My apologies!

I have not gotten the mittens and gloves lapboards put together as planned - fighting a cold!  I'm hoping to have it finished soon and posted to my TpT store!

Right now, I'm making some serious plans for our 3rd grade South Carolina History Night event.  Each homeroom class (we have 8 homerooms) will have a different time period that they are in charge of preparing. We are creating an interactive timeline using the main hallway from the music room up to the cafeteria.  Visitors to the timeline will view student created artifacts from various time periods and so on...we'll end the night with a concert that takes us through the time periods again through song.  I'm so excited and I hope that it all continues to come together!!

Stay tuned, because I will be posting much more about this event as we continue to plan and prepare!

Mittens & Gloves

Working on a new item for my TpT store!!!  My kinders and firsties have been reading pictures to clap and notate rhythms.  The song "Mittens and Gloves" from Music K-8 magazine (Vol. 22 Issue 2) was my inspiration for using mittens and gloves to teach barred eighth and quarter notes.

First graders used the 4x4 grid (found here) to notate their own rhythm patterns by drawing mittens (for eighth notes) and gloves (for quarter notes).  They are now "translating" their rhythm patterns to quarter and eighth notes based on their previous compositions.

Kinders are reading the pictures and clapping.  I printed 4 clip art graphic mittens and 4 gloves to use on the board.  Week 1, I arranged the pictures in various patterns for us to clap.  This week, I called a few students to come up and arrange the pictures in various patterns for each class to clap.  Next week, students will have their own lapbook of sorts to share with a partner with enough pictures to create their own patterns.

The items I am using for their lapbooks will be available in my TpT store by Sunday.  :-)  My kiddos are hoping for snow tonight, I know that they are going to be disappointed in the morning because we probably won't get anything but ice...here's hoping for a 2 hr delay!  :-)

Project FUNDED!!!!

I am over the moon excited because my 2nd DonorsChoose.org project got funded 2 days ago and it shipped from Best Buy for Business TODAY!!!!

I requested a BOSE sound docking station for my iPod!  Woohooo!!!  *happy dance*

A huge hug and thank you to my personal friend "Sassy" and DirecTV.  If you missed it, DirecTV posted a picture on their Facebook page asking for people to share the photo.  Well, I shared it and posted my project in the comments and they finished funding the project!!!

Now, planning the next project...a carpet for the music room at the primary school.  The little kinders have the MOST trouble with the chairs throwing them out!  LOL!  The hard part is deciding what type of rug I want!

Veteran's Day Program

Tomorrow our upper elementary grades school will honor local veterans with a Veteran's Day Ceremony.  The guidance counselor and I have put this program together and the grandfather of some students will be our guest speaker and a few 4th and 5th grade students will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, The Star Spangled Banner and then provide a special musical selection.

I chose Remember You by Teresa Jennings from the Volume 7, Number 2 Issue of Music K-8 Magazine.  I just can't get enough of Music K-8!!!  :~)  The students looked soooo good up on stage today!!  Just made this teacher's heart super happy!

Keep a look out for pictures from tomorrow's program!

Have a lovely Wednesday evening!

Cheryl

November

This month on my personal Facebook page, I have been listing things that I am thankful for everyday.  You know - the hubby, my munchkins, family, friends and my JOB!  You know, I graduated from college over ten years ago and I have gone through my fair share of jobs since then...band director (1 year), church music assistant (5 years), media specialist (5 years) and now in my 2nd year as a music teacher.  In looking back at how I've gotten to where I am, I kick myself that I didn't start out here!  But, if I had done that, I would have missed out on so many growth opportunities and meeting so many awesome people!  So, I am thankful for my journey to where I am!  I am also over the moon thankful for my job!  I am where I need to be and I LOVE it!!!

Mrs. King posted an idea that she's been using in her music room (http://mrskingrocks.blogspot.com/2012/10/4th-graders-play-pumpkin-pattern-memory.html#comment-form) and I am going to tweak it to use in my room!  I am so excited about this!!!

I am so thankful that there are awesome music teachers out there that share their ideas, lessons and activities so I can get ideas for my classroom.

I encourage you to think about what you are thankful for on more than the one day set aside for Thanksgiving.  It is a wonderful feeling and I love reading about it!

A Sunday Quickie

While I'm lesson planning, I figured I'd hop over and do a quick little post.  Wow, wow, wow - the kids are just soaking up all kinds of music stuff!!  I so wish I could post pictures of their happy little faces while they play Mallet Madness!  But, alas, I have not had time to send home the permission slips so I CAN post. Right now, I'm super focused on getting the permission slips for my Donors Choose thank yous and getting the pics for that done.  Oh maybe this Friday I will get a little more caught up!

Holiday programs are beginning to come together.  More on those a little later!  I will have the primary grades program on Monday, December 10 and the 5th grade program on Tuesday, December 11.  Will I be more crazy intense than usual, hmmm YES!  That's okay - I wouldn't trade it for anything else!!  I am seriously LOVING my job!  Feel like the luckiest girl EVER!

Okay, must get my plans turned in!  Happy Fall y'all!  :)

TBA Open House Week! ~ Monday=Meet the Teacher

If you haven't heard, Teaching Blog Addict, TBA, is undergoing some changes that I think will be a win-win for all involved!

This week, TBA's hosting Open House Week. Each day has a theme or topic.

Monday's topic is Meet the Teacher.

My name is Cheryl Lukac.  My birthday is WEDNESDAY!  Even though the whole getting older wiser thing is still growing on me, I do LOVE to celebrate my birthday!  I work in a rural part of South Carolina that is about an hour outside of Charlotte, NC.

This is my 8th year of teaching - 2000-2001, I taught band, then spent 5 years as the Music Associate at my church, 2006-2007, I returned to the "classroom" as a media specialist, after discovering that path was not a good fit for me, I am back to teaching music on the elementary level.  This will be my 2nd year as a music teacher.  Funny thing is, I started teaching middle school band 12 years ago in the SAME building where I teach half the day and I'm spending the other half of my day where I worked as a media specialist!  I keep coming back!  My husband has said that I'm not allowed to leave these schools again until I retire!  LOL! 

I'm certified to teach music at all grade levels and content types grade Kindergarten - 12th.  I however, LOVE elementary music and would prefer to teach band rather than chorus or orchestra.  :)  But, please just let me teach the little ones!  I'm certified in music in North and South Carolina and this past year, I added Elementary Education (grades K-6) to my NC certificate.

Every morning I start my day at the Primary School (grades Pre-K - 2nd) and at lunch I head over to the "big kid" school for grades 3rd-5th.  Between the 2 schools, I will see almost 800 students a week.  Both schools are Title I and got A's on their SC report cards last year!

I LOVE what I do and I LOVE my students! If I didn't, I couldn't go back day-after-day!

In 2002, I married my college sweetie, who is a high school and middle school band director.  We have 2 amazing children, ages 8 & 6.  We go to Walt Disney World every chance we can afford!  My kiddos love to be outside and have wonderful imaginations.  They have helped me become a better teacher and I would not trade my life for anything else!

I love to have fun!  What better way to spend my day, than singing, dancing, playing instruments and getting my students to be super creative!

 

I love to use technology in my classrooms and I enjoy helping others find the best ways for them to incorporate it into their teaching lives.  It makes me sad when I discover that teacher friends are "scared" to use the technology they have at their disposal.

 

Head over to TBA to see more Meet the Teacher posts!

Cheryl