A Simple Money-Saving Tool

October 2, 2017
by Amy
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My husband and I both do a lot of online shopping. While I’ve never been one to use physical coupons, we have been using an online shopping savings tool called “Wikibuy”.

11/2020 Update: Wikibuy is now called “Capital One Shopping”

Download it as an extension on Google Chrome and it will automatically pull up all the coupon codes it can find online and will quickly scan them to find any that may work.

I’ve tried coupon code things like this before and have never had luck until now.

Recently, as I was working on my new studio photo board, I was printing multiple rounds of photos at Walgreens, and every time, I saved 25% or more in a matter of seconds!

Who doesn’t like to save a few bucks here and there?!

Friday Finds #70: Shiny Sinks and a New Podcast

September 29, 2017
by Amy
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1

I absolutely love watching Julie Knerr teach and have learned a lot from her about teaching young students over the last 5 years. It’s a lot of work making the videos she does, but what a wonderful contribution to the profession! Here’s her most recent video with a student in their first lesson.

 

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Part of my nightly routine and kitchen clean-up always include giving the sink a thorough wipe down. I’ve never gone as far as this lady recommends but last week I cleaned my sink step-by-step as per her instructions and wow, it sure turned out shiny! Spraying Windex all over the sink and wiping it completely dry was the step I was missing. I can’t say I’ll be so diligent every night but I do like a clean sink… Continue reading

Summit for MTNA Leadership: A Class Act

September 17, 2017
by Amy
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A couple of weekends ago, I made quite a loop-de-loo around Indiana and Ohio. It started out with a 2-hour drive up to Bowling Green Ohio to present with Joy Morin to her local MTA chapter. It was our first time out (and our first session together!), Teaching the Way We Learn: First Applications of Gordon’s Music Learning Theory. We will be presenting the same session for Indiana and Kentucky MTA conferences this Fall. For details visit my speaking page.

After enjoying lunch with several Ohio teachers and one of Joy’s adult students who came to the session, I made the 3-hour trek down I-75 to Cincinnati where I attended my first Summit for MTNA Leadership.

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Friday Finds #68: A Musical Highway and Brain Surgery

September 15, 2017
by Amy
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1

Absolutely fascinating. This Music Teacher Played His Saxophone While In Brain Surgery.

 

2

A great organizational tip from Jennifer Foxx on organizing your iPad.

 

3

PepperMate. My pepper grinder of choice for years now. I love how the removable clear bottom cup conveniently catches fresh pepper grinds which allow you easily to grid and measure for recipes. It’s also Ina Garten’s pepper grinder of choice! (We’re tight, me and Ina 😉

 

4

Using Bullet Journaling in your studio. | The View From My Studio

 

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11 Ways to Involve Parents in Lessons.

 

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7 Self-Care Rituals That Take 15 Minutes or Less.

 

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A musical highway. This is SO on my bucket list. Has anyone been? Too bad I didn’t know about this when I went to my first MTNA Conference (2010 was in Albuquerque!)

 

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Recipes that made it into our bellies the past couple of weeks included Mushroom Casserole, Roasted Root Vegetable, Feta, Spinach Salad, and a simple pulled pork. (Note: for the pork, I find 8-12 oz. rather than the 32 oz. of stock is plenty, you can also skip the BBQ sauce recipe and use store-bought or keep it really simple – none at all).

 

Retreat at Piano Manor: Food, Photos, and Recipes

September 7, 2017
by Amy
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Several weeks ago, I was lucky to get to participate in playing hostess to a wonderful group of piano teachers during Joy Morin’s Piano Teacher Retreat, “Retreat at Piano Manor,“ where I got to play the role of foodie/caterer!

I thought it would be fun to share the weekend with you from my perspective including meals and recipes I used (links to those available online).

Keepin’ it Healthy

Knowing that we had a gluten-free guest, I decided it was easier to keep that in mind for the whole shebang. Needless to say, I think we ate pretty healthy! Now THAT’S the kind of grocery cart I could aspire to every week. Color and real food.

(Two) Breakfasts Included

Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

Raspberry Orange Almond Muffins with Sprouted  Wheat Flour

Maple Candied Bacon

Honey Vanilla Yogurt

Fresh fruit

Scrambled eggs

Unfortunately, I missed getting photos of my breakfast tables!

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Descriptive and Imaginative: A review of music by Lynette Sawatsky

September 5, 2017
by Amy
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Today, I want to share with you a review of the music of Canadian teacher, composer, and adjudicator Lynette Sawatsky. She has quite a few collections available, but I’ll focus on Seasons Change and Once Upon a Time.

Once Upon a Time

One of the things I like most about the Once Upon a Time collection is Lynette’s attention to connecting the music to the imagination. She encourages the student to paint a picture in their mind of the piece and the story it is conveying.

For example, in the piece “Spicy Burrito,” she makes the connection between spicing up our snacks or mealtime with different flavors and textures and encouraging the student to customize the piece on the repeat by changing one or more RH quarter notes into double eighth notes in specific measures to “spice it up.”

The book includes 11 pieces that are perfect for captivating and encouraging students’ imaginations. I mean, how often do you see a piece with the title “Discombobulated Pigeon”? I would love to hear all the conversations regarding the story that piece is telling!

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Lesson Planning: A king-size master spreadsheet

August 29, 2017
by Amy
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When I started teaching piano full time, my biggest challenge was finding a method for lesson planning and tracking student progress and materials.

Eventually, as I started using Evernote more, the latter problem of tracking student progress and materials was quickly resolved. (See Evernote Part 1: Studio Management).

Lesson planning, however, took a lot of trial and error – as I think it does for many of us and is something that continues to evolve and change.

One thing I’ve learned about myself is I’m a very visual person. I don’t do well simply making a note or two here or there for items I need to remember for students’ next lesson. I need to see the big picture.

Finally, in 2014 I was inspired by an article in the September/October 2014 issue of Clavier Companion written by Arlene Steffen, Stephen Hughes, and Craig Sale called “Lesson Plans: A teaching essential?”

Thanks to their detailed article, my king-sized spreadsheet was born. 

Because a spreadsheet like this will be completely customized to your teaching style (and studio calendar), it doesn’t do me any good to give you a copy of mine. So, in this post, not only do I walk you through the details of what I include, but I’ve also created a video showing you how to create your version, including tips and tricks for using Excel like a pro!

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