When the music teacher finally showed up, Ms. Bondy, I knew we'd hit it off. She's such an amazing Christian woman, I see exactly why Mr. Robbins said I'd enjoy studying under her. I thought she looked a bit familiar and I couldn't figure out why. Through talking to her during the week though, I figured out that we actually were in a play together last summer. I in the show and her in the pit band. Turns out that we both have a love of community theater.
The first and second day, I mostly just watched her in action. She truly cares about the kids and will always say hi to them in the hall. Each of the kids truly sees her class as fun and are always willing to learn. I spent the day just watching how she controlled the kids and taught them things I confess I didn't even know. (Ask me how old Sergei Prokofiev was when he died now!) She taught me that they can remember and retain a lot more than I thought they could. Also, I observed how absolutely ADORABLY CUTE little K5-2nd graders are :)
The third day, I got there a little early. I was just hanging out in the music room when I could hear Ms. Bondy talking to a student out in the hallway, Morgan. She brought Morgan into the room and mentioned she could organize the bookcase if she'd like. She saw me in the room and explained to me that she was here early and asked if there was anything Ms. Bondy needed done. Once Morgan was done cleaning (which honestly took like 2 minutes), she sat down on the risers kind of close to me. She looked extremely bored and I was just kind of doodling in a notebook, so I asked if she knew how to play the piano. When she said she didn't, I invited her to come join me. I told her to sit down next to me and watch what I do. I then taught her how to play Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater. (Its a cute little tune only using 5 notes) Her face beamed with pride when she was able to play it completely back to me. I don't think words can describe the feelings you get when a little 3rd grader discovers a love for music. She was so excited that I taught her another two songs before she left to go to her own classroom. She gave me a hug before she left that just melted my heart. Later, talking to Ms. Bondy, it turns out that she lives with her dad, her mom's not in the picture. I honestly hope I helped her that day or made some sort of difference. Ms. Bondy said she could tell I did already just by the fact that I paid attention to her, even for that small amount of the day. (She also mentioned I'd be very good at teaching beginner piano lessons, and that if I charged a dollar or two less than others, I'd probably make a killing over the summer. Note to self: Definitely think about this!)
That afternoon, Morgan's class came in for music. I had never seen her so attentive. She was paying attention to everything. She politely asked if she could play the songs she had learned for the class. The classmates were all excited to hear her. (I could tell she had been talking about it during the day.) The last five minutes of class, she played her songs. She played them almost perfectly, which is good, because I was nervous for her. It felt like it was my own "mini-recital." After that, there was time enough for me to play a quick song before they left. I played this jazzy song that the kids loved, claiming it sounded like a song off of Mario. haha. Morgan asked me if I'd teach her again the next morning. Unfortunately, I had to say I couldn't because we teach at a different school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, but to keep checking in. Now I just have to go learn some more easy songs to teach her!
The end of the week was a lot easier. There was a late start on Thursday, and the teacher called me telling not to go to Roosevelt and just meet her at Riverside that afternoon. I got to the office, to check in as normal, and the secretary told me that she had Ms. Bondy on the line. She handed the phone to me and I was soon informed that she was stuck in a drift down the street from her house. She was fine, but there was no way she was getting to school in time. (The tow truck got stuck too!) After she had talked to the principal, he invited me into his office. (Let me just say it was really weird feeling like I was in trouble in the principal's office.) He told me that he wasn't going to leave me to teach the music class alone so they were just going to cancel it for the day. He still wanted me to get the credit though, so he had me do a bunch of tasks all afternoon. This involved LOTS of copying. (Let's just say me and the copier are best buds now.) He also let me go half an hour early because he wanted me to beat all the traffic home. (This was the day that the record lows hit and windchill was horrible) Friday, school was cancelled. Yay! Snow days rock :)
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