Day 2 - (Wednesday) Again, Mrs. Morabito played an "I Spy" game with the kids and had them point to the objects so they were acquainted with where the hand sanitizer, tissues, sink, and bathroom were. "Statues" game where the kids walked around and danced to music and pretended to pose like a statue when she held up pictures of poses to do. She introduced herself to the class and caught up with previous students as well as went over classroom rules and emergency procedures.

Day 3 - (Thursday) We had the K-6 class today where each child needed a paraprofessional with them. There was a lot of running around the room as well as screaming/crying but the kids gradually got used to the dynamic of the room and participated when they could. Ms. Morabito also had me take over the "Forte/Piano" activity for the 1st and 2nd graders because it's been a very repetitive week. The kids were very respectful and showed a lot of interest in the lesson! For the 2nd Graders, she reviewed how to speak the rhythms

Day 4 - (Friday) Surprise breakfast by the PTA which was very much needed! Fridays happen to be our lighter days in the week where we have an additional period free that is connected to our lunch break for us to prep and get things done. Again, Ms. Morabito had me take over the "Forte/Piano" segment of the lessons for 1st and 2nd Grade as well as the "I Can Do What You Do!" Activity.

Day 2 (Tuesday) - After we got the Kindergarteners situated in the morning, we did the "Music Street" activity with the second graders! This served as a review of the solfege syllables "sol" and "mi." Review of the music staff as well. "This is where Sol and Mi actually live! Whether on a line or a space, Mi lives below Sol. How many lines and spaces do we have. SolMi club where La is not allowed. If Sol is on the line, Mi is also on the line. The 1st Grade did a review of "Quarter Notes" and "Rests" as well as "sol" and "mi". "Snail, Snail" is an activity that the 1st graders did to sing sol and mi. "Doggie, doggie" allows students to learn what the word 'solo' means in music. Ms. Morabito asked me to do the "Doggie, Doggie" activity and she told me after the period that the main thing I could have done differently was to count them off with the starting pitch.

Day 3 (Wednesday) - Today, we began alternating activities. Mrs. Morabito would teach the first Kindergarten class of the day and I would teach the second Kindergarten class. This carried on for the First and Second grade classes.

Day 4 (Thursday) - Today we started with the K-6 class! Last week, we had a special learner who cried the entirety of the period and we couldn't figure out why. This week, the paraprofessional brought him in early to get used to the classroom environment to figure out why he was getting emotional. We ended up discovering that he was getting overstimulated over the lights in the classroom! As soon as we turned the lights off, he got the biggest grin on his face and started to smile. This was a very insightful moment for us where we discovered what was getting him overstimulated as well as how to accommodate for his needs. The rest of the day, we continued to alternate.

Day 5 (Friday) - I learned today how it only takes one student who is acting up to change the entire dynamic of the class. When I took over the Kindergarten class again, today ended up being the roughest Kindergarten class that we've had. As I was teaching, there were two students with paraprofessionals that were acting up and putting their hands on anything they could grab and, while one para did a great job staying on top of one child, it would have been very helpful if the other para was more hands-on. It was difficult getting the attention of the class every time it was ripped away by a screaming classmate. However, the remainder of class went very well!

Day 2 (Tuesday) - So today I ended up completely losing my voice and I had planned activities to do today :( Mrs. Morabito ended up making me not sing or use my voice at all today so I took this time to start on some more lesson plans as well as get some things situated with student teaching assignments as well as gathering artifacts. Today we had the Spanish Kindergarten class in which the students had a little trouble understanding the lesson, but we simply modeled the activities more and talked less and they followed along better than most Kindergarten classes that we've had. We did get started on doing centers with the 1st graders today in which they sang "Snail, Snail," but they kept the beat with instruments instead of body percussion. They started acting a little crazy with the addition of instruments but everyone was able to try an instrument at least one time during class.

Day 3 (Wednesday) Planned on recording entire 1st grade lesson, but my voice still had not healed completely and I ended up not being able to finish the entire lesson. However, this only encouraged me to continue taking proper care of my vocal health whenever I can.

Day 4 (Thursday) Starting with the K-6 class, we made sure to hide any exposed instruments and keep the lights off for Axel. With this class, we picked out 20 activities to fill the time and made sure to quickly transition between each activity to keep them engaged as best as we can. However, Charlie, a student who is deaf and cannot use ASL, was much calmer this week and he was slowly engaging with the lessons. Now that my voice is starting to feel better, I've resumed alternating the teaching periods with Mrs. Morabito as well.

Day 5 (Friday) - Today we alternated with the Kindergarten classes again and I felt a little frustrated at how Mrs. Morabito felt the need to interject with teaching the Thanksgiving Day Songs again. I keep forgetting to go really in depth with the choreography, but it's a part of my learning process now and I get a few more days to really practice it. The 2nd Graders are getting better at starting activities without a cue from the teachers, but from a pitch-cue from the piano and it makes starting and ending the game so much easier. The 1st Grade class at the end of the day went unexpectedly smooth and we were able to get through everything we wanted to get through! I ended up getting a great video of myself teaching the full 1st Grade class.

Day 2 (Tuesday) - No Class (Holiday)

Day 3 (Wednesday) - No Class (Holiday) I spent my days off from school getting ahead on refining items and artifacts for my portfolio, developing my TPA, and getting ahead on lesson planning. I felt grateful to have the opportunity in the middle of the week to reflect on my teaching and decide how to proceed with the lessons I had for Thursday and Friday.

Day 4 (Thursday) - Starting with the K-6 class, we (again) made sure to hide any exposed instruments and keep the lights off for Axel. With this class, we picked out 20 activities to fill the time and made sure to quickly transition between each activity to keep them engaged as best as we can. We've seen a noticeable improvement with this group of students the past week or so and have been particularly happy with the improved engagement.

Day 5 (Friday) - Started with the Kindergarten class and got the students standing on the risers for the Thanksgiving show. We reviewed the old songs that they already knew and taught them one new song today. We alternated for the rest of the day, with me taking over the Holiday Show for the 2nd graders.

Day 2 (Tuesday) - Beginning of Full Teaching takeover! This got me accustomed to teaching for the full day and, while it was exhausting by the end of the day, I was happy to start running the classroom by myself.

Day 3 (Wednesday) - My second full day of teaching back to back and I still feel very good about my growing confidence in the general music classroom. Mrs. Morabito still helped me with Piscitelli's class because they really do need that extra support but I had another great day of teaching. :)

Day 4 (Thursday) - Again, Mrs. Morabito helped me with Gray's class because of the necessary, needed support but she had me teach the rest of the day by myself while she wrote feedback as I taught.

Day 5 (Friday) - A lighter day because of the extra prep, I took the extra time to catch up on material for my portfolio as well as write my reflection for Mr. Cerullo. Overall felt very tired at the end of the day, but I felt like I accomplished a lot this week!

Day 2 (Tuesday)

Day 3 (Wednesday) - Mrs. Morabito caught a cold today and was not able to come into school. I ended up teaching by myself with a sub in the room for the whole day! While I was anxious about it, it ended up running smoothly since I was comfortable with the material. I don't think I could have asked for a more perfect teaching day since my transitions were clean between each activity, I continued with the Mystery Musician tradition, and I perfectly paced all of my classes today. After today I realized that while I'd love to work with a secondary orchestra, I feel very comfortable teaching elementary (primary school) general music and wouldn't mind at all if that ended up being my first job :)

Day 4 (Thursday) - Today was my second observation with Mr. Cerullo and it was Ms. Aleman's 1st Grade Class. They started the class with their Rhythm of the Day, Artist of the Week, and their Sol Mi Assessment. I then had them sit in front of the room and pat the beat to a story that was filled with surprises. After we watched the story, the kids were able to use instruments to tell the story over again. We ended with the "Who is in the Forest" game. Mr. Cerullo also gave me a lot of great feedback and told me I would "definitely get a job." His feedback and comments were comforting and I can't wait to continue to grow as an educator.

Day 5 (Friday)

Day 1 (Monday) No School!

Day 2 (Tuesday) Full day of teaching with Student Teacher lessons! Starting with the Kindergarten, I was very nervous about starting my own lesson plans with the Spanish speaking AND Dual-Language Students but the lessons went incredibly well and the kids were having a great time! With the 1st Grade, I was especially worried about the fast vs. slow activity, but they had so much fun with it!

Day 3 (Wednesday) While the morning classes went smoothly without a cinch, the afternoon classes after lunch got a little frustrating. The 1st Grade class was already very chatty going into class and, by the time we got around to doing movement activities they were all over the place. Lisa and I decided to have the class sit in silence until the end of the class period because they could not listen to directions. However, since it was my last day with them, I really wanted them to get a chance to learn the song that went along with the game that they were going to play. While they didn't have time for the game, they learned the song so they're ready for next week.

Day 4 (Thursday) Nothing too different for today, but I still had a lot of fun teaching my own lesson plans!

Day 5 (Friday) My last day teaching at Oakwood Primary Center :((( I've had such an amazing time at this school and feel as though I have made so much progress as a teacher and as an individual. I taught the full day and said goodbyes after each class. The students were a little upset that I was leaving, but they were happy that I was coming back to help with their holiday show. Saying goodbye to my cooperating teacher was the hardest part of today. We tried not to cry the whole day and we kept saying that the placement went by so fast :(