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Keeping Your Sense of Humor at the End of the School Year!

The final weeks of school are always difficult. The weather is nice, and most students have their minds on summer activities, not school work! Okay, let’s be honest, that applies to teachers and staff too! So how do you keep your sense of humor and not turn into a grouchy teacher? The answer is to […]

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How to Be Organized on a Busy Teaching Schedule!

Teaching school is a very demanding job. Teachers live by the bell and are on the run from morning to evening – grading papers, extra-curricular activities, and keeping kids focused. So, how do you keep your life organized when you feel like a gerbil on a wheel? Here are some things that I try to […]

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“What’s Up Lincoln? ” Podcast

Our school podcast “What’s Up Lincoln?” has just uploaded the fourth podcast on our school website with a fifth being edited and hopefully uploaded within the week.  If you would like the hear the podcasts, please follow this link. You will find the podcasts under students – Trojan Radio. Our podcast topics so far are… Tongue […]

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We Love Instruments!

Each year in the spring I teach a unit about the Instrument Families. It is the perfect time of year to introduce the instruments, especially since the fifth grade is preparing to transition into band or orchestra at middle school in the Fall. Our local band and orchestra teachers visit my fifth grade classes during […]

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Problem Solving

  Problems – we all have them!  The important thing is learning how to work through our problems and take steps to solve them. Each school year, I spend two weeks in my classroom singing and discussing the super power word “Problem Solving”. At the beginning of music class, we sing the song “Problem Solving” […]

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Music Brings the World Together

The Lotus Arts and Education Foundation from Bloomington, Indiana brings music and the talents of many artist from all around the world to our local communities and schools. The Lotus Foundation was established in 1994 and is named in part to honor Indiana musician Quinten Lotus Dickey. The mission of Lotus is “to create opportunities […]

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You Know You’re In Japan When…

My husband and I are visiting our oldest daughter Bethany and her husband Tomo in Japan during my spring break. Bethany has lived in Tokyo for three and a half years. We enjoy all the different cultural things to see and do while in Tokyo. Japan has such a huge selection of places to go […]

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The Podcast Project – Episode 1

Our podcast group from Lincoln Elementary “What’s Up Lincoln?” has officially posted its first podcast on Trojan radio at Lincoln Elementary School’s website under the student tab. If you would like to hear the podcast please follow this link. This podcast is about tongue twisters. The children had a lot of fun trying to say the […]

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Read Across America – The Dr. Seuss Legacy

Every March 1st, schools across country celebrate “Read Across America Day”! We are celebrating the creative writer of children’s books, Theodore Seuss Gisel, a.k.a Dr. Seuss. Theodore was born in 1904 and died in 1991 at the age of 87. Theodore, better know as “Ted” to his friends, was a magazine cartoonist who officially took […]

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Do You Stay in Your Comfort Zone?

Ah, isn’t it nice to feel comfortable in doing what you do on a daily basis? I think we all enjoy feeling like we have accomplished a certain level of expertise in our lives – teaching, cooking, sewing, playing an instrument, or whatever your gifted area is. I’m a music teacher and have grown up […]

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Valentine’s Day Fun!

Valentines Day is such a fun holiday! I have fond memories of decorating a little brown paper bag with hearts and flowers to hold valentines that I would receive from my classmates. I also love the heart-shaped candy and Valentine party that I anticipated with great joy with my classmates! Valentine’s day is the best […]

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Podcast Progress

Since the beginning of the year, my Lincoln Elementary students and I have met two times to work on the podcast I talked about starting on the first of January. One of our classes was cancelled due to the snowy, icy winter weather we are experiencing in Indiana. It has been a bit of a […]