Spring Break in DC!

This year, my spring break started early as my friend Stephanie & I traveled to DC for the National Kodaly conference! When we finished our final level of Kodaly training last summer, we decided that we should "reward" ourselves for our hours & hours of hard work by attending the national conference. It ended up being an awesome experience! We went to many wonderful sessions full of great ideas on implementing the Kodaly philosophy into our classrooms...and though it's never fun to go back to school after spring break, I am glad for all the new ideas I have to bring back! Stephanie & I stayed at an absolutely adorable bed & breakfast in the DC area. Our favorite part of this cute place was the delicious breakfast! We were also able to play a few late-night games of Scrabble!
Deb, my sweet friend from Taylor, lives in the Baltimore area, and she picked me up for lunch one day during the conference. We hadn't seen each other for 4 years! Our few hours together were packed with lots of laughs and catching up!
For those of you who know me well, you are familiar with my two greatest fears: heights & escalators. During this trip, I was "privileged" to face those fears together in the escalator that took us down to the Metro. When I first saw how tall & steep the escalator was, I really didn't think I would be able to make it, especially since I had to lug my huge suitcase behind me. But...I'm proud to say that I became comfortable enough with it that I was able to run down the escalator (suitcase in tow!) to catch the Metro on the last day of my trip--yikes!!! Once our conference was done, Stephanie & I spent Sunday at the Museum of American History & the Holocaust Memorial Museum. There was a great display on the First Ladies at the Museum of American History. We also saw Lincoln's stovepipe hat, Dorothy's red shoes from "The Wizard of Oz," and Julia Child's recreated kitchen! While extremely emotional, the Holocaust Museum was also incredible. I was amazed at the depth of the displays, and I definitely left with my heart hurting.

The second part of my trip to DC was spent with my dear friend Nicole! She & Beckett came to Texas last year on my spring break, and I am so glad that I was able to visit them now that they live in the DC area. We spent lots of time talking, eating great food, shopping, & playing with Beckett. We also toured the Capitol on Wednesday morning before I flew home. I am so thankful for sweet friendships that stay strong, even when living so far apart.

Kodaly Conquered!

I have spent the last 3 weeks in all-day class at UNT taking my Level III Kodaly certification. Kodaly is a method of teaching music based on the philosophy of Zoltan Kodaly, a Hungarian musician, composer, and teacher.

My day was divided into conducting, musicianship (solfege), pedagogy, & folk music courses. Our conducting & solfege teacher was Lenci Igo, a Hungarian music professor who comes to America each summer to teach in Kodaly programs around the country. Trust me: there is nothing quite like 4 hours of solfege class each morning with a true Hungarian--yikes! I have learned so much as both a musician & teacher through my three summers of Kodaly courses, and it is somewhat bittersweet to think that I am now done with all my Kodaly certification. Now, the next step is to see the Kodaly program in action at its birthplace--Hungary!

This is a picture of the Level III class along with Lenci at our final concert.

This is the Level III group with our American instructors at our banquet on Thurday.