time definitely flies by! It has been a crazy month of learning new tricks and constantly adapting. Today we're taking a look back at some of the highlights from the past month in my personal, professional, and online spheres. 

1. Teaching 

After months of thinking and planning I finally started teaching my classes in a hybrid model this month. I am going into cohorts on a cart, in extra locations set up around the school where there are no projectors, live streaming my classes to distance learners through zoom, following social distancing and other protocols in the building. It's definitely a lot and there seem to be new challenges daily, but it's great to be interacting with students and teaching music "in real time" again, after only posting asynchronous assignments all spring. It is simultaneously extremely stressful and refreshing.

2. New Eating Habits

Besides re-learning how to teach, the biggest adjustment this month has been with my eating. In our district's hybrid model the students are in school for a shorter day and the teachers have their "lunch" and planning time after students leave- we have no breaks while the students are in the building because we have to maintain the small cohort groups. This means my lunch time is now much later than I'm used to! I am finding it essential to bring plenty of water and take quick sips between each class- I have found little corners of the hallway where I can safely pull down my mask long enough to take a drink between each room. When I don't take time to drink, I can definitely feel it in my body!

3. New Planner Format

Because my teaching schedule is so different this year, I'm trying out a different weekly planning format for my planner. So far it is working well! I'll be sharing more details about how I set my planner up for this crazy school year soon, so stay tuned :)

4. Blog Catchup

Missed some posts this month? Click below to catch up on your reading!

5. More Music Education Articles

I love reading other blogs and finding great ideas for my classroom- click below to check these out:

I hope you found something to help get you ready for the month ahead! We're all learning together as we go, so here's to another month of learning new things and continuing to adapt.