I can’t believe it’s been a year since my last post, and I apologize sincerely for waiting so long to post again. Please forgive me.
But what a year it has been! I had the chance last year to explore many new experiences, and I’ll share a few with you as I begin my second year as the Music teacher for my campus.
Let’s start out with what I started out with. A box of 30 pairs of rhythm sticks in pretty rough condition, a plastic bin of about 50 cheap plastic novelty tambourines, a small set of basic elementary handheld percussion instruments, 3 sets of preschool music kits, and that’s pretty much it.
Through donations, purchase orders, creativity, and a lot of schmoozing, I managed to procure more instruments. I’m still building a collection, but so far we have quite a few. Pictured below are my handmade “TicTac Maracas”, generously donated Boomwhackers, and the lovely digital piano purchased by the district. There’s also the Orff instruments behind the piano.
Perhaps the best event of the year, however, was TMEA. The Texas Music Educator Association holds its annual convention every February in San Antonio. I spent this amazing week exploring music vendors, attending clinics, and listening to some of the best student performances Texas has to offer. I even got to meet Quaver!
By the end of the school year, over 700 students gained at least a functional understanding of the foundations of music. The secondary campus band director is quite grateful that her incoming 7th graders will at least understand the concepts of rhythm, beat, and basic notation.
I’m excited to start another year, and can’t wait to introduce recorders to my older students!
And I promise I’ll try to post more often!
Anna Sparkman 