Old-School Tweet

Note to self -- NEVER put 90 junior high students in the same classroom at the same time!
I made the mistake of stating the wrong rehearsal day this week, (we are on a 6-day rotation schedule) and ALL of my 90 junior high chorus students showed up for rehearsal in a room that is made for about 55.
Well....I decided to have them all stay (for many reasons you don't want to hear, I'm sure :o) ) and found out several interesting facts.
With 90 junior high students in one room --
1. There's a whole lot of talking going on
2. There's very little singing going on
3. The room heats to about 200 degrees in 10 minutes
4. You're actually in the middle of a whirlwind that you can't really control
5. I was smart to separate the rehearsals and only see the full group on stage in the cafeteria!

The good news is that I totally survived and can laugh about the day. I also told the students that they are ALWAYS to calculate the days in their head to make sure what I say is ACTUALLY a real rehearsal day for them!

Back to School

Welcome to Granny's classroom, or my "home away from home" :o) We are the Bulldogs, hence my welcome pic. Kids love seeing these dogs as I open the door to invite them into my room.
We are 3 days into the school year, and things are moving along nicely. My schedule is extremely full, but seems to be working out well so far. I have over 90 students in my junior high chorus, so we had to do some creative scheduling to make that work, but I'm excited about how they will sound!
I see kindergarten through 8th grade, so my classroom reflects all levels of teaching. The shapes on the floor are the seating chart for the little ones, everyone else sits on the risers. I use every bit of wall space to facilitate my teaching :o)
So now you have a glimpse of where I spend 9 months every year, making music, dancing, singing, and having a GREAT time!

Well, my classroom is ALMOST ready, so I thought I'd share a few more of our favs from the UK. The hydraengeas were incredible all over. They were mostly purples and blues, but huge,

puffy balls of color all over. They were amazing.

On a trip to Cong we found a beautiful garden and wandered around. The girls aren't mad, or upset or in trouble :o) We simply caught them in a bit of a rest from running around and around some huge trees.

Cliffs of Moher....need I say more. We visited on an unusually clear day and could see clear across Galway Bay to the shore on the far side.

Readin', 'wRitin', aRithmatic....and....Rhythm!

Blistering, record heat....monsoon winds and rain...the calendar says August....must be Back to School Time in Arizona!
Thought I'd show a bit of the process teachers go through to get ready for the school year.
We literally 'live' in our classrooms, it seems at times, so here are some shots of my 'other home' !

Thankfully, these are the BEFORE shots.
Here is what I came back to (needless to say teachers pack their rooms up in the spring). All the instruments, the sound system, poster, wall decor, and the piano are packed away for the summer. Now I get to bring them back out, dust them of, and try to remember where they belong in the room!

I spent last Thursday setting up the 'heavy equipment' - risers, sound system, etc. Today I started on the bulletin boards, choral music, and classroom management forms.
Tomorrow I will hopefully finish up the room, the copies, the extra papers, and be ready for a full day of teacher/district meetings.
Soooooo.........Stay tuned for the AFTER shots ... hopefully you'll be able to tell a difference!

Granny's Favs!

On an enjoyable Sunday afternoon day trip we came across this little local pub, nestled into the side of a steep mountain. We stopped to stretch and I just had to take a picture. It turns out that this became one of my favorite memories of our trip! See the video at the bottom to help you understand why :o)

Kylemore Abbey was originally a summer home. Can you imagine?
We were visiting the stone bridge that was used in a few scenes of the classic John Wayne movie, "The Quiet Man". I turned around and was blown away by what I saw - Kylemore Abby. It was literally breath-taking!


One of my favorite surprises of our trip was this impromptu Ceili session! We had stopped to stretch (and use facilities!) and stayed for tea. There were many patrons inside sharing, laughing and singing. Along comes a gent with a guitar and a banjo. He and one of the patrons, who had a 'squeeze-box' started playing. Well...no one can sit still with this kind of music, let along a couple of active pre-schoolers! The locals seemed to enjoy them also, we caught them looking out the window and smiling. We were also able to go inside for one tune, and to watch the locals watching the girls was priceless! I had a ball in that short 20 minutes or so we were there, just soaking it all in!

Monsoon Clouds

Driving up to the Mogollon Rim Sunday for a speaking opportunity, we were able to watch the monsoon clouds gather. They are definitely unique -- the pictures don't do them justice, but we wanted to give it a try! We've had a few dust storms in the valley since we've returned from our travels, rain in the outskirts of the valley and in the northern part of the state, power outages and the like, so we are definitely in monsoon season. This is probably the most powerful weather season in Arizona. It is also when we get the bulk of our rainfall for the entire year.
Monsoon cloulds are unique because they seem to just mushroom up higher and higher into the atmosphere. You are able to watch them move and grow.
When you see the flat bottoms on the clouds you know there is a good chance for some rainfall. I am reminded of how incredible our world is, and how majestic it's creator.
We enjoyed clouds, wind and rain during our stay overseas, but they looked, felt, and acted very different from our own Monsoon Clouds.

23-Hour Travel Marathon

Doesn't is seem that if you travel for 23 hours straight you should be able to go completely around the world in this day and age?!
Well, that's simply how long it took us to get back to AZ from the UK a few days ago. By the time we wove through all the customs, security, and airline queues there was not even any time to sit and 'wait' for our plane, which I guess is a good thing. One, we had enough time between each of our 3 flights to get through all the queues, and two, we didn't have a lot of down time between flights.
Regardless of the time travel, queues, and crowded planes & airports, it was a wonderful and fully enjoyed trip and I wouldn't trade any of it (except maybe the lost cell phone)!