El Roble and CHS music

Wow, two concerts this week. On Tuesday I heard the CHS orchestra (along with Jazz Band, Concert Band and Color Guard) and tonight I attended the similar version at El Roble. I am always so happy to see my former students continuing and doing so well with their music. The El Roble Orchestra has 45 students, and I counted up only seven that I didn't already know.

So, yeah, I will continue to teach!

Singing on Pitch

As we start in earnest this week on preparing for Winter Sing, I have been looking at videos online to get ideas for choreography for some of the songs we're performing. While I have seen some very cute costuming and moves, I have noticed that the quality of singing leaves something to be desired with kids not distinguishing between singing and speaking voices. (Or even shouting voices.)

I have noticed, though, that my own students are not particularly good at listening and matching pitches. They start singing along when I am presenting the song for the first time. Then we stop and I have them close their eyes and break down the song into small sections, sometimes just two or three notes so that we can match the pitch. It improves immediately.

So, I will make sure to have the students practice pitch-matching before working on any choreography.

Student Musician

A new second grader has come to Vista, and after his first music 

class, he appeared in the music room after school with his mother
and her friend in tow. I asked him if he left something in the room
(someone is always forgetting something). Nope. He just wanted
his mom to meet me.

His mom said that he loves music, picks out tunes on the piano, etc.
He said he wants to learn to play violin, and I told him that he could
take lessons in school in 4th grade. I said that we do lots of pre-music
notation activities and she said, "J said that you did a little bit of theory, 

that's great!" Wow, a parent who knows to say music theory...

In the Form of A Shell

On Sept. 11, I wrote about a piece of music that that Claremont Concert Orchestra was going to perform. Here is a short clip from the dress rehearsal highlighting some of the diverse musical techniques of the piece. I wondered what the audience would think of it, and the applause sounded genuine and I asked some of my friends who heard it, and they said they liked it. So, it is possible to stretch our definition of music!

Alexander Technique

I have been meaning to write about the Alexander Technique lessons that I have been taking since April. I think I keep putting it off because there is so much to say. I had taken a workshop several years ago and noticed immediate benefits. I hadn't really realized that one takes a weekly lesson with a teacher for ease of overall body movement, but when my friend, Lynn, started taking lessons, she convinced me to start.

It has been an amazing journey. I have learned so many things from my lessons, and, after orchestra rehearsal last night, I realized that my back no longer really hurts on my right (bowing) side after playing through three movements of a symphony. I am also more fluid in the fast passages, although I am still working on playing faster.

One of the interesting things I've had a hard time allowing myself to do is to practice where I am not at all concerned about the quality of the sound, but about how my body movements feel. I have worked on making my left hand fingers go fast up and down the fingerboard (sloppy), or moving my bow quickly while fingers are relatively still. Then I put them together, and think about the arc of the music, or the direction. Of course, I still have to practice playing correct notes and rhythms, and I do that slowly and gradually increase my tempo. I figure that both approaches will meet in the middle.

It's been what seems like a long time getting to this point, and now I have a greater appreciation for my students who are learning to hold their instrument and play it for the first time. It is something that takes hours and hours of practice, and little by little, it comes along.

Signs of the Times

The other day I was lamenting to my husband that my students seem to need a personal invitation to show up for a class that they have registered for. Not only have they registered for beginning strings, they have requested a district instrument.

He confided that his first-year college students also seem to need such an invitation. Wow.

Here are the two main excuses I've heard.

"I didn't know when class started." Really, it was on at least two pages that we gave you (including the registration form you signed), and it's listed on the district website, and you could call the school, or ask someone, or something. You need to be PRO-ACTIVE for your own life, people!

"I didn't know if my kid was in." Um... ask. Also, make sure we have your correct contact information. We sent out an email to everyone as well as a phone call. Ball's in your court.

Normally, this is not as much of a problem for me, but this year I had 20 students sign up for beginning strings, and I do not have the energy, or inclination, to seek everyone out.

Busking

So, the school year is off and galloping, and music runs much of my life, so maybe I should get back to blogging about it.

Last night our Celtic Group, Drowsy Maggie, had a busking gig in the Claremont Village. I have put up a little video and some pics from the evening on the Drowsy Maggie Facebook page.

Pinterest

I've been using Pinterest to get ideas for my music classroom. I'm always looking for new things to keep me fresh. This week I used these two ideas from mrskingrocks.blogspot.com with my first and second graders, and they were a hit. I was thinking about going out and buying some swimming pool noodles to cut to make these "swords" for the kids, but then I realized that I can use Boomwhackers! This week I just had kids clap each other's hands for the steady beat, as well as march in place. Next week we'll do the same thing, but add the Boomwhackers. It'll be fun!

The dancing on the newspapers was great fun, and I joined with the kids since I chose pieces I liked, from Brahms Hungarian Dance #5 to Beach Boys Surfin' Safari.

Pablo Santiago Chin

Today I will be getting music for the Claremont Concert Orchestra's October concert. We already have Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony and have rehearsed it twice already.

This new piece has been commissioned for the CCO and is called In the Form of a Shell, composed by Pablo Santiago Chin, a Costa Rican composer who lives in Chicago. It will feature a flute soloist.

Right now I am listening to it, and I'll have to say that it is unlike anything I've ever played. Not unlike anything I've ever heard, but I have never played anything quite like it. It sounds quite improvisatory - without a steady beat, without a tonal center, with many different kinds of sounds (harmonics, harmonic glissandi, tone clusters, etc).

I know that listening to the work every day will certainly help me to get to know the piece. I certainly wonder what our audiences will think of it....

Theme for the New School Year

I always get excited at the beginning of a school year. Last year I was all gung-ho for learning every student's name, and I did okay, but this year I am going to do it better. I've already blogged about seating charts. I think I am going to go old-school on this one and have use post-its on paper inside folders.

Anyway, I think my theme for this year is IMPROVISATION. While I think it is important for kids to have note-reading basics, I really want them to work on creating their own music and feeling comfortable with it.

AOSA has a newly revamped website with a great little video on the homepage for anyone to see. (They also have videos online for AOSA members only.) This one is called "Scat, Sing, Ring-a-ding" with a great lesson for learning scat singing. I already have ideas about how to use this with recorders....

Recorder Haiku

A week ago the Village Pipers performed the recorder haiku that I composed at the North America Haiku Conference. Although I have videos of the six pieces, we will be performing them again this coming Sunday in Claremont, and I would like to have another chance to record them to choose the best of each. Then I plan to make a little movie (or several movies) and put them on youtube.

Stay tuned.

Seating Charts

I am thinking about new things that I want to do this coming year in my general music classes. Summer is a great time to let ideas roll around in your head. One thing that I have heard about that I have never done, and I know I should be doing, is to have seating charts for each class. These are what I think the advantages would be for me.

1. Getting to know all 300 kids' names. I know many names, but not all.
2. Students love to know what to expect and have some sort of routine. Knowing where to sit is the first thing that happens when they enter the room.
3. I could keep track of all kinds of information. Who got a turn, who needs a turn next time? Who should I call on? Who was absent last time? Who did a great job? Who acted out?
4. Teachers could assist me in letting me know who would sit best in what place (so they wouldn't aggravate their neighbor, or put the kid who needs help paying attention at the front or a kid who needs to be separated in the back near the classroom teacher).
5. I could have several seating charts per class - one for rows, one for circle.
6. I would like ways to create small groups from these seating charts.

Being a technology person, I would love to have an app that would work for me. I am starting a search for the best one for my purposes.

Summer Brain

This week I had two, count 'em, two students simply forget to come to their lessons. I think it was coincidence that they are my two viola students.... Summer brain....

Zip Code Boogie for Public Consumption

Nearly two years ago I sent my Zip Code Boogie to the American Recorder Society to see if they wanted to publish it in their newsletter. They seemed interested, and then I forgot about it. A few weeks ago I got an email from them and they said that it had risen to the top of the list and would come out in September. I got to see a preview of what it would look like, and I am pretty excited that some other groups may get to enjoy this little piece that the Village Pipers have had fun playing.

Recorder Haiku

I haven't posted for a little while, but I have been busy working on music. I have private students for the summer, I'm working on Celtic and Fiddle Music with Lynn, I'm playing recorder with the Village Pipers.

The Village Pipers is going to play at the Haiku North America Conference next month, and I have composed 5 very short pieces for our group based on the haiku of one of the musicians. This weekend my goal is to finish the final haiku so we'll have two sets of three. I rather like that idea since haiku generally has three lines in it, and symmetry pleases me.

Nuts and Bolts of Recorder Class

This is not a post of how to integrate Orff-Schulwerk into recorder class, nor what curriculum I use, but really, the housekeeping end of teaching recorders.

Right now I have 48 plastic recorders going through my dishwasher. It is the end of the school year and time to clean up so when I start to prepare for the fall, things will be ready to go.

First, I got the school to buy me recorders for the students. I chose the Bare Bones recorders from West Music for $2.25. These have the West logo on them, are 3-piece, and are similar to the Yamaha. The first year I assigned each student a recorder with a homemade strap (made of ribbon and small hair bands just like I learned in my Orff Level 1 class). I wrote the number on each recorder with a sharpie. I have to rewrite the numbers occasionally. I picked up some boxes used for wine and covered up the words on the outside with construction paper and a little sign that said "Room 10 Recorders". I put two recorders in each slot, and each slot has written the correct numbers on the cardboard.

So far, so good. However, that first year I let the students take these recorders home to practice if they wanted. Of course, there were always a few who forgot them on music class day, so I either had to have an old one around for them to use (and clean after), or they could play air recorder or use a pencil.

This was so frustrating that I finally figured out that these were the class set to stay at school. I offered the children a chance to buy their own recorder to keep at home for practice. I order the same recorders as we use in class, and the kids are so excited when the recorders come and they can take them home. After all, most of the kids can afford a $3 recorder. Of course, I order extra since some kids don't jump on the bandwagon at first and decide later they want their own recorder. I charge a little extra so that it can include shipping, and then with the extra money I can buy the materials for the straps and whatever else I need for recorder class.

Some kids use a recorder from an older sibling, or just happen to have one around the house anyway.

This has worked marvelously well. I have to replace straps most years, and occasionally I replace a recorder (one group of students left teeth marks on theirs - yuck, and I had to replace a whole bunch).

Claremont Folk Festival

I cannot believe that I have lived in Claremont for 27 years, and I have never before been to the Claremont Folk Festival. Thankfully, I rectified that on Saturday when I attended the festival for the first time. It was also the first time that the festival was held at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens. What a perfect venue for such a great event. I will be sure to go again.

For the uninitiated, the all-day festival features lots and lots of live music with two stages going. There are workshops from folk singing, drumming, ukulele, songwriting, didgeridoo, and arts. Various vendors sell interesting items and local food vendors have eats and drinks (including Claremont Craft Ales and Dale Brothers).

Here is Peter Harper playing at the Lily Pond Stage (plenty of shade for the audience).

 Here is a mosaic in process at the mosaic-making workshop.

People were enjoying monotype printing.

Kids were enjoying a puppet show.

Here is a "quilt" where people have written the name of a special song on an index card.

You could buy cool banjos and cigar-box ukuleles.

Many people were carrying around their own ukes.

Food vendors

Here is Moira Smiley and VOCO on the main stage. I really, really enjoyed this performance and came home to look them up on the internet. They have a TEDx talk that you can see here.

This group, Fivacious, was supposed to have a spot on one of the stages, but something went wrong, so they were strolling around the gardens and singing in various spots. I stopped for a listen, and they gave out CDs when they were done. They are a family of 5 siblings singing a capella gospel.

Music at BN.com

I was happy to receive a Barnes & Noble gift card for my birthday. Who wouldn't be? I decided to do a little armchair shopping yesterday and thought I would enjoy some music - wow, buying a CD or two!

And while I did end up with two CDs - soundtracks to Battlestar Galactica and O Brother, Where Art Thou? - I have some suggestions for BN.com that would compel me to use them more often.

1) What, no mp3s? Only CDs?
2) No previews as to what the tracks sound like? (I had to go to Amazon / iTunes Store for that).
3) The main page announced that there was a buy 2/get 1 CD/DVD offer, but it never really showed up anywhere else, no matter where I clicked
4) The music selection is not nearly as complete as other sites. Hmmm.

String Quartets For Weddings

It's wedding season again. A while ago I blogged about choices of music that brides made for their ceremony. Today I am thinking about what you get when you pay a group of musicians to set the right mood for your special day. Recently a bride asked me if we could give her a discount since she was "way over budget" for her wedding. (She is not a friend or even an acquaintance - I have actually never met this woman.) After I picked my jaw up off of the floor, I realized that people probably have no idea what it entails to perform in a wedding. It goes well beyond the 30 minutes before the wedding plus the ceremonial music.

You pay for:

• Spending time with the bride selecting the music for the ceremony
• Finding the sheet music (or arranging it which will require an extra fee - this takes a great deal of time)
• Rehearsing (probably an hour - we've played together before, but we might need to discuss and practice where we might end, depending upon how long it takes for certain things to happen)
• Transportation to and from the wedding. Even if the wedding is within 15 minutes, we like to carpool and we arrive early to set up and to make sure we don't get caught in traffic.
• And, of course, performing. Remember, it also took us many years to play at this level, so you are paying for our expertise.

Multiply this by 3 or 4, and we are into at least 10-12 hours. If a professional musician's time is worth $50-$100 and more per hour, then you get the idea why the price seems to be so much.

#ritenpr

Now that I am on summer vacation, lesson plan ideas are springing to mind. NPR had a contest for the 100th anniversary of the first performance of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. They asked readers to create a one-minute video of the final minute of the piece, and then NPR made a montage of their favorites.

The montage is great, the variety of entries inspiring. I especially enjoy the children's version, but I am thinking about showing my students a sampling of the versions for inspiration so that they can create their own movement to either that minute of music, or maybe another piece (Carmina Burana?).

Hymn Singing

This weekend I attended a church service in rural Kansas where my grandfather was minister of the Bergthal Mennonite Church in the 1950s. I love singing in a Mennonite community where bold four-part harmony comes easily and joyfully. I videoed the singing with the idea that I would use it as a soundtrack for a slideshow from the church service.

It reminded me of a paper I wrote for my anthropology class in college about the role of singing in three kinds of religious services: Appalachian, Kansas Baptist, and Mennonite. I wonder if I can find that paper and reread it to see what I think now....

Last Week of General Music

This is the last week of the school year for me. The money has run out, and even though there is still another month of school for the CUSD, music is ending. I am not at all sad since at this time of year, students are not coming to music with their full brains engaged. (This is an understatement.)

I have always tried to do different and fun things in the final weeks of music class, but my attempts to involve students in music-making fail. I have finally remembered this while I lesson plan, and this week we are watching movies! Well, you know, good movies. With the upper graders we watched The Sorcerer's Apprentice section of Fantasia and I had the kids write about various sections of the 10-minute video. The second-graders watched The Dance of the Hours and laughed and laughed.

The vast majority of the kids have not seen this movie, so it was fun to be able to introduce a part of it to them. We told one of the older classes that we couldn't show them the whole movie because some parts are "inappropriate" (I showed it to my own kids when they were young, so I don't find anything objectionable in it, but maybe some parents wouldn't want me to show them the sort-of nudity or the wine-making by Bacchus.). As soon as they heard there might be racy parts, they all wanted to know the name of the movie so they could go rent it.....

Improvisation

This morning at Women's Choir rehearsal, while waiting for more people to show up, we took advantage of the drums that were set up for the Sunday School lesson and had a mini drum circle. This stuff that we do with kids is also great for any age!

Star Light, Star Bright

This week I sang "Star light, star bright" with my first graders with the traditional sol-la-mi tune. Based on a lesson I learned from Donna Massello-Chiacos at an Inland Counties Chapter of AOSA last month. Some students played a simple bordun on C and G, some students played finger cymbals when we sang "star", others played triangles when we sang "wish" and the rest played shakers on the rhyming words. 

Songs for Multicultural Day

Every year at Vista, we have a Multicultural Day where each classroom, which has been studying a country (some years we've done biomes) for a month or so, sends its students "traveling" to two other countries and also attend a fun assembly. (We've had all kinds of great assemblies.)

At the end of this morning, we have a big parade around the school where each class carries the flag they've made, and we all end up in front of the outdoor stage where we sing three songs as a whole school. This is one of my favorite times of the year. I love it when I can see our whole school together.

We have a collection of songs we rotate through. Two favorites we are singing this year include Bandera del Sol and This Pretty Planet (see previous blog post about this.) When thinking about a third song, one of the teachers suggested This Land is Your Land. While I really like this song, I wanted one with a more global reach. Then it occurred to me to change the chorus a bit. This is what I have come up with.

This world is your world, this world is our world

From France and Chile to Macedonia 

From the Cayman Islands to the Nile River

This world was made for you and me.

Doug Goodkin on TedX

Through the Facebook page of the AOSA, Doug Goodkin altered us to a video of where he talks about the importance of music education, especially for children.

First he queries the audience and asks for a show of hands of how many are musicians. Then he asks how many consider themselves musical. His final question asks how many people enjoy music. Of course, with each successive question the number of hands increases until the final question when nearly 100% of the audience identifies. The question he then asks is, "what happened?"

He believes, as do I, that everyone is a musical being, and we all need the opportunity to be musicians, most importantly starting in early childhood.

The video is well worth your 15 minutes.

I have been privileged to have been to two Doug Goodkin workshops and feel as though I have been to church when the time is over.

Hanneke Cassel Trio

Due to Lynn's and my enjoyment of Celtic music, we went to hear the Hanneke Cassel Trio perform in a house concert last night in Altadena. From what I can gather on the internet, Cassel, a Scottish fiddler, plays with several different cellists and guitarists. Last night she played with Rushad Eggleston, a pretty crazy guy who doesn't use an endpin with his cello, but rather plays standing up with a strap like a guitar, or sitting down, gripping his instrument like a gamba.

Besides the high energy and plenty of original work and superb playing, I was struck, once again, how music is meant to be shared by taking what we hear and making it our own. And, of course, how it would be great to have the time/inclination to practice many hours a day....

Logo Winner

The logo I submitted for the contest was not the winner, but this one by some students was.

CCO Logo

Just before spring break, David Cubek, conductor for the Claremont Concert Orchestra, put out a challenge to us to create and submit a logo for our orchestra. I thought that would be fun, so here is what I submitted. 

I took my inspiration from Garrison Theater where we rehearse and perform.

Professor Cubek is seeking ways in which to promote our orchestra, and as I looked on the internet just now, I viewed our official webpage, where you can hear excerpts of past performances, and this youtube video of our performance of In the Hall of the Mountain King by Grieg. 

Drowsy Maggie on St. Paddy's Eve

Drowsy Maggie, our Celtic duo, had a last-minute gig at Dale Brothers Brewery last night. We were invited by the Sons of Claremont to join them in playing Irish music for Shameless Saturday which was also a fund-raiser for the Claremont Folk Music Festival which will be June 15. 

I've never played in a brewery before, but with our pay being free Pomona Queen beer and food from Hillbilly Tacos, I would consider doing it again. After all, our audience could only get happier the more we played and the more beer they drank.

I rarely smile when I play, even when I'm having fun....

Students, students. Shhhhh....!

I should also say that not everything that pops into your head needs to be spoken aloud in class. Have students always talked so much, or is it just worse these days?

My Paddle Video

I know that Yahoo employees are unhappy about the new requirements of having to actually go to work, but I know that productivity and creativity increases when you actually have conversations with people. (This means actual conversations and not texting/emailing/FB'ing, etc.)

Case in point. I was sitting in the lunch room this week talking to the third grade teachers. One said that he had updated some information on his classroom webpage, and it occurred to me that I could reach some of the parents and students of his class that way. I could make little recorder videos to help students practice at home.

At first I thought I could make a demo video of me playing various pieces on the recorder, but then I thought that the students should be able to see the notes, as well. I know that there are probably sophisticated ways to animate the music as it rolls by, and I know that I couldn't do that today. Or even tomorrow.

Then I realized that in the Sibelius program, the cursor moves over the notes as they are played. I wondered if I could take a video screenshot of that, and after a little googling, I discovered that I certainly could with Quicktime. I had a little trouble getting the audio figured out, but the help in Quicktime set me straight, and after some trial and error (and about 8 aborted attempts), this is what I came up with. A first pass, for sure, but I am imagining all the possibilities!

Keeping Track of Technology

So, when my iPod nano suddenly turned off yesterday and would not reboot, I started thinking about what I would do to (quickly) replace it. Thank goodness my husband got it up and running again keeping all of my data intact.

This got me to thinking how I would know what to put on a new iPod so I would have all of my trusted  mp3s when I needed them. I especially use the music for my recorder class, and I have lots of homemade backtracks. I have all the original mp3s on my desktop (I learned that lesson long ago).

This morning I plugged in my iPod into my computer and took screen shots of all the important playlists for reference. Of course, I hope I never had to use them, but now I feel better knowing that the information is at hand.

Viola Strings

I thought it might be time to change my viola strings when some of the low sections of the orchestra music were playing sounded a little too gravelly while trying to be quiet. I tried a different kind of string from Tomastik - the Superflexible variety which are only $60 for a set. They sound brighter than the Dominants, but I am still getting the gravelly sound on the C string in the piano sections. I am trying different bowing techniques, and perhaps I will hit upon one that will do the trick. These particular strings have stayed in tune pretty well since putting them on - one reason I like the a manmade core.

Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Celtic

Lynn and I have been playing Celtic music for violin and cello for about 4 1/2 years now. We love listening to and trying to emulate Natalie Haas and Alasdair Fraser. After the Bluegrass concert last week, Lynn and I are thinking about expanding our repertoire to include Bluegrass and Old-Time music and perhaps see if we can add some vocals, too.

This has got me working on an arrangement for us of The Storms Are On the Ocean, an old Carter Family tune, performed in this youtube video with Raymond McLain.

Bluegrass

One of the best grades I got in college was from a half-course on Bluegrass music. It was a course designed for non-majors, but I was so taken with the McLain Family Band when they came to Carleton to perform and record Phil Rhodes' Concerto for Bluegrass Band and Orchestra that I had to take the class.

Last night Pomona College hosted a Bluegrass and Old-Time Music concert with resident professor Joti Rockwell and guests Richard Greene and Tom Sauber. Little Bridges was pretty full with an enthusiastic crowd, and even though I was tired, I'm glad I made the effort to go to the concert.

Being at the concert has revived my memories and interest in the McLains, so I started doing a little looking on the internet, and Ruth McLain Smith has a youtube channel with some videos of the family (loving that 1980s hair...) Some of their recording are archived and accessible here.

Composition Competition

Last fall I learned about a composition competition for the Washington Recorder Society. I thought this would be a good opportunity to work on an original composition for recorder ensemble. Knowing that the deadline would be Feb. 1, 2013, I knew I had time to come up with something.

I have slowly been working on two pieces for four recorders. One is a revamped piece I wrote for string orchestra called Minor Fantasy, and one is completely new which I named From the Sea. My working title for the latter was Dorian since I wrote this minimalist piece in the dorian mode. I knew that wasn't a great title, so today I hunted around on the internet for a little bit and found in two places that Dorian can mean "from the sea" or "gift from the sea".

These pieces are supposed to be 4-6 minutes long for an upper intermediate group. I am not sure what level that is, and I have no illusions of winning any prize, but at least I now have two original compositions that I did not have last fall. Thank goodness for deadlines!

Extending Lessons

I don't get to see my general music students very much. I get each 4th-6th grade class once every two weeks for 45 minutes (which ends up being closer to 35-40 minutes). I used to think that I should cover as much territory as possible, so I came up with a different thing to cover each lesson. I have come to realize that it is far better to learn one concept very well, attacking it from various different directions each time.

Now we are working on meter. Last session we sang Frere Jacques to various meters 2/4, 6/8, 3/4, 4/4 and then 5/4. This session we will be playing a bordun for the song in the various meters, starting with body percussion. Then we'll be moving on to lessons from Randy and Jeff's Gameplan Grade 5 which address 5/4 and mixed meter.

Throw in singing some Beatles songs (many of my students are unfamiliar with this iconic group), and I think we'll have some good times in music class for the next few months.

Playing Music

I love the fact that we don't call what we do as "work music" but rather, "play music." I know that actually making music takes a great deal of discipline and practice, but the goals are to actually play.  Over winter break one of my self-assigned tasks was to watch a few TED talks that I had heard about. Normally I find out about these talks but don't have 30 minutes at that time to watch, and then I forget about them. This time I wrote them down and the first one on my list was a talk about play by Stuart Brown. You can watch the video here. (I had a hard time with streaming from the TED site, so I hit the download button at the bottom of the video and watched it that way.)

I would love to work on ways in which to get my students to play more in music class. Of course, I have basic skills I need to teach them in order for them to have some kind of music vocabulary with which to play, and since I only see them once a week or so, this is tricky. Now I need to find a TED talk about incorporating play into the classroom. Anyone?