Hi! I have teamed up with several music blogger friends for a blog hop! We’re collaborating as bloggers to bring you music education ideas using a variety of methodologies and approaches. However, before we dive into music education topics, we thought it would be fun to “hop around” a bit and introduce ourselves!

 

How will this blog hop benefit you?

 

1. Getting to Know You
  • We want a chance to get to know you! Understanding our current and past experiences helps us to form stronger professional learning communities, and we’d love for you to be a part of it!
2. Giveaway
  • After you’re finished with the hop, you can enter a giveaway for your chance to win lots of teacher goodies that are sure to make you smile! Simply leave a comment on this post with an answer to the highlighted question at the bottom of this post. Then, do the same at each blog hop stop. When you reach the end of the blog hop, you’ll be able to enter the giveaway for your chance to win!
    And the winner is…LAUREN DANLOE!!!


What state/region you are in?

I am a true midwestern girl!  Born and raised in Michigan – I’ve done quite a bit of traveling in my lifetime.  I’ve lived in Hawaii, Texas and Pennsylvania and have traveled the world, but I always come home to Michigan.  A true Michigander will show you where we live by pointing to our hand (Michigan as known as the “mitten state”).  I live and teach in Farmington, a suburb of Detroit.  Note: that is not my actual hand.

 



What is your background education/experience?
My story to education is an odd one.  I completed my bachelor’s degree in flute performance from Michigan State University. I tried hard to be an education major as an undergrad but what I observed didn’t speak to me.  I didn’t know how I wanted to teach, but I knew how I didn’t want to teach.  Nothing inspired me until I took a 3-credit elective in early childhood music the last semester of my senior year.  Little did I know how that experience would change my life.  I loved early childhood music so much that I dropped out of my master’s program two weeks before school started and enrolled in a teacher certification program at the University of Houston.  A few year’s later, I completed a master’s degree in music education from Temple University.  In addition to my degrees, I hold certifications in Music Learning Theory and Orff and teach MLT levels in both early childhood and elementary general music.

 



What kind of music do I listen to in my spare time?

The right answer would be that I “love classical music” but the truth is I am a Dave Matthews Band girl through and through.  I’ve been a fan for 20+ years.  Love them!  Love their music (seriously, who has a woodwind specialist in their band?)  Love the improv.  Love the never-ending jams.  Love the quirkiness of Dave himself.  Love it all!  I once read a quote from Dave that said as he was creating his band, he “surrounded himself with musicians that were better himself.”  I love that he had a vision for the band, but part of that vision was growing and improving himself musically.  I see them in concert whenever possible and to this day, their songs rank #1 in my Top 25 on iTunes.

 

 

 

So what kind of music do you listen to in your spare time?
 

After you’ve commented with your answer to the question above, simply click on the image below to visit Mark at Musical Gems!