Friday Finds #101

September 7, 2018
by Amy
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And…we’re back! After a Summer off from our weekly finds series here on Piano Pantry, it’s time to jump back in! If you missed the final Friday Finds back in June, #100 was a list of a whopping 100 of the best items from the two years the series had been running. From here on out, they will be titled by what week of finds it is, so here we are starting at week #101.

If you’re new to this series, every Friday I share links to interesting things I love from all over the web. I’m a content junkie and use Feedly to follow over 100 websites of a variety of topics. Friday Finds is the best of what I’ve found out there each week.

Friday Finds isn’t all about music teaching, because we’re not just music teachers! Each week there are generally between 8-12 items on the list that may include but is not limited to: thought-provoking articles, interesting podcasts, yummy recipes, books, useful piano teaching tools, a few of my favorite things, and much, much more.

Let’s go!

1

Song stories. As Mike Rowe says in episode #108” of his podcast The Way I Heard It…

These words take on a whole new meaning once you know the story behind why they were written.

 

2

If it’s as inspiring as her first book The Nesting Place, Myquillen Smith’s newest book Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff is sure to be a winner. Put it on pre-order as I did!

 

 

 

3

Guinness opened it’s first brewery 64 years ago.

 

4

Why learning to breathe may be the best way to pray.

 

5

If you have any peaches left in your life from Summer, you have got to make this Amazing Peach Cobbler from Pinch of Yum. Oh my, oh my.

I have about a dozen bags of frozen peaches in my deep freeze, many of which are destined for this cobbler.

 

6

In the Facebook group Piano Teacher Central Facebook, Nicole Douglas shared a resource document she put together on what people can do to Donate a Piano. 

This is a great resource to share with your studio families or anyone who asks you about how to sell or get rid of their piano.

 

7

Mr. Roger’s extraordinary 9 rules for writing scripts that helped kids make sense of language.

 

8

Break out the grill one more time for these Grilled Rice Krispies Treats.

 

9

While searching online for some things regarding Music Learning Theory (I can’t remember exactly what it was), I came across this video on Piaget’s Theory of Conservation. This demonstration is absolutely fascinating.

 

Happy Friday, everyone!

 

Affiliate Disclaimer: Some links in this post may contain affiliate links which simply means that if you purchase something from a link, I may receive a very small percentage without it costing you any extra.

 

Back-To-Teaching: Six Easy Recipes for the Week Ahead

September 1, 2018
by Amy
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The first couple of weeks back to teaching are always a little hectic. We’re trying to enjoy the final days of Summer, holding on to every last inch of that time until we have to throw ourselves completely into the new year.

January and August have always been the months we eat at home almost exclusively. In January, it’s quiet and dark, and there are not a lot of extra activities going on, and in August, I don’t have students for half the month, so I’m home more and have time to cook dinner like normal people.

Things are about to get crazy this week, though, and will continue that way until the second week of October. I won’t bore you with my details as you have enough going on.

Since many of us are in the same boat as we get things going, I thought I would share half a dozen quick and easy recipes to make your back-to-teaching life easier.

Most of the recipes will also allow you to enjoy end-of-summer produce and will avoid turning on the oven. You’re not going to find a crockpot or soup recipe in this bunch. It’s too early for that – I’m not ready!

 

Six Easy “Back-To-Teaching” recipes

Panzanella Bread Salad (Simply Recipes)

If you’ve never had Panzanella bread salad with your beautiful, lush, red, juicy August tomatoes, you have not experienced life.

Can you see what I mean?

While making the salad, throw pork chops in a cast iron skillet season simply with S&P, and call that a meal.

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Fun Postcards for Student Birthday’s

August 28, 2018
by Amy
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Do you do anything special for your student’s birthdays?

I’ve always felt like recognizing student’s birthdays is something that takes little effort and yet can really show a student – and their family – that you care.

While there are various things you could do, I’m a big advocate for the simple act of sending a card via snail mail.

I mean, how many kids ever get much – if anything – in the US mail?

Very few, I’m sure.

Heck, who doesn’t love getting something besides bills and junk mail hits my mailbox? Personal cards with little hand-written notes are the best.

I first advocated for student birthday cards and why they are a great way to build rapport within your studio in the post Marketing with Postcards (it’s not what you think!)

Today, I want to share some fun postcards I came across recently that you may want to use for your students’ birthdays!

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Book of Student Compositions

July 3, 2018
by Amy
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Recently, when visiting my friend Joy Morin’s studio during her piano teacher retreat, I noticed a book of piano student compositions she had sitting in her waiting area and thought it was a fun idea!

Today I’m giving you a free printable of the binder cover I created for my own book so you can create your own as well!

Why a Book of Compositions?

A few students in my studio absolutely love composing. Luckily, our state MTA hosts a yearly composition festival called “Opus,” where students can submit a composition and receive feedback from a judge. The winner in each age category then gets their composition submitted to the MTNA Composition Competition for free and gets to perform their composition at the next state conference in the winners’ recital.

Students put so much time and effort into their pieces that displaying them keeps their work present and valued. It’s also a great way to help generate awareness of the Opus program and composing in general. Students could sit down at one of the studio keyboards and play through each other’s music!

Keeping it simple, I used a 1″ 3-ring binder. Each composition was printed and placed in plastic sleeve covers. Compositions that were winners got an award seal sticker on them and I wrote the year it was the winning composition.

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2017-2018 Speaking Schedule Reflections

June 28, 2018
by Amy
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This past year, I was blessed to have the chance to present to several local associations and state and national conferences. Until about three years ago, I found presenting terrifying, intimidating, and completely out of my reach.

Luckily, my inner drive, curiosity, and motivation didn’t let those feelings of fear and inadequacy stop me from giving it a shot. In return, speaking to other teachers is more rewarding than intimidating, energizing than terrifying, and more within reach to those who persevere (and continually polish those proposals, LOL).

Psst…If you’re interested in what I’ve learned along my presenting journey, check out the post Tips for Presenting: Tools, Resources, and a Pep Talk.

Let’s take a quick peek at those of you I was able to be with this past year!

First Applications of Music Learning Theory

My friend Joy Morin and I have been excited to get our first duo session out there. It’s exciting not only because it’s a session we put together and can present together but also because we’re able to share what we’ve been learning about applying Music Learning Theory in piano lessons.

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Facebook Live Studio Tour Wrap-Up

June 28, 2018
by Amy
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Earlier this week, I hosted a Facebook Live series that toured various areas of my piano studio.

If you missed it, you can still catch the videos on the Piano Pantry Facebook page. There were several blog posts and items I mentioned in the videos I’ve also linked for you below.

Many thanks for all the encouraging comments and feedback! Now that I’ve finally taken the plunge, I look forward to doing more Facebook Live videos!

Day 1

Studio layout/overview, workspace, student files, and how I organize my music. Click here to view the video.

Posts mentioned / related:

Other resources mentioned:

Day 2

A look into my teaching space and student music lab. Click here to view the video.

Posts mentioned / related:

Other resources mentioned:

Day 3

A look into my student space including incentive program, prize boxes, game drawer, practice charts and more. Click here to view the video.

Posts mentioned/related:

Other resources mentioned:

Article on Alfred Music Blog: Tips on Fostering Music for Life

June 26, 2018
by Amy
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My June article submission, Learning Music in a Quick-Fix Society: 7 Tips to Foster Music for Life for the Alfred Music Blog, is now live. Here’s a sneak peek:

The quick fix. Today’s society thrives on doing things bigger, better, faster. Timers are placed in fast-food drive-throughs, crash diets are a dime a dozen, and recipe videos are on fast-forward.

Music teachers may find themselves continually reminding families that learning an instrument is not just a summer or semester-long activity but an ongoing process that requires dedication, determination, and grit. Gentle conversations may occasionally be had regarding realistic expectations such as “no, playing Beethoven’s Für Elise is perhaps not an appropriate piece for a first-year student to be learning quite yet.”

Having information available at our fingertips in an instant has made it hard to not expect everything in life to function in the same way. Today I’m going to share with you seven ways we as music educators can create an environment for our students and families that fosters a sense of “music for life” in a society that values quick learning and information gathering.

1.  Assign rich and rewarding repertoire.

Beginning repertoire doesn’t have to be boring. It doesn’t even need to be just in major or minor or in a fixed position such as Middle C or C major. Keep your music library stocked with quality pieces that introduce students to all kinds of interesting sounds, tonalities, and meters. For piano students in particular, find music that explores the entire keyboard from the first lesson. Rote pieces are a wonderful way to allow students to experience exciting music beyond what they can read.

Continue reading this article on the Alfred Music Blog.

If you’re interested in checking out other articles I have written on Alfred Music Blog, they are:

Here are some other posts you might enjoy:

A Fountain of Joy

Personal Teaching Tweaks

Friday Finds #100 and Giveaway Winner

June 15, 2018
by Amy
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The day has arrived. Piano Pantry has officially posted 100 weeks of Friday Finds since first launching in March of 2016!

In celebration of this milestone, I posted a giveaway last week featuring an item that was a part of the Friday Find series. Thanks to all who entered to win Note Speed!

The winner (randomly selected by Rafflecopter’s generator) is Lynelle Vogel, who commented:

My older kids love to play NinGenius on iPads to work on note names.

Congratulations! I will be contacting to get your shipping details.

 

Friday Finds Breather

Before we proceed with this top 100 list, I just want to thank you for your excitement and energy over these weekly finds over the past 2+ years. You have been so enthusiastic and encouraging with so many stating it’s the one post/email they’re sure to catch every week.

That being said, I’m going to take a brief hiatus from this weekly post. I promise it will be brief and the series will return as I love writing it as much as you seem to love reading them.

There’s a lot going on in life right now – one of which many of you are aware. My husband and I are in the final stages of building a house (literally). We are (well, mostly he is) doing the majority of it on our own. We’re in the home stretch and I really need to let something go for the time being.

Promise me you’ll jump back in when I pick back up?

Awesome, thanks!

 

Friday Finds Top 100

 

I have gone back through every single F.F. post I’ve written to pull the best of the best for you here. With approximately eight finds per week, that’s 800 finds I’ve scoured.

How did I choose? First, anything that was specifically commented on by a reader was included. From there, I simply focused on posts that have affected me the most, have stuck in my memory, made an impact, or that I still use or find fascinating even today.

I’ve broken them down into 11 categories so if you prefer to check out a specific category of items you can jump around.  Enjoy!

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