What a fabulously fun morning we had at piano camp going To Russia with Mussorgsky and His Exhibition! Here are a few highlights: “Fishing” for their two-black-key flashcards with a simple stick-and-magnet pole. Coloring while listening to Promenade from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Listening attentively while Stephanie (my wonderful high school student who is […]
Teaching
It’s Time for Piano Camp!
One of our favorite studio traditions is a week-long piano camp! It’s taken various forms over the years – from an intensive course for serious high school students, to a Carnival of the Animals adventure for my current students, to our most recent offering: Piano Expeditions for young, mostly-preschool students who are not taking formal […]
New Piano Practice Incentive Theme is Here!
Most of the world may still be closed for traveling right now, but my students and I have just completed an exhilarating journey Ad Astra (“to the stars”). One of my students has requested a space theme for our annual practice incentive theme for several years, so this past year I determined to make that […]
Time for a Music Spelling Bee!
We finished out our final group piano class this week with a fun game of Music Spelling Bee! Each of the students received a magnetic dry erase board (I really like these from Really Good Stuff and have used them for years!) with magnets and a transparency sheet with a music staff printed on it […]
Free Beginner Piano Game for Whole and Half Steps
Now that I’ve started offering preschool Piano Expeditions piano camps in the summer, I’m always on the lookout for games and activities that are well-suited to this age. I love to have some sort of simple activity to engage them right at the beginning while everyone is arriving, and this Toads, Tones, and Semitones game […]
Summer Sale in the Bookstore!
Is anyone else here ready for summer? I’m focusing on finishing the semester strong, but I confess that I am counting down the days until summer break! For me this will mean a break from regular piano lessons, a break from homeschooling, a break from teaching writing classes, and time to read and garden and […]
