Day 26: Three Part Harmony

I felt SO much better today having gone to bed at 8:00. A full night's sleep was just what I needed. It was still hectic at the last minute getting to school, but we managed! We even had a breakfast of nice hot oatmeal with dried berries and brown sugar.


We're nearing four weeks here; three weeks of school, and at this point I'm thinking that Wednesdays might just be my favorite day of the week. We have music on both Monday and Wednesday, but on Wednesday I also get to teach art, and in our art class we're doing sewing, which is a passion of mine. That puts it over the top for me in terms of the level of satisfaction in getting kids involved in learning something that is out of the box. 


Last week in the high school music class I attempted to get the kids to sing in two- and three-part harmony. The results weren't quite what I was hoping for, but it was a start. They were geeked, though, because they'd never done something like that before! Then on Monday we worked more on listening and we put some of our Sol Feg (you know, the Do-Re-Mi stuff) into parts. They liked that, too! We also began learning a song about the wind (to be sung in our Rain Forest community event). I was a little skeptical about how it would be received, but today one of the girls told me that she cries every time she hears me sing it, so I'm thinking that's a good thing. And it seems to be unanimous that it's one they really want to learn to sing. So the kids are super motivated to learn this two-part piece and are enjoying the challenge of it!


Today with the high-schoolers we also put the three parts together for Siyahamba, our song from Africa. The parts are a wee bit tricky in a couple of spots and the rhythms are important, especially since it's a South African song, but the kids worked tirelessly to get it right. They were brave about doing the weird things I asked them to do and about trying even though it was hard. When all was said (or "sung") and done it was incredible the way they responded after hearing themselves. They were SO excited about it! There were smiles and laughter and comments like "Wow!" and "That was amazing!" and "This is so cool!" It was truly one of those moments that makes teachers feel like we're making a difference for kids. Loved it. Makes me want to go back for more! 


After school, I did my first after-school tutoring with students. It's pretty much just helping kids with their homework for an hour, so it's not a big deal. While I was doing that, Hannah went to town with one of the older girls to help her sell some candy for a fund-raiser to pay for the girl's school supplies. They were able to sell all she had, which was great. When I picked her up we stopped by the post office and I got another care package from home with more language arts teaching "stuff". (Thank you, Honey!!) It will help my little guys, although I can't promise they'll be as excited about it as my older music students were today after their victory!


So tonight as I prepare for bed I have to say I am very thankful for music and the bridges it builds between people. Thank you, God, for today's experience in music class! It was a sheer delight!