Whew! What a whirlwind! After piano camp, I always think things are going to slow down since I’m not teaching regular weekly lessons, but the days sure do fill up quickly. Here are a few memorable happenings from around here this summer:
My creative husband helped me work on a new studio logo:
He created the daisy using a photo he took from my garden, one of my favorite places to be [when it’s not 100 degrees outside!]. And he incorporated the colors of my studio to capture the vibrant spirit I wanted. I didn’t waste any time at all ordering business cards from my favorite printing company: MOO.com (Use this referral link to get 25% off your first order; you can also use this link to order MiniCards for the free Composer Trading Game – this is one of my students’ all-time favorites!) I’m not sure if anyone actually uses business cards anymore, but with a new piano studio logo, it just seemed like the right thing to do anyway…!
We also had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Northern California where we spent a few days visiting my dear friend and fellow piano teacher, Julia, who runs Pianoforte Studio in Grass Valley. Playing piano duets together was a highlight of our time there!
Another activity I try to squeeze in as much as possible during the summer is reading. My favorite genre is biographies and memoirs, so I was thrilled when one of my friends from church told me that we are beginning a quarterly biography night where one of the women from the church will present about a woman from history. She asked me to present in July and gave me the freedom to choose anyone I wanted, so I selected Gladys Aylward, the subject of the acclaimed book, The Small Woman by Alan Burgess, which I had just finished reading. I thoroughly enjoyed researching and learning as much as possible about her life and loved sharing her story with a group of ladies in July. If you’re interested, you can hear a recording of the presentation here: Biography Night: Gladys Aylward.
The other big summer project every year is brainstorming and planning for our new practice incentive theme. I love reviewing my students’ Year-End Evaluations, contemplating the areas they want to improve and the suggestions they’ve given for theme ideas, and then trying to come up with a concept that will inspire, motivate, and capture their imaginations. I usually toss out a handful of ideas that I start developing when they fail to excite me. I figure if I’m not excited about it, there’s no way I’ll be able to excite my students about it. Inspired by our roadtrip through the Redwood Forest this year, I eventually settled on Redwood Resistance: overcoming to the top of the canopy. I’m very excited about how everything came together and can’t wait to share more details in the coming weeks after I’ve announced it to my students at our September Surprise! kickoff!
Finally, if you’ve made it this far, you win a coupon to celebrate the end of summer and the opportunity for new ideas to help students grow as musicians. Just use this coupon code to receive 20% off any purchase at the Music Matters Blog store: SUMMEREND22. Hope you all have had a fabulous summer and are looking forward to a new year of teaching!
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Amy Chaplin says
Love the new logo!
natalie says
Thanks, Amy!