About Mrs. H

Today was the third day of the new school year.  So far, I've done my "Welcome to Music" lesson 15 times...ten more to go!  Our schools have "common planning time" for all grade levels, so that means I have one section of each grade level each day.  The up side:  only 5 classes a day!  The down side:  the entire grade level has to be in co-curricular classes at the same time, so there are more kids in each section.  So far, my biggest group is 29, which is not too bad.  Here's hoping they stay under 30!

One of the things I added this year is an "About Mrs. H" slide show.  I thought it might be fun to share other things about my life besides music, especially for those kids who aren't as "into" music as other things.  I showed pictures of my family, the kids, the dog (a big hit!), and the show my boys were in this summer.  But the best part of all was the "Things I Like" page.  I found clip art for stuff I like to do, eat, make, or watch.  The kids got so excited!  They all wanted to share the "likes" I had in common with them or their parents.  It was so sweet!

The best moment of the day was when my 3rd graders were lining up to leave.  One little boy told me that he really likes making things out of paper too (I told them about my paper crafts obsession), and he asked if he could bring one of his projects to show me next time. :)  Of course I said yes!   

These little connections mean so much to kids.  It's hard to build relationships with 625 kids in one hour a week, so anything that can strengthen that bond is worth the time and effort.  Maybe you already do something like this in your room.  If not, then I highly recommend it.  It's easy, and takes only a few minutes of class time.  I know this will be a part of my first week from now on! 

Have a great day!
~Andrea