Read it on my blog or do without!

I have tried to figure out how to 'post' anything on my facebook page, and I simply cannot figure out how to let people know anything at all! So, read it here or go without news from me. I'm old. Deal with it.

Last night we had our "Julie Johnson Jamboree" at Lake City High School. You can see pictures on the Coeur d'Alene press web site. (Dad took some, but I don't know how to get them off his new camera...) Anyway, our kids performed "Mutiwambuya" and it was really fun: rhythm sticks, djembes, marimbas, "Boomfloppers", chanting, singing and a big, loud "GO, GO, GO TEMA!" that shook the rafters and ended perfectly with not a sound happening after! It was the coolest dramatic moment! The audience sat stunned for a couple of seconds before they burst into applause!

The rest of the evening was just as cool with each chorus performing really great and quite varied music. There were other marimbas, an electric guitar (by a 4th grader who is already a virtuoso on the guitar!!!) and a drummer (Garret Knotte who is also a member of Couerimba who is in 7th grade!) Anyway, a really cool night. Lots of fun.

That's my news - now I'm going to plan next week's lessons!

What did you do with your Spring Break?

Well, while I was gone to St. Louis to play with grandkids and just kick back and have a little fun, Steve had to stay behind to get some business done. Good thing. A pine tree from our back yard blew over in a storm and crashed through our roof! Steve said it looked like a war zone. It will be well into 'cleaned up and getting fixed' before I get home on Saturday, so I'm just waiting for pictures to be e-mailed to me.

The good news is - besides the fact that mostly we just have to do clean up and repair - nobody was hurt and it didn't hit anything that we'd have to replace besides perhaps a bit of furniture. Sure, the ceiling, walls and roof are in bad shape, but the trusses were so strong they kept the thousands of pounds of pine tree from actually crashing through more of the house. Not to mention that Steve was not home sitting in the chair watching T.V. RIGHT under where the tree fell. And his car wasn't in the driveway where the top of the tree sent the bricks from the chimney! All-in-all I'd say we were pretty lucky. And, insurance will be paying for most of the bill, so it's all good. A bit inconvenient, sure, but lucky!

Meet Me In St. Louis!

Well, what a wonderful treat for Spring Break! I got to come to St. Louis (Edwardsville, Ill) and play with the grandkids. But that's not all! Saturday I got to hop in the car with Heather and drive out to Ohio (my first trip there...) and meet some of my favorite cousins! (I've never met them before, but they quickly became some of my favorite people!) This has been a really cool treat. Pete Roan (aka Kenneth Jr.) is my cousin's son - so my first cousin once removed. His son, Tater (aka Matt) is a 25 year old good-lookin' Roan boy who is in law school. I promise, once I find pictures I'll post them. His wife had a baby the day before we got there and she is C-U-T-E!!! (yes, both mother and baby are cute!) Anyway, we (Heather and I) had such a great time with those guys! I hope they can come visit us, or we can have a reunion or something. It was so wonderful to meet them and just sit around and visit (and stare!) for a while. I want to do it again!

Lewis and Clark....That's Clark and Lewis!

Woo-hoo! My life just got easier! Lewis and Clark went off without much of a hitch this evening, and I got applause and flowers! The kids did great, I have the day off tomorrow, and life is getting easier now! All I have left is the third grade, second grade and first grade programs - but they are all so much fun (and quite a bit easier than "L and C") - that I am looking forward to putting them on. Life is good - now I just have to study my brains out so I can pass the Praxis!

I hope there's room enough in my head for all of this new stuff!

Well, I've just started piano lessons and tutoring sessions so that I can pass my praxis on June 12th! I'm just cramming information in, but it is fun to learn at the same time. If I seem distant or unresponsive, let me give you a quick overview of my week: Monday at school 7AM - 4PM meeting at MidTown center to introduce new teachers (me - they'd notice if I didn't show up...) Then home to finish off preparing 2 more lesson plans for kindergarten and first grades; Tuesday school 7 - 4 then Coeurimba 7 - 9PM; Wednesday; Special Chorus rehearsal before school, school collaboration until 4PM and then District collaboration until 6PM; Thursday; school 7-3:30 (I leave early so I can get to Bryan by 4PM to have a tutoring session with Sally until 6PM. Friday I have the day off (HA HA!!! - yeah, so I can do laundry and prep my lessons for next week - and have a piano lesson on Friday afternoon!) Then Saturday usually is 'mop-up' from what I didn't get done during the week (including that laundry I probably ignored on Friday).

My Christmas decorations will probably be up until after the praxis test in June. I just have to use every spare minute to cram info into my little old head!

Anyway, just remember I love you all, and when I pass that test I'll be a relaxed gramma again! Woo-hoo!

a Kroc full of Christmas!

Friday night I took a big risk and took about 14 of my Special Chorus kids to the Kroc Center to perform with Laura Sable and her husband Bill Wiemuth in Christmas from the Heart. We had one week's notice that we would be performing, hence the low turnout of singers. I can't lie - I was a little nervous that only 3 kids would show up. But we got about 14 (out of 45 - bad night for conflicts....) and they did a fine job. The good news is kids are always cute. But I am not striving for 'cute', I'd rather have 'astounding', but you've got to give me a little bit of time to learn the techniques for producing that! It was fun and they kids, I am sure, will be talking about it on Monday! Could boost my special chorus numbers for January, huh?

Professional development conference!

Wow! The first time I've ever gone to a "Professional Development Conference" and it was WAY FUN and so educational I think my head's going to blow up! I had a blast, and I'm SO EXCITED for school tomorrow so I can use what I learned! Such fun stuff! New ways to teach recorders, reasons why music influences and supports learning to read, how it helps developing brains, fun ways to get kids to learn complicated rhythms! You name it, I saw a workshop on it, and most of the time I participated in the learning! We were just supposed to 'be' the 5th graders (or kinders, or whatever) for the presenter of the workshop! I got 3 free recorders, and I bought a sopranino (really small, high recorder), a couple of hand puppets, handbells, a cool thunder tube, SO MUCH STUFF! You guys will have to come and play with my new stuff!!! I am SO HAPPY that I get to do this.

The only sad part is that the woman who was supposed to be teaching at Hayden Meadows (Julie Johnson) has taken a turn for the worse and now is calling family in for the end. Hospice is working with her. I sent her a card last week, and I'm really glad I did. This is really sad, but she's a good woman and she's ok - she just is regretting not having more time with family and grandkids. She's not that old, so that makes it sadder. Plus, what little time I've spent with her was really sweet. She's a good person - and a great, kind music teacher.

But, to do her justice, I am working on being the best music teacher I can be, and this conference gave me LOTS of information for doing that! I'm just having fun THINKING about going to school tomorrow and having the kids come to class! I sure do hope that my grandkids have 'Orff' trained music teachers - they are THE BEST!