So . . . That Happened

I am not going to lie. I am busy. Musicians and music educators go on and on about the crazy months leading up to and between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then January rolls around, and every year, I forget about the joys of festival, recital, spring musical, "fill-in-the-blank" season. 

Because I am in the midst of insane "fill-in-the-blank" season, I am going to keep it short and sweet, friends. Here is In Jill's Words' Guide to Stuff That Happened This Week.

Pitch-Matching Machines

Three fifth graders who have been struggling with pitch-matching for a while signed up for Solo Festival. I was worried about finding songs that they could sing successfully alone or in small groups. But after three semesters of singing in choir and two months of rehearsing the spring musical, I am pleased to announce, they are matching pitch most of the time. Victory!

The Kids Won't Leave

Speaking of the spring musical, the kids are so excited about the upcoming performance, they want to spend all of their spare time in my classroom. They show up to watch even when they are not called in for lunch recess rehearsal. It's tough to get them to leave my room, before school, after school, during school. And I love every minute of it.

Now Watch Me Whip
My third graders were supposed to create movements for each section of Kodály's rondo, "The Viennese Musical Clock." The B-section students wanted to Whip and Nae Nae to the steady beat. Not stylistically appropriate, kiddos.

Broadway Over Mountain Biking?
The other day, my husband, Dan said, "That musical, Hamilton? It's good. It's like a rap concept album." 

Then he said, "Do you think we should try to go to New York this summer to see it on Broadway?"

The remarkable part of this story is that we were planning a mountain biking trip to Montana for our summer vacation this year. Dan would choose Broadway over mountain biking? 

Hamilton tickets are close to $500 a piece right now though. We may not make it to NYC this summer, but it's the thought that counts.

Like, Love, Ha Ha, Wow, Sad, Angry
New emoji reaction buttons were revealed on Facebook this week. It's great because if your pet hamster dies, and I want to show sympathy, the "like" button seems insensitive. By the way, I sat on my laptop liking and unliking one of my friend's profile pictures this afternoon until I figured out how to access the new emoticons. #Gen-XerTechnologyProblems

 

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