After ten years of mailing postcards, I’ll admit I needed a break last year. (While it’s wonderful to do little “extras” for our students, it’s OK to need a break.) A year off was just the breather I needed, and I’m excited to do it again this year.
Part of my excitement is that one of my favorite digital tools, Canva, now offers printing services. I wanted to try designing my birthday postcards this year using the new studio logo I had redesigned last year.
In this video post, I will show you how to design and order postcards in Canva. At $18 for 25 cards, I thought their prices were very reasonable!
Can you believe we are 248 posts into this series?! Writing a weekly “goodies” series was one of the first things I wanted to do when I started this blog in 2016.
As we approach the next big milestone, I need your help! I would love for #250 to come from YOU. Specifically, would you share the BEST items you discovered from a Friday Finds post?
It could be a recipe I linked to that is now a staple for your family, a new resource, a fun video, one of my Spotify playlists…ANYTHING.
You can drop me an email or comment directly on this blog post. It would also help me a lot if you could include any links.
I’ll gather your favorites over the course of the next two posts before the big #250 hits. Thank you so much, teacher friends, for your continued enthusiasm for this series!
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A few online teacher friends got some updates to their websites. Check them out!
My husband is dying to try it. Fried chicken this week, anyone?
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In our technology-driven world, one of the best things we can do for ourselves is to be intentional about learning how to use the programs we use daily well. Shortcuts can be a powerful tool for smooth workflow and productivity.
Here are a few useful tips if you use Chrome as your browser:
Speaking of podcasts, I’ve been looking for a new news podcast for a change of pace. My brother recently recommended The Last Debate Podcast. I’ve really been enjoying it! It drops twice a week and is a well-balanced look at what’s going on in the news from both sides in a 100% non-confrontational way.
My mom grew up in Northeast Ohio around large Amish communities, and our area also has many Amish communities. There is something very peaceful and nostalgic to me about learning from their practices.
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As I started building and mapping out our upcoming European trip, I came across this video of some great Google Map Features from my favorite YouTube tech guy.
Apparently, I have a thing about sharing favorite shoes. Last week it was the Sanuk Yoga Joy flip-flop. This week it’s the Chaco Zcloud Sandal. Good shoes are tricky, so I don’t regret talking shoes!
Congratulations to Midnight Music on the new website!
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It’s always sad to hear of the passing of influential pedagogies of our time. In recent years ones that quickly come to mind include Dr. Edwin E. Gordon and Forrest Kinney.
Did you make a pact with yourself to get better organizedthis summer?
Since I know my teacher friends pretty well, I would bet that this isn’t the first time you’ve made this pact to yourself.
The hard part is… it’s SUMMERTIME! We want to do fun things with family and friends (as it should be)!
I get it. I know you have a strong need to get yourself in order before the school year returns full force, and I’m here to help!
No matter how great our intentions are, we really need someone to be right there with us to walk us step by step.
So, I’m offering a series of eight 75-minute power-hour sessions in July.
By committing yourself to dedicated time with other teachers and working through the digital landscape progressively, you will walk away feeling ready to tackle the new year.
Each session will have a focus area:
Session 1 – Devices (Smartphones & Tablets)
Session 2 – Computers (Desktop/Laptop)
Session 3 – Daily Capture and Save (Notes apps)
Session 4 – Blog Content
Session 5 – Documents (File Explorer / Cloud Drives)
Session 6 – Media (Photos & Videos)
Session 7 – Email
Session 8 – Social Media
I will be there to kick off each theme focus with a few tips and tricks. After that, it will be heads-down and off to work. We’ll finish with a quick check-in at the end and be on our way.
10-15 minutes of Amy talking through some things for you to consider
50-60 minutes with microphones off, task-focused (Amy available for questions).
5-10 minute check-in at the end
We will meet for eight sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays 11:45 am – 1:00 pm EDT.
Thanks to summer, I finally had a chance to sit down and put together a little creative project I’ve had on my mind for a while!
I’m always looking for fresh, uncluttered, and visually appealing images to use on my computer desktop background or wallpaper.
Years ago, one of the food websites I was following offered a new set each year. Unfortunately, she no longer does this and ever since I’ve never really put any effort into finding something new – I just rotate through her old ones along with a few others.
Back in those days I would have had no idea how to create my own but it occurred to me last year I could easily do so with Canva (which I swear I use almost every day! LOL).
So, I’ve created a set of 12 imagesfeaturing 12 of my favorite quotes (one for each month of the year – which is about how often I try to rotate). I tried using a combination of both educational quotes, life quotes, and productivity quotes. I hope you find the choices well-balanced and inspiring.
My goal was to keep it simple and visually appealing. I think the Piano Pantry dark blue color looks amazing as a desktop background and makes for a really sleek and clean feel.
Here is a slideshow preview. Click on the arrows on the bottom left or hoover along the right or left sides to go forward or back.
When coaching teachers on digital organization, it’s always my recommendation to keep your desktop free of shortcuts and to use your taskbar to pin quick links to your most used programs. This allows your screen to be clutter-free and more aesthetically pleasing.
For any links you do keep on the desktop background, try and relegate them to the side as much as possible. As you scroll through the images you will notice I tried to keep the quotes especially free of the left margin which is my preferred location for anything on the desktop.
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This week’s goodies list calls of summer. Who doesn’t love strawberry season? Let’s kick the first few items off this week’s list with some of my favorite strawberry recipes!
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Ina’s Easy Strawberry Jam is absolutely AMAZING. Including a few blueberries and chopped apple gives it a gorgeous color and texture.
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You almost can’t call this recipe a recipe, but Almond Butter Strawberry-Toast is a lovely and simple combination. I first discovered this combination from Giada de Laurentii’s book Feel Good Food which I blogged about years about here.
I see some people online sprinkling over things like coconut, julienned basil, chia seeds, or toasted nuts. Toasted shaved almonds or pistachios would be my topper of choice but I usually just like it simple!
Nice for a small crowd. I love the variety of fruit as well as the inclusion of bananas. Just don’t put the bananas in until you’re ready almost to serve. A little sweet sauce mixture pulls it all together and gives it a nice gloss.
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My favorite flip-flop for at least 5 years has been the Sanuk Yoga Joy.
They’re made of yoga material and even though there’s not necessarily built-in arch support, I can walk in these shoes almost all day with no problems. I buy a new pair almost every summer and own both metallic colors: Pewter and Champagne.
I’ve tried the Sanuk “Yoga Spree” and they are not nearly as comfortable as the “Yoga Joy.”
Do you have any exciting summer reads lined up? I decided to go on a kick covering all the books from one of my newest favorite psychological-thriller authors, Ruth Ware.
She only has 7 books, and I had read two previously, so my plan is to binge the rest this summer and am already two more down. Are any other psychological-thriller fans out there? If so, let me know some recommendations below!
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Break into the summer tunes with my Summer playlist on Spotify. Use it as a starting point for starting your own seasonal playlist!
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Do you ever great tired of buying chicken broth? The cost can really add up if you use it a lot – especially in the winter months. I love making my own homemade stock but it’s a bit labor-intensive. Recently I discovered homemade bouillon powder. Brilliant! I’ve only made it once and used it in one recipe, but I’m excited to keep trying it out.
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I’ll admit I almost tried the online hack of storing avocados in water in the fridge but never got around to it. According to this article, it sounds like it was a good thing as the FDA is warning against it.
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My newest piano buddy, Janna, is killing it online with her wonderful teaching videos. Here’s one on Lesson Planning. She always has great advice and insight.
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Speaking of piano buddies, be sure you don’t miss out on two of the most popular episodes of the Piano Pantry Podcast so far
Speaking of the podcast, I’ve updated the podcast page here on Piano Pantry. It includes some screenshots showing you how to subscribe on desktop or mobile, or how to rate and review on Apple Podcasts. It’s not always intuitive!
If you’ve been around here for a while, you may already know that in recent years, my husband and I built a new house, including moving my piano studio into the basement and out of commercial space.
My husband did a lot of the work while still working a 40-hour workweek, so the bulk of the build took around three years.
Since cooking is my other mojo, I’ve wanted to share photos of the kitchen and pantry for a good two years, but it kept getting put off.
After finally capturing some good photos for our cabinet builders to display, I had no more excuses. It’s finally time for a tour!
Before
Sharing photos of the empty “before” construction space isn’t much fun considering it was new construction. What is interesting, though, is to see what we went through leading up to completion.
Since our deadline to move out of our rental house was six months before our kitchen cabinets were ready (or the upstairs being complete), we lived in an unfinished basement (my future studio space) with no carpet or kitchen.
Teaching areas can be hard places to organize. Not only do we like to keep items close at hand, but if you teach a variety of levels, the number of teaching resources can easily double.
There are games, scale books, sight-reading materials, pedal extenders, dry-erase boards, game markers, technique tools, highlighters, and much more.
The great thing about organization (like many things in life) is that there’s no right or wrong way.
What we DO need in order to make it happen, though, is:
Intention
Action
Some kind of (consistent) system
Regular upkeep
Ability to recognize when your “system” needs an update/refresh
In this post, I want to share a few different ways I have stored my own teaching games and resources over the years, as well as links to loads of other teachers’ ideas.
As you’re considering a system that works well for your space, keep these things in mind:
Make it easily accessible – Store items in a way that will help you to both use and remember what you have
Categorize – Group your items according to level, concept, game style (such as group games vs. solo games), and more.
Contain – Use a variety of storage formats, including magazine holders, containers, drawers, files, and more.
I hope this post gives you lots of fresh ideas as you freshen up your own teaching space!
Apparently, I have a thing about sharing favorite shoes. Last week it was the 
