For those of you who know me, I dedicate a lot of my after-school time at The Urban Impact Foundation which happens to be located in the Northside of Pittsburgh. I may be a bit biased, but I do not believe there is a more beautiful organization out there helping students grow. I have met the most unique individuals through this volunteering experience the past few years. I think it is safe to say that The Music Department at this foundation is my second family. This is now my third year volunteering, and it has truly been neat to see my students grow from young elementary students to middle school students and even high school students. Even more so, it is always neat to receive new elementary students who are excited to learn a new instruments and use their talents to change the world. 

On Wednesday, it was our first day back in quite some time due to snow delays as well as Holiday break. I was laughing to myself because as I was teaching my flute lessons, I usually have a few center activities for the students to take a break and practice their music skills, etc. On this particular day, I had brought music flashcards but forgot my scissors. I had also downloaded some pretty neat music reading apps on my tablet. However, that was not fully charged either. In other words, I was losing. 

However, I made a quick choice. I was going to be positive and innovative. I took the flashcards, folded them up and ripped them. I threw them on the floor, spread them out, and we played a game with a few bean bags I had brought from my classroom. The game was called: "Hit the Note." I know-so very inventive. 

The tablet was almost dead, so I threw my computer out of my bag, found the black charger and plugged it into my computer. It worked! 

All this to say-it was a messy lesson. However, we learned our song, I found the stickers at the bottom of my bag, we played a pretty exciting bean bag game, and we managed to use the tablet as well for a center activity. Sometimes, we become so negative and so confused by our own messiness, that we fail to realize there are always simple fixes to turn a mess into a treasure chest of messiness. That lesson went by so ridiculously fast, and one of my students looked at me afterwards and said, "You know Miss Bri-it didn't really matter that the flashcards were crooked. It was super fun." As all children have the wisdom of knowing, there is always treasure embedded within the messiness. I love my students for always reminding me of this one fact: Simple innovation is good innovation.