Wednesday, November 14, 2012

{Thirty Days of Thanks~2012; Day 14}

Day 14 | Choir---best hour of the work week!

Today is Wednesday.....I'm sorry---just as I typed that, all I could hear in my head was that children's song, "Today is Monday, today is Monday. Monday, string beans, all you hungry children, come and eat it up. Today is Tuesday, today is Tuesday. Tuesday, spaghetti, Monday string beans, all you hungry children, come and eat it up. Today is Wedn......"--you get the picture!? Do you know that song?

But, I digress......or do I? As I was saying, before I interrupted myself (which happens all the time as those of you who really KNOW me, know!), today is Wednesday. On this day, I have my favorite hour of my entire work week......EVERY. WEEK. Wednesday afternoon I have choir until 4:00pm. My choir is an auditioned group of 3rd through 6th graders at Trinity Academy of Raleigh. I LOVE this group of students! It's not just these particular students I love, but getting to work with a group of motivated students and just SING GOOD MUSIC!! The number has varied throughout the years--with 14 in our first year, 54 students now and various numbers in between. 54 students crammed into my classroom! We work HARD!! I could write posts and posts about this group---about these individual children. You see all sorts of personalities in a group like this and I love watching them work together throughout the year toward common goals. I could write about the boys in my group---particularly the third grade boys who are just there to go to Busch Gardens (we go to a competition there every year) and when they realize they have to put up with this crazy, picky, pushy lady for all those weeks, they suddenly decide that MAYBE Busch Gardens isn't so great after all!! I could talk about how they sing and they let me push them and push them and they KEEP giving me more. I love to watch my students go from the front row in third grade and move back a row every year. They finally make it to the coveted back row and they look at each other and roll their eyes, but they still sing their hearts out! I could tell you how Carol Riley, a sweet friend and grandmother to one of my choir members sacrifices her time each week to come and play for us. We learn SO MUCH MORE with her as a partner and I am SO blessed to have her.

This sweet/crazy/ornery group of children make me smile. I laugh hysterically while I'm with them. I leave there totally wiped out and full of energy at the same time. They meet a need in me---I'm not even sure what it is exactly, but why else would I spend the HOURS I spend on top of my 7 classes a day to teach them? It's not required---I just love it. I love them. They remind me why I went into teaching in the first place. I love children. I love music---in THAT order. I want my students to have fun with music and learn to love it, too.

Today is Wednesday---I had choir today---and I am grateful for each little face and voice in that group. I am blessed~

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