Colton Dixon Concert

Having such a long commute to and from my student teaching placement allows plenty of time to listen to the radio, and a few weeks ago I overheard K-Love announce that Colton Dixon would be touring in our town on Halloween night.  Seeing as my husband and I didn't have plans for that evening, we decided that I could take a few girl friends to the concert...those girl friends being my two awesome sister-in-laws.

We originally had balcony tickets because they were more affordable than floor seats, but Colton Dixon surprised us after he performed the first three songs; he personally invited the balcony people down to the floor!  We actually ended up in the second row, almost an arms-length or so away from the stage!

The entire concert was absolutely amazing, filled with great talent, musicianship, and most of all God's presence.  Colton gave a small talk in the middle of the concert, about faith and how as the church we need to stop just talking about it and actually live it out.  I was almost in tears because that has been something I've been struggling with for a long time now.

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I'm so glad I was able to spend the night with my sisters at such a wonderful event, it was greatly needed.  Being Halloween, Colton and the band gave the crowd a pleasing encore as well; they went off stage and came back out dressed up in Halloween mask, then continued to perform two more songs to end the night.

Batman of course!

New Placement, New Experiences

I'm three weeks into my second placement for Student Teaching and I LOVE IT!!!  My first placement was at the middle school and I'm now at the elementary school.  I have never been in an elementary setting as a teacher, so I had no idea what to expect.  Would it be crazy, non-stop, tiring, exciting, entertaining, fall-and-get-back-up-learning-experiences, or something else entirely?  To sum it all up I would say it has been all of those so far.

Within the first week there I was able to co-teach a little bit alongside my cooperating teacher.  Thus far I have been able to teach kindergarten, first grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade, with plans to teach second and third grade in the future.  For the most part the students are very well behaved and seem eager to learn each day they come to class.  I haven't really been upset or frustrated with any of these experiences, which is good!

The cooperating teacher I am with is amazing as well!  She has been teaching music at this specific school since it opened back in 1994, so she has plenty of experience.  She has been nothing but kind and helpful everyday I'm with her.  Most of all I have been learning quite a lot about elementary music, how to teach it, and how to make the classroom a fun and encouraging learning environment for all.

Even better news:

The teacher fair was this past Friday on campus at Murray State University, and most of the local and surrounding school districts were there and represented.  The first booth I went to was the district I live in and there was great news to be announced; there will be two elementary music positions opening up/created in the fall of 2015!  It makes me ecstatic to think about possibly working in the same district I reside in, teaching alongside great educators, and being a part of the community the students are a part of as well.

Fall Break Realization

This past week marks the last fall break I'll have as a college student.  It's hard to believe that four and a half years have come and gone.  So much has happened in a blink of an eye that I can barely fathom what God has planned for mine and the hubby's future.  There are only sixty-one more days until I graduate with my degree, and hopefully this time next year I will be a full-time teacher.

Starting tomorrow I will begin my second student teaching placement, which is at an elementary school.  I'm excited and nervous but I know that I'll learn a lot at this school.  

August & September Update

The past two months have been so chaotic, causing me to take a hiatus from blogging.  In order to keep this post from being a mile long I will condense it to bullet points and pictures!

August:

• I started student teaching/last semester of my undergrad degree.  My first placement has been at a middle school in the mornings, and the high school in the afternoons.  It's been an experience,... more to come later...
• My afternoons and evenings have been spent leading and working with the high school marching band.  This marching band has been awarded 4A State Champions in Kentucky for the past nine years!

• Michael and I decided to get a puppy around the middle of August.  We named her Arya after one of our favorite characters from Game of Thrones.

Arya, 12 weeks old.

September:

• We didn't realize how difficult it would be to train a puppy.  It's been frustrating, but I wouldn't change it at all; Arya has been a joy to have and raise.
• Student teaching is much busier then I thought it would be.  It's much different then any other semester has ever been, I don't even feel like a college student anymore.  Living two hours away from campus and teaching all day without any other course work has been eye-opening in many ways.
• We moved up to the smart phone world!  I've never owned a smart phone until this month,...
• I'm one week away from fall break and my second student teaching placement, which will be at an elementary school.  I've never experienced teaching elementary students, so I am very eager to see what it will be like.
• Graduate school has made it's way onto my to-do list; I've been brainstorming possible degrees and paths I could take.  Although this is an adventure I do not want to begin for at least another year.
• I received my first gift from a student!  It will be going on the refrigerator soon.

Now that the first half of student teaching is over and commencement is less than three months away, blogging will move back towards the top of my priority list!

Band Camp Mayhem

It's been over a month of non-blogging and there is actually a good reason why; marching band.  Near the beginning of July I started preparing for three weeks (two and a half actually) of teaching the percussion section during band camp.  I didn't plan on going so long without blogging, but the only access I had to wi-fi was at McDonald's, so now it's catch-up time.

Percussion camp was first in the band camp series and it went great.  The line I worked with is very young but has so much potential.  Within the first few days I could tell that they were all very determined to learn and practice.  The entire band had pre-camp the following week, in which I was able to get to know more students in the program and help out with fundamentals.  The last week was actual band camp where the band had the opportunity to stay at a campsite and learn the show in a unique environment.

The percussion section alongside me and the other percussion instructor.  (faces are blurred for protection)

This was the second summer I was able to work with this program and I'm still amazed at the wonderful attitudes and discipline the students have.  Each day was a learning experience that challenged me to look at my teaching abilities in a different way.  The student's outlook on marching band began to change as the days passed, they where always striving to become better marchers, musicians, and people.

The awesome band directors and instructors.

I could go on and on about how great the program is, how much enjoyment I get from teaching the students, how fun staying at the campsite was, and just how memorable the entire experience was, but instead I will leave you with some bullet points to sum up the experience.

• Great people to teach alongside.
• Wonderful students.
• The one thing I look forward to each summer.
• Beautiful campsite.
• Great housing.
• Not-so-great cafeteria food.
• 6:00am-9:30pm days!
• New friendships.
• Expanding teaching skills.
• Teaching experience to remember for a life-time.
• #wannagoback (I love teaching so much that I used a hash tag...I despise hash tags)

This summer may or may not be my last summer with this specific band program because of possible career options I may have next year.  If all goes well with future career aspects then I'll be back next summer to work with this band program along with having my own teaching job next fall.

"Creepy" Content Continued

It has been found!  The evil source of our spider, flea, and other pests problems!  All morning our cat Gracie couldn't be found and I would have to coax her out of wherever she was hiding.  Tired of coaxing her I finally decided to try and find her secret hiding spot.  A quick look throughout the apartment led me to our bedroom closet where she was snuggled up in the back corner on a box.  As I went to get her from the corner I heard the faint sound of wind.  Moving the hubby's trombone and a cooler revealed the source; the hole where the dryer hose is suppose to connect, leading directly outside where there is a small field.

I quickly covered it up so no more pests could take shelter in our apartment and went to the office to fill out a maintenance request.  I was so thankful I found it before Gracie could squeeze through it or any more bugs could come inside.  Also because pest control is coming at the end of the week to spray outside, which definitely would have attracted more insects inside.

I'm guessing this was overlooked when we moved in because it was pouring rain that day and we were all trying to get things inside as fast as possible

"Creepy" Content Included:

Rant time.  I've mentioned in previous posts before how much I love our new apartment and town.... What I haven't mentioned is how much I hate the arachnids that have come to greet us and say hello.  We've lived here a little over a month now and I've noticed an uncanny number of creepy-crawlies, everywhere!  I've told myself time and time again that I'm not that afraid of spiders, but this has started to get out of hand.

Today alone, Earlier this night I've found three, let me repeat, three spiders; all of which were different in size and shape.  I'm done! My subconscious is screaming "RUN!", but sadly I keep finding them.  I've noticed probably around fifteen spiders all together since we lived here, but they've typically been spread out over a few days or so, which isn't as bad.  This is ridiculous!

All these sredips, (I don't even like typing the word) are driving me insane, haha.  I know they help with other pests, and I respect that, but I don't like finding numerous ones in a period of a few hours.  This overwhelming occurrence could be caused from the pest exterminator who came by this morning yesterday morning and sprayed insecticide in certain areas of each room... Now it's going on 3am and I'm wide awake because all I can think about is spiders under the bed...End rant.

Anyone else have an deathly fear of arachnids?  I definitely know I am now.