The Other Teachers Hate Me

And with good reason.

Today we covered sound. I thought the best way to do this would be to make noise making things. However, since I'm still a young'n, a fresh-faced rather sophomoric teacher, I did not anticipate what sort of problem giving 90 kids noise making toys would create. And these weren't soft, clacking things. They were loud, roaring things.

One thing we made was a straw oboe. You cut the end of the straw off into an isosceles triangle, producing two triangular tabs, simulating an oboe reed. You blow on it, and it makes noise that sounds very much like what a bassoon reed alone sound like.

Pair this with another noise maker, and I was just asking for it. We made what's called a Screaming Cup (I should have been warned by the fact that it's called a Screaming Cup).

Ah, what a horrible cacophony today was. And some of the teachers weren't happy. But the kids had fun, I got paid, and no one died. And in all honesty, that's all that really matters.

Here's today's shirt pocket:

I've learned that if I leave anything out (i.e. not in my shirt pocket) the kids will take it and waste it. That's why I have: a packet of about 60 yellow straws, a pen, a pair of scissors, a packet of a balloons, A Nature Valley Oat and Honey granola bar, A Chex Mix Granola bar, and my ID.

I'm doing the sound unit with the rest of the kids today. I'd also like to do a Mythbusters-esque unit with the older kids, which we would start planning for today. We'll see how it goes. As usual.