It's A Vivaldi Day!

As I woke up on Monday morning, I heard the rain hitting the window panes. Right away I knew it was a Vivaldi day. I went to my new office space and put the Vivaldi CD in the player. As the rain continued, I was content to write with the music playing in the background.

Using music in my second grade classroom became a familiar happening. Rainy days and Vivaldi were standard. Students would enter the room with raincoats, boots and umbrellas and say, "It's a Vivaldi day!" Classical music was important to all of us.

Another composer I used was Mozart. The children knew that before any test we would all be listening to that music. I'm not sure how much research has gone into the theory of Mozart raising test scores or brain power, but I figured it couldn't hurt. So, before math tests, spelling tests, or end of the unit assessments, we heard Mozart.

Many teachers use music during writing time and we were no different. Our usual pieces were by Beethoven, Debussy or Bach. There is just something about listening to classical music spurs relaxation and the words to flow.

I always wondered if my former students ever remembered our classical education.  Then one day a few months ago in a Facebook post, a former student said, "I hate storms and it is storming today."

I wrote back and said, "You need to play Vivaldi!"

She said, "You are right! I loved when we listened to that music!"

So, now that my student is a freshman in college, she still can remember and use what she learned in second grade. You just never know what your students will take with them into life!