It's the end of the first day of school and I'm at home g-chatting with my long-distance boyfriend instead of having our daily phone call. Why? Because my voice is completely shot.
I had been longing for the moment my first class of 5th graders (every single one a familiar and enthusiastic face from the year before) stepped foot in my classroom after a long summer without kid interactions. I was so excited that before I new it, my greetings were louder, my singing and dancing were distractedly under-supported, and my instructions/explanations became longer to add on-the-spot jokes that seemed too cleaver to pass-up. 1.5 hours later and 3 classes down, my "smart-ones mac n' cheese" was ready to be microwaved and all I wanted was a nap and a throat losenge.
I tried to plan accordingly. I knew I was out of the habit of singing in my middle range ALL day long, while at the same time dancing, and dealing with loud rambunctious behaviors that come out of nowhere. I was very intentional about focusing on movement, and trying to have as much non-verbal "doing" and "playing" as possible. But even with the one song I planned, and teaching chants and things in such a way that students wouldn't need to rely on my voice and could take over, it was still just plain exhausting.
And honestly, would it really have been better to sit there and talk about my "expectations" and "what do we want to get out of the year?" and "let's map out our class contract... how do we want music class to feel?" That would have been a lot of talking on my part, too!
I know I also need to get back into those better school-year habbits: more water, less coffee (caffinated tea instead), lots of sleep, exercising, good foods, etc. But in the fast-paced "flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" climate that IS the beginning of the school year, how do you honestly prioritize all that?!
So... I'd LOVE tips/suggestions. Even if all anybody says is "yeah... that's just life. suck it up."
Yay, Katie! Hurray beginning of school! You know how to take care of your voice, so that's the the problem. I think that after being back into the routine of singing everyday, talking loudly, etc., it will be fine. But also remember that there are lots of germs that you're being re-introduced to after a long summer... so be careful. I got a really nasty flu on the 2nd day of school this year!! Take it easy, use all of the wonderful Envoy tips that you can, and drink water all day long. I think the first day is usually the worst, and it'll be better.
ReplyDeleteSo I won't say just suck it up... but I'm not sure what other tips to give you. :) You have done it before, and you can do it again! Don't worry too much. :)
-Kate and liz