Music and Songs about Rain

I really do like rainy days & nights, and similarly many of my favorite songs are "Songs about Rain." "Rainy Days and Mondays" don't really get me down, but this Monday Mobile, AL weather just has me thinking of them, so... "I'm just singing in the rain"...
Some of my favorites:

"Music is what feeling sounds like"

   “When the music changes, so does the dance” ~African Proverb

"Music is an outburst of soul." ~Frederick Delius

A painter paints pictures on canvas.  But musicians paint their pictures on silence.  ~Leopold Stokowski

Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.  ~Confucius

Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life.  ~Ludwig van Beethoven

Music is the shorthand of emotion.  ~Leo Tolstoy

"Music profoundly affects my mood." ~Paige Vitulli 

How to be an Explorer of the World: Portable Art/Life Museum

"At any given moment, no matter where you are, there are hundreds of things around you that are interesting and worth documenting." -Keri Smith
"Ethnography, N. The documentation and analysis of a particular culture through field research."

As I think about stopping to smell the roses, and promoting the observation skills of artists and scientists, I am reminded of this COOL book. 
HOW TO BE AN EXPLORER OF THE WORLD
Here are some of my favorites you might want to consider personally and as a springboard for learning:

• Inspire students to: Observe, Collect, Analyze, Compare, and Notice patterns."LIFE IS A SCAVENGER HUNT"
• Write 10 things about where you are sitting RIGHT NOW that you hadn't noticed when you sat down. Use your senses. Do it quickly. Do not censor. Okay, begin.
• WORLD of COLOR: Collect paint chips from a paint or hardware store. Find colors you respond to in the world. Attempt to match them using the chips.
• CONSUMER: Record everything you consume OR everything you purchase in one day/week.
• WATER: Study and document shapes made by water. Find as many as you can. Research shapes made by water. come up with new ones.
• Now I will do nothing but LISTEN. "I hear all sounds running together, combined, fused, or following, sounds of the city, and sounds out of the city - sounds of the day and night. -Walt Whitman. Collect objects based on their sounds.
• FOOD as ART: Prepare a meal paying close attention to all the details. Document the process in some form. Incorporate ALL the senses in your process. Share the meal with someone.

I also found a nice (and more detailed) post you should check out about the book by GeekDad

So many ideas...this is a creative, cross-curricula book for parents, educators, and those who just want to notice and appreciate/learn from their environment. I highly recommend it.

Should Teachers Tweet?

An editorial in the Mobile, AL Press-Register got my attention Friday: Should Teachers Tweet? 

This editorial demanded my attention for a multitude of reasons: 

• I teacher preservice teachers: elementary education majors, as well as inservice teachers: graduate students.
• I'm a parent and aunt of children in the Mobile County Public School System.
• I am an avid Tweeter @pvbaggett and proclaim quite often that it is my #1 professional development resource with the disclaimer that it is all in who you follow.
• This semester I am requiring my students to explore Twitter by registering and at least following me (and others I designated as tweet-worthy). I want our future teachers to walk a mile (or at least a few steps) in the shoes before they judge...which is a practice I personally try to uphold.

Please read (or re-read) the editiorial and share your thoughts...