Plans Thrown Out The Window

 On Monday, I wrote: “…I’m not 100% sure what to do with the [self-contained] class for the rest of the year. My students cover a wide age-range, and it is hit and miss as to when they’ll be with me and when they’ll be with their reg. ed. peers. Those two things combined, it’s difficult to know how to plan.”

 

That being said, I made a plan for class this week. But as soon as we got into the plan, I threw it out the window.

 

I had four boys this week—only one the same from last week. And each of them was in his own world.

 

I had planned to do a modified 2^nd grade lesson on “Stars and Stripes Forever” where we would play our sticks and do motions and march around the room. What actually happened was that one boy walked around the room playing with a ribbon; he loves ribbons. Another played a drum with pencil drumsticks. Another tried to do what I asked him to do. And the other decided he wanted to play the trombone. He saw it on the recording and mimicked the motion even though he didn’t know the word.

 

So what did I do? I went into the closet and got out the trombone.

 

You need to understand that I would LOVE for all of my students to have the opportunity to play a brass instrument. It’s just not possible with one instrument and 20 kids’ germs.

 

But I figured with four kids? Why not!

 

And so we played the trombone!

 

Ribbon Boy and Drum Boy and Following Directions Boy all took their turns trying to get a sound out of the trombone. Drum boy succeeded, playing with puffy little cheeks and a smile. I have no idea how he did that. But he really did have a smile on his face while he played. The other two did not succeed. But that’s okay. They tried.

 

And Trombone Boy? Once he got the hang of playing, he did really well! I even started “Stars and Stripes Forever” again and let him play along. He was having such a great time! And Drum Boy kept saying, “He’s doing it! He’s doing it!” He was so proud of his friend.

 

I realize that I may be getting out the trombone for every class for awhile. And that’s okay. Because my students were having a good time and they were engaging with music.

 

But the question still remains: To plan or not to plan? I guess I’ll have to continue playing it by ear to and see what happens.

 

Dear God: Thank you for trombones and smiling children and the ability to think on my feet. Help us all to adapt to the situations in which we find ourselves and help us to create positive opportunities for growth. Amen.