Back to School!

I am back from Finland and the International Music Village! What an amazing experience!  I toured around Helsinki for 4 days before the Music Village began and then hopped on a bus for 4 hours with music teachers from Russia, Croatia, Finland, Georgia, Spain, Italy, Singapore, Australia, Poland, Austria, and many other countries.  The accents and languages were so fun to listen to and the enthusiasm and energy was infectious.  Then we began making music, dancing, and singing together and it so difficult to describe the joy, excitement, and thrill of the experiences I had!  Here is a picture of our wonderful group from all over the world!

This is my last week of summer break and I am so glad I have this time to begin to process the experience!  I am at school a little this week to get my room ready and begin the process of everything "back to school". 
Plans?  The first couple of weeks I have several things I do - especially name games and songs!  For some reason, I have a difficult time remembering names, which is a little tricky for us music teachers who usually have between 300-1000 students names to remember!  So, for me, I need to remember all the returning students and learn the new children's names!  Last year I posted the "Ultimate List" of name games and songs.  Check it out here!

Hope you have a great start to the school year!  Be sure to follow the blog on facebook - @ofortunaorff where I post videos and extras!  

Happy beginning of school!