No More Jury Duty
So, I head out of my home today to go to the assembly (which I don't think we should be doing, but no one asked me, so here we go) and then get ready for washing dishes at the Holiday Dinner on Friday. I am tired already and this is just going on top of everything else.
Yesterday's music therapy groups went better than I expected. I was quite surprised to see that the student who usually disrupts my groups on Tuesdays did all the things that I asked without protest yesterday. It was a great change and something that really just energized me more than the sessions where this student struggles. The same student asked me last Wednesday why the group didn't get to play guitars, and seemed confused when I reminded the student that listening, safety, and responsibility were things that the student did not display on a regular basis in the music therapy session. I am trying really hard to figure out what is going on during Tuesdays that affects this student so much - it doesn't seem to be music therapy related, but I certainly have to deal with the situations more than others seem to. Yet, on Wednesdays, the student engages appropriately and seems to really enjoy music therapy. Tuesdays are a completely different thing. Several people think that the student has auditory sensitivity issues, but why would they only be present on Tuesdays? That does not seem to be sensitivity to me, that seems to be a Tuesday-specific situation - one that I am not aware of but that affects my treatment of the entire group.
Yesterday's groups went well, though. We played Holiday BINGO where I improvised cues and clues for the BINGO game. When we had a stocking, I sang a bit of Jolly Old St. Nicholas. Most of the symbols on the game that I have do not have typical holiday songs associated, so I improvised. Some of my students get it - others do not. At the end of the BINGO game, everyone gets Blackout, so everyone gets some stickers. The ones that do not pay attention to their boards get one sheet of stickers - those that play the way they are supposed to get two sheet of stickers. I always keep some Dollar Tree sticker packs in my therapy space for just this type of occasion. I can get many sticker sheets by cutting out specific sticker configurations and the entire thing only costs me a dollar! That's my kind of reward - something that is non-edible, trendy, inexpensive, and desirable by my clients.
After my successful day, I went over to the apartment to throw away the rest of the stuff that the movers did not move and to vacuum everything. I will go over again to clean the linoleum and to clean the bathrooms. Once those things are finished, the apartment will be ready for carpet cleaning and check-out. I am looking forward to being out of that address. It had some great memories, but also lots of challenging ones. I am ready to move on.
Today is a three group day. It would usually be a five group day, but we have an assembly during two of my groups - unfortunately, it is two of my best responding groups, so I will be missing out on those groups of clients, but we are going to have some entertainment, so there's that. I am very uncomfortable with the thought of all of our clients and staff members sitting in the same space, but my administrators are not uncomfortable, so there's that.
My principal came in for another observation and managed to arrive in the middle of a session rather than during the opening TME. This is a change. I have now been observed by the principal twice this year. This has never happened before. Usually the principal (the other ones) would arrive once every three years as required by my school district. This principal is actually doing the job the way it is defined - being in my room at least every quarter. I like this. I want my supervisor to be seeing what I do with students on a regular basis because there is no way to move from attitudes of "music serves to give the teacher some planning time" (old attitudes) towards "music therapy assists our clients to be primed for learning experiences" which is my ultimate goal. We're not quite there yet, but at least this principal is making an effort towards being present in sessions.
So, I have a week left of work before break. Mom and Kelly arrive late Saturday/early Sunday to spend a week with me. Before that, their beds will be delivered, and I have to move more boxes from one place to another. I am hoping that Mom and Kelly will find me a kitchen table and some squishy chairs to fill up my living room. They will have to keep themselves entertained for two days while I finish up my work before break, but they are more than capable of doing this! They will have a car, money to spend, and rooms to decorate, so they should be able to keep themselves busy. My sister has a list of food that she wants to eat while she is here (things that I like as well, so that's great), and we have some friends that we want to see. I am hoping that everything will come together easily. Before I greet them, I have more box emptying to do and kitchen stuff to arrange and shelf liner to use to line the shelves. My Mom expects shelf liner - without it, a kitchen is not ready!
Before all that, though, there are two more days of music therapy for this week. We are going to be using the DropMix system and my musical toys to explore ways we can make music. I am hoping that my students are receptive to the things that I can offer to them. This will be our session format for next week as well since the groups that I see on Monday and Tuesday are the same groups that I am missing this week for various reasons. So, no need for another session strategy! Hooray!!
It is time to dress in my pajamas for cozy day and get some shelf paper into cabinets upstairs before I leave for work. It is a windy day - we are expecting gusts up to 70 miles per hour tonight. Students will be scattered - we get a bit crabby when the barometric pressure changes significantly. Add in a bunch of dancing middle school girls and boys, and this will an interesting day.
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