... because my blog for the school music department has to be through WordPress, and I might as well keep them both in the same spot.
http://kittyswing.wordpress.com/
There ya go.
"How are you liking married life so far?"
Well, it hasn't exactly set in yet, to be honest.
"Really?..."
It's an innocent question, so I can't blame people for asking it. My answer is the truth, though, and it always gets met with a bit of disbelief.
"But you're living with a man now."
"I would hope that something's set in by now, heh heh."
"It's been over a week now, hasn't it?"
Yes, I am and yes, it has.
But perhaps I missed the part during the wedding ceremony where the pastor flipped the mental switch that made words like "Mrs." and "wife" and "Katherine Swing" feel more like well-worn jeans and less like high heel shoes that are entirely too big for me (and knowing my shoe size, that's saying something).
Or maybe I was talking during the reception when someone magically erased the fact that we were practically living together already, spending so much of the day together before parting ways at night, that living with him feels completely normal rather than something totally new and unexplored. That's not to say that actually living with him hasn't been a change. There's been a lot of give and take already, a lot of quirks that neither of us saw, a lot of moments of sit-down discussions. But when we've been compromising and adjusting and discussing and loving each other through all of it during all of the last two years, should doing it as a married couple as opposed to a dating or engaged couple really feel that much different?
Or maybe it's more practical. It could be the fact that everything leading up to the wedding was a blur, and the wedding was this day of pure beautiful bliss that I want to relive over and over again, and then the honeymoon started where everything was different and new and there were really no normals to compare our new life to. Yes, I was waking up next to a man, but I was waking up next to him in a huge California King bed in front of mountains. Nothing about that was a regular occurrence for me, and different is only different when compared to normal, so in a place where there is no normal, why would anything seem different? Word to the wise - honeymoons are incredibly wonderful, but also incredibly over-romanticized. When a new aspect of the relationship previously denied is now encouraged, there is just as many discussions and small tears as happiness and curled toes while the two people figure each other out. And I wish I would've known that beforehand. I will thank God every day that I have the most considerate, patient, understanding, selfless man that He ever made.
Or maybe it hasn't completely set in because, even when we came back from the honeymoon and settled into familiar territory again, we weren't doing familiar things. Nobody regularly opens up mounds of expensive household gifts, or has to figure out where to put wedding stuff, or goes bank shopping, or figures out a budget with another person with a whole lifetime of dreams in mind, or runs around with paperwork trying to change their name, or plans when they can both sit down and tackle 100+ thank you notes.
Or maybe it's because he hasn't stopped pursuing me, trying to win me over as if he hasn't already got me heart and soul already. And I know that that won't ever change, that he'll always fight to figure out my heart and win it. The intensity of his love hasn't changed one bit.
Or maybe it's just because stupid Facebook won't let me change my last name, even though I've gone through all of the processes and tried every trick and have sent in identification multiple times a day for a week and I STILL CAN'T GET AN E-MAIL FROM THEM, even though they say I should expect one shortly. So I still see Famuliner each and every time. It's a small thing, yes, but it's really been frustrating me.
But...
Sometimes, it does set in. Just for a moment, like I'm holding sand between my fingers and the instant I realize it, it slips through. Still, every day, I'm holding on to it for just a bit longer.
It's when we pray together.
It's when I say "good-night" instead of "good-bye".
It's when he wakes up with me at 5:30 to work out.
It's when I realize that I'll have a running partner for the rest of my life.
It's when he takes out the trash or dries dishes.
It's when I curl into my spot under his arm and he brushes my hair back.
It's when I finally catch him singing.
It's when I see a ring on his finger, and not just mine.
It's when the little girls at church climb all over him like a jungle gym.
It's when we finally see each other after our first day back to work.
It's when the word "ours" is used.
I don't think that it'll set it any time soon that I'm a married woman now, a wife with a husband, a missus.
But I do think that I could get used to it, just the same.
But I do think that I could get used to it, just the same.
It's done! My musical wonderland of a classroom is organized and decorated and done! Allow me to give you a tour.
This is what you see as soon as you come in the door. Let's point out how massive this room is. I have tons of wall space, floor space, space to move and dance and get out instruments and teach!! They gave me chairs, but I liked the format of the place I student taught at - the kids sit on the carpet area when they need to be seated, but since I teach with tons of games and running and dancing and movement, I need a versatile floor space more than the chairs that they won't really be sitting in that long.
This is the wall on the far right, the main wall. It's pretty self-explanatory. In the Agenda area, I map out the day and write down the objective for each of that day's classes. The Memo side is for reminders, because goodness knows that there will always be a trip coming up or a program to organize or money to collect for recorders and what not. The quote above the board is one that I find very motivating. And it makes you think. It STILL makes me think.
I apparently can't rotate a picture... anyways, ignore the fact that this is blank for the time being! As the classes learn terms, they'll go on this wall. Yeah, it'll become a hodge-podge of beginning words and advanced words, but I can't make a separate board for each grade level. I might color-code the word cards which, by the way, are index cards. Easy. Every now and then, they'll be games and quizes based on this.
This is the wall that you didn't see in the first picture, the wall to the left of the door. Let me explain the pieces! Oh, and the music stand will be used for all sorts of stuff, don't you worry.
I learned while student teaching how obnoxious drawing staves is. Even if you do use that Expo holder tool, because messing with the caps equals boring downtime for the kids. I personally bought a huge dry-erase grand staff, and then used magnets (yes, this was a white board) to attach it. This way, I can move it to a comfortable level for both kindergarten and 6th grade. Oh, and you can see better here that I used fabric rather than paper to cover the boards. It was a bit more pricy, but they'll look the same and won't get torn up by staples all year long.
I saw this on Pinterest and thought that it was super duper adorable.
This is my classroom management tool. It's akin to a strike system. The MUSIC letters are magnets, and every time that the class gets out of hand or what not, they lose a letter. If they're exceptional, they can earn letters back. If they have lost a letter by the end of class, they won't get their PBIS buck (I'm not sure what this school calls them, but Hyde called them Warrior Bucks). As long as they have at least one letter left, they get to move their class magnet piece forward one measure. When they get to the last measure, it's a free day for the next class period, pending where we are in a unit. Because it's five strikes, and they can earn them back, I can't be stingy with taking down the letters.
The student supply corner!! The tub on the left are music stands for band. The tubs on the side shelves are for recorders, and the file boxes on the left shelf are for the music workbooks that the district has us use to a certain grade. Everything will be divided by class, so that the students can supply and organize themselves. The small drawers on top of the right shelf is full of yarn... erm... recorder karate belts!!! Then there are white boards, rags, markers, pencils - all divided up. The green box on top is the Turn It In box, so it's right there when they put stuff up. Behind the textbook shelf is a huge tub of posters. Nice and hidden. Oh, and boomwackers. I love boomwackers. They are almost decorations in themselves. I love how bright this corner is.
Instrument bookshelf, Orff instrument bookshelf (these are going to be a big focus these next few years, the principal wants an Orff Ensemble), gathering drums, the world music map that will eventually be labeled to death as we explore countries. Moving on...
Another sideways picture! This is the instrument bookcase. It's organized how you would expect, everything in a separate tub.
If you remember from the first picture, we are now at the back wall. This is my corner. The desk along the blue wall has to stay there because it's the "electronics desk" or something like that, so that dictated where my area became. I set up the keyboard on a shelf because I'm going to incorporate that a ton, but between that small desk and the keyboard shelf, I had no actual desk drawers, so I was given a real desk!
This is one of three "boards" made out of one giant corkboard. This one is the seven musical elements, surrounded by terms that relate to them. I found while student teaching that, if a kid can just remember what a word is associated with, they can usually figure out what it means. So, I'm providing the associations - the different elements, right there for them to see.
The middle board! The blank side on the right is where I'm going to do my Instrument Of The Week!! Every week, I'll put up a picture of an instrument and a description of it, from trumpets to tabla drums. Kids are WAY too curious about this type of stuff to not constantly show them something new!!
And... yeah! That's my room!
Just a quick post to let you know how impatient I am.
I can count all of the days on my fingers.
BAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
To begin, I want to thank everyone for the prayer support over the course of last week. In regards to my last post, I feel such a peace and joy now, more so than I did even when we were first engaged. The fact that I did nothing but pray and talk to some ladies whose wisdom I value proves to me that this quick and definite change of heart and thoughts is from God. The peace I now have about my future marriage is not something that I can understand. The joy that there is in it runs deeper than it did before. I am making the right decision in getting married to this man in this season of my life, and we will build a beautiful life together. Not because of any of our own qualities, but because God has drowned us with the grace we need in order to glorify Him. And that is enough.
Now, on to boomwackers.
I have finally been given access to my new classroom! This all feels real now, this teaching thing, and I'm overwhelmed and thrilled at the same time, and isn't that just the story of my life lately? Knowing that I'd be able to get in this week, I went around and gathered some decoration supplies, figured out a color scheme, the like. I walked into the room and knew instantly that I wouldn't get to those pieces for days. Since the music room was on the first floor last year and is now on the third floor, everything had been boxed up and moved, and was now piled in the middle of an empty, beige cell. I put down my purse and searched through four or five boxes, trying to find some common thread, some starting point. Things were just a mess. There was a huge box full of CDs and VHS tapes and cassettes and even some vinyl records, nothing in a case. There were messenger bags full of papers, a trash can half full of pillows, a file cabinet drawer full of metal poles that make... what?
I never take pictures when I should. I would have had one heck of a "before" picture.
I sifted and organized from 9:30 until 2:30, forgetting lunch entirely. Also forgetting water entirely, so Sonic was an oasis once I left. I found so many resources that I was pleasantly surprised to have, so many more instruments than I had anticipated. And so much unnecessary things. Once wall of the room is take up by a mammoth pile of empty boxes... and then, boxes full of things to throw out. Boxes full of broken things. Old plastic crates whose only fault is how hideous they look after years of evolving color trends and sun.
I am fairly certain that, after leaving, I had seen everything in the room. There should be no more surprises. Now, it's just finding a resting place for each of those things. It's getting an actual desk, rather than this computer niche that is full of sound equipment and peeling wood-patterned vinyl. It's getting rid of the chairs and getting in panels of carpet. It's decorating, finally.
It's making that room into this wonderfully organized creative haven where I won't teach kids about music. I'll walk beside them and guide them as they discover it.
Because there are no district benchmark tests this year. :-)
