The Beauty of the Unexpected

A few years ago, I was teaching a class of 1st graders. It was time for my annual tradition of using the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day as a comprehensive experience with singing, xylophone playing, story and movement. In the story, the title character keeps saying that he's going to Australia. I latched onto this recurring statement as an opportunity to use a song about Australia for movement. After all, 1st graders can't sit still at xylophones for too long and this was a perfect way to get them up and moving before the next section of the story. By the time this particular class came for music, I had been teaching this unit for several years and, as much fun as it was, I had become rather routine. My process was very practiced. I knew what pitfalls to expect and which mistakes to correct before they happened. But if Orff has taught me anything, it has taught me that the best moments are those that are unplanned.

So, off we went to Australia. The students stood up and began pretending to drive their little cars around to the music and then I noticed a student who was sort of, um, stuck. She wasn't hurt. No one had bumped into her. She was just walking in place in front of one of the stacks of chairs in the back of the classroom. At the soonest possible moment, I walked over to her and asked if she was okay. Her reply: "I'm parked." I smiled, keeping a little laugh to myself, and continued on with the lesson. The recording stopped, we went back to the xylophones and the story continued. The next time we went off to Australia, the same girl was joined in the "parking lot" by a boy next to her at another stack of chairs. My smile broadened but then I noticed something that sent me over the edge. Another girl was doing all of the movements, but instead of walking on her feet like everyone else, she was walking on her knees. Again, I had to find out the impulse behind her actions. When asked, she replied, "I have a flat tire."

These students are now in fourth grade and, I have to tell you, they are still a treat to teach. They love to sing, are generally kind to each other, and truly enjoy learning and creating. Whoever placed fourth grade after the often frustrating fifth graders in the schedule created the perfect remedy to keep me going near the end of a long teaching day.

 

P.S. Don't forget to visit my store at Teachers Pay Teachers.