iPod Touches...Snug and Safe

I recently consolidated my classroom budget to augment the technology I have available for my students - especially on those "free days" mentioned in one of my posts earlier this school year.  I had hoped to purchase four iPod touches but, alas, I learned my district requires that you purchase Apple Care for each, so I was only able to get three - but I'll take them.

Once they arrived, I knew I didn't want to spend the money on sturdy cases for all three of them (besides, my budget was wiped out and I've already spent WAY more out of my own pocket this year than I ever have in years past).  I had an idea rolling around in my head about using a piece of Styrofoam packaging, some soft packing foam, or something similar to create a safe storage space for these little delicate devices.  I knew I would be storing them in a locked drawer in my classroom, and I also knew if I didn't do something, they'd start sliding around in there every time I opened the drawer - possibly scratching them or worse, one sliding under something else so I couldn't find it right away.

Lo and behold, I was entering Costco one Sunday afternoon when there, sitting by itself in an otherwise empty shopping cart, was a piece of that newer packaging foam.  You know - it's kind of a cross between Styrofoam and soft bedding foam.  It was the perfect size (about 14 inches long, six inches wide, and about four inches deep) so I snatched it up and dropped it into my own cart.  My favorite price for projects such as these - FREE!

I was a little concerned about cutting this stuff to make it right for my iPod storage purposes; but, luckily when I started to have at it, I discovered I didn't have to do much.  The new iPod touches are so thin and this stuff has enough give, all I had to do was cut a slit the size of the iPods about two inches deep into the foam.  It worked!

My 3 iPod touches safely stored in their drawer (ignore the other clutter in there!)


The iPods fit very snugly inside the foam and are easy to retrieve when I need them.  As you can see by the photo, I could add several more to my classroom set and still have plenty of room in this one piece of foam to store them.

Until next week...

A Healthy New Year

As we head back to school for another semester, those evil winter colds and flu are lurking in the air (literally) as well as on our door knobs, instrument mallets, and everywhere else.

A teacher recently asked the question on the Music K-8 list about staying healthy in school during the winter months.  I'm cheating for this week's post as it is a re-post of my reply to that question.  Also, on a side note, if you are following my blog and not a member of the Music K-8 list, I highly recommend it.  We are certainly stronger as music specialists when we draw from the "collective brain" of those who do what we do every day.  I have gotten some amazing tips from that list.

Here is my reply to the question about how to stay healthy as a music teacher:

First, it depends on how long you've been teaching.  At the beginning of my career I got things I had never had in my life (like strep for example).   As time goes on, you build up quite the immunity to all sorts of things!

 

Second, sleep.  Americans are some of the most sleep-deprived people in the world.  GET YOUR SLEEP!  I know staying up  until midnight to finish this or that or play on Facebook may seem like a great idea even though you have to get up at 6 a.m. (or earlier in my case) THAT IS NOT ENOUGH SLEEP.  You'd be amazed the illnesses you can avoid just by getting a solid 8 (or at least 7 or 7½) every night.

 

Third, exercise.  I know, I know, with the billion things we have going on in our lives, it seems nearly impossible to find the TIME.  Find something you like to do and make it a "non-negotiable."  I finally had to make my workout time 5:15 a.m. - I discovered that most of the world is still asleep at that hour and can't interrupt me, call a meeting, etc.  Find a time that works for you and do NOT deviate from it.

 

Fourth, nutrition, nutrition, nutrition.  If you're not getting enough nutrients from the food you eat, you need to seriously look at supplements.  Everyone is different when it comes to this, so it takes a while to get it all balanced out.  I personally take handfuls every day - but that's just me.  It's nearly impossible to get ALL of the recommended daily intake of all vitamins and nutrients from food alone (if you ever try it, it's a boatload of food!) so supplementing is almost mandatory.

 

And finally, one of the best bits of advice I have ever gotten from my doctor - DON'T TOUCH YOUR FACE!  How do germs find their way in?  Rubbing your eyes, swiping your itchy nose with your hand, scratching your ear, biting a nail...when you pay attention to this, you'd be amazed how many times a day you touch your face!  Of course hand washing and hand sanitizer is a must, but unless you're washing your hands every five minutes, that's not going to cut it.

 

One additional thing I do (again, advice from my doctor) I started doing a few years ago after one NASTY episode of staph infection.  I keep a spray bottle of plain rubbing alcohol in my shower.  After every shower, every place there is a fold of skin gets sprayed with alcohol.  I also rub some in each nostril and each ear with my finger.  You'd think this would be very drying for your skin, but actually it hasn't really affected mine and I rarely get sick...if I do, it's usually so mild I barely notice it.

 

One final tip I heard just this morning on the radio:  swipe the inside of each nostril with Neosporin ointment.  Your nasal passages dry out during the winter months and this will not only keep them moist, but will also thwart any germs that may find their way in!

 

Healthy New Year to you all!

 

Next week I'll be back with something more "original."  Until then...