Category - Friday Finds

Here we are! 250 Friday Finds posts since March 2016. I’ve been soooo excited to post this one for a while now.

The twist is that this list is a culmination of items you sent to me that you either discovered and loved from this weekly series or were items you would include if you were to publish your own list! I hope you enjoy this special celebration week.

I also wanted to give you a heads up that this will be the last Friday Finds for a couple of months as I will be out of the country with my husband for a month-long trip to Europe to celebrate our 20th Anniversary. I’ll be back with the series in early November and look forward to the next 250!

1

Submitted By Rebekkah Maxner

The Friday Find I wanted to mention that touched my heart was about a mom who had cancer, but she and her husband chose not to tell their kids about her prognosis. They maintained a home atmosphere that spared their kids from worrying or making choices based on their mom’s illness.

I felt that was so selfless and likely contributed to her prolonged quality of life. What a gift to have given her kids — years of living in sunshine instead of under a cloud. She gave them a childhood defined by innocence.

“My Wife Was Dying, and We Didn’t Tell Our Children: The choice was unusual but loving: We wanted them to live without the shadow of their mother’s mortality hanging over them.” (from The Atlantic)

(From Friday Finds #121)

2

Submitted by Eva Marie Coyne

I absolutely love, love, love your Friday Finds. The one that sticks out in my mind was on Canva from Friday Finds #241.

10 Canva Features You Probably Didn’t Know About (Midnight Music)

3

Submitted by Janna Carlson

This Oven Baked Chicken and Rice recipe has saved me a few times over the past couple of months. We recently moved, and my time, energy, and ingredients have been extremely limited (I won’t even talk about my baking dish situation…okay, I have ONE glass baking pan.). This recipe only requires one dish, the prep is super simple, and the flavor is fantastic—perfect teaching night meal and super cozy for fall.

4

Submitted by Shelley Pritt

This is not directly related to Friday Finds, but your emphasis on developing a piano teacher community has struck a chord with me…

…Your encouragement through examples in the podcast episode #013 How to Make Music Teacher Friends) pushed me to extend to real-time teacher relationships in my state. I’ve joined my local MTNA, and I’m looking to host a group of local non-MTNA teachers in the fall!

5

Submitted by Abby Maser

Simple Modern 28oz tumbler – doesn’t spill easily, contains a lot of liquid, easy to take a sip in lessons, AND it fits in my cup holder.

6

Submitted by Alicia Gaggioni

I loved your One-Minute Club, and I started working on this idea this Fall. I prepared in ziplocks the cards for every level, so I have them ready for every class. Thank you!!

7

Submitted by Christina Whitlock

I have many favorite things from Friday Finds (you can probably guess what they are!).  Here are the things that come quickest to mind:

1 – The Good Earth Sweet and Spicy Tea
2 – The Sanuk Yoga Joy Flip Flops (Friday Finds #134, #150, #245)
3 – The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast (Friday Finds #240)
4 – The Cheesy Egg Casserole (Friday Finds #201)

You KNOW Friday Finds are my absolute favorite email.  Thanks for delivering us all the goods over the past few years!

8

Submitted by Carol Lescinski

Don’t forget – I need your help! Next week will be #250 of this series. My goal is for it to be a culmination of the best items YOU’VE discovered from this series.

You can drop me an email or comment directly on this blog post. (It would also help me greatly if you could include any links.)

Thank you so much for taking a moment to share back with me and other teachers who enjoy this series!

1

I’m a sucker for trying out different visual scale fingering charts. Here’s one I came across recently from Nancy DeHaven. It gets high kudos from me for its visually clean and simple design.

2

Some of my favorite fall-time recipes:

Fall Harvest 3 Sisters Soup

Healthy Pumpkin Bread

Spiced Pumpkin Raisin Cookies

3

Natalie has a new advanced piano solo arrangement out of “Jesus Paid it All with Wondrous Love.” At $3, it’s a bargain I didn’t pass up!

4

Some recent fun TV watches:

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC) – A fun, lighthearted show/tv musical.

Echoes (Netflix) – A riveting mini-series “thriller” about twins who switch lives.

5

In celebration of my birthday and podcast episode #034 How to Play Happy Birthday By Ear, get 10% off my Happy Birthday resource through the end of September. Use code 34TAKE10.

6

A tomato truck spill makes a major California highway a marinara mess.  (NPR)

7

The Ultimate List of Halloween Sheet Music for Piano Students (Creative Piano Teacher)

Favorite Sheet Music Piano Solos for Halloween (Piano Pantry)

A Halloween-Themed Listening Activity (Piano Pantry)

Halloween Favorites: Games, Resource, Graphics, and More (Piano Pantry)

8

A grant I wish I had known about when I was a teacher starting out: Studio Teacher Fellowship (MTNA) (due Nov. 1)

9

What’s the Difference Between Corn Oil, Canola Oil, and Vegetable Oil? (The Kitchn)

10

An Autumn playlist from me to you on Spotify:

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!

1

A few online teacher friends got some updates to their websites. Check them out!

• Jennifer Foxx added a shop on MusicEducatorResources.com.
• Leila Viss’s website got a fresh facelift
• Julie Duda has a brand new site with resources for teachers.
• Christina Whitlock can now be found at ChristinaWhitlock.com

2

Apparently, the secret “11 herbs and spices” of KFC has been revealed???

My husband is dying to try it. Fried chicken this week, anyone?

3

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:

Tips & Shortcuts for Better Browsing (Chrome)

4

It’s the time of year some of you are updating your policies. Jennifer Foxx has you covered with her “Studio Policy Script Starters” resource.

5

A few podcast episodes I’ve particularly enjoyed recently:

• Parenting and the Brain with Neuroscientist Lisa Feldman (Kelly Corrigan Wonders)
• Episode #48 Why It’s Time to Realign (Key Ideas)
• 7 Types of Pieces for Every Piano Student’s Repertoire (Vibrant Music Teaching)

6

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.

7

Any Friends fans? An actual Central Perk Coffeehouse is coming soon! (The Kitchn)

8

16 Ideas for First-Time Music Festival Adjudicators (Chris Foley)

9

Six Things I’ve Learned from the Amish About Living Living Intentionally (Becoming Minimalist)

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.

10

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.

1

Scheduling Piano Lessons – 3 NEW kick-off openers to start the lesson year (Rebekah Maxner)

2

MLT-focused teacher Anne Katherine Davis shares short videos on her annual “Christmas in Summer” studio project.

3

Are you a “Midlife Creative”

4

TopMusic Acquires PracticeHabits.co

5

This summer, I discovered Trader Joe’s Brioche Buns. If we’re eating any burgers or brat’s in the summer, these have been my new go-to buns.

6

GOTO on the Opposite of Depression (Kelly Corrigan Wonders)

7

10 Groceries I Buy to Feel Like I’m Back in France (The Kitchn)

8

Tips for Teaching Scales (Chrissy Ricker)

9

There May Be an Olive Oil Shortage Hitting the U.S. Soon — Here’s Why (The Kitchn)

10

10 Films About Piano Players You Might Want to See (Portland Piano Lab)

11

Folk music is one of my favorites. Here is a new album I’ve been enjoying on Spotify lately.

12

Summer sweet corn, tomatoes, and zucchini; here are three of my favorite recipes:

Sweet Corn Pancakes (Smitten Kitchen)

Cod Sauteed in Olive Oil with Fresh Tomatoes (Simply Recipes)

Ground Turkey Skillet with Zucchini, Corn, Black Beans and Tomato (Skinny Taste)

1

Piano student motivation: How ‘Vacation Lessons’ work for summer and for kids who struggle (Rebekah Maxner)

2

The famous note-naming game NoteSpeed, is now being distributed through Piano Pronto!

3

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!

4

Piano Camp for Piano Teachers: Sorting Out the Piano Classics Live Virtual Conference

5

Congratulations to Midnight Music on the new website!

6

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.

This past week, the profession lost Elvina Truman Pearce.

She was particularly known for her book The Success Factor in Piano Teaching, which is an especially good book for teachers just getting started.

7

Two recent podcast episode favorites:

How to Think about Feedback (Kelly Corrigan Wonders)

Episode 82: Cheers to the Creative Life (Beyond Measure Podcast)

8

Two Kinds of Cooks (Seth Godin)

9

Incredible art…Nature and Architecture Merge in Mexico.

10

The Single Most Important Thing You Can Do to Simplify Your Summer (Becoming Minimalist)

11

What’s Your Teaching Specialty? (Samantha Coates)

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!

1

Ina’s Easy Strawberry Jam is absolutely AMAZING. Including a few blueberries and chopped apple gives it a gorgeous color and texture.

2

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!

3

Perfect Summer Fruit Salad (All Recipes)

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.

4

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.”

5

Summer is a great time to overhaul your studio website. Here are 3 Ways to Look at Your Studio Site with Fresh Eyes.

6

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!

7

Break into the summer tunes with my Summer playlist on Spotify. Use it as a starting point for starting your own seasonal playlist!

8

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.

9

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.

10

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.

11

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

#13 How to Make Music Teacher Friends

#15 Teacher Talk with Joy, Janna, and Christina

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!

1

Oh my goodness, this was probably one of my favorite interviews I’ve ever heard Tim Topham give. He almost had me crying!

The Interview That Made Me Cry with Gloria St. Germaine (Topcast TC278

2

Why Student-Led Conferences Work So Great in the Music Studio (Rosemarie Penner | The Unfinished Lesson)

3

A Simple, Effective, and Magical Element for Student Evaluations (Amy Chaplin | The Piano Pantry Podcast)

4

This video is a few years old but I just so happened to come across it recently. What a fun idea from Piano Sensei Clinton Pratt!

5

Rosemarie Trapp, whose family inspired ‘The Sound of Music,’ dies at age 93 (NPR)

6

How to Create a QR Code for Your Recital Program (Melody Payne)

7

How German Wine Makers Turned Disaster into a Good Year (CBS Sunday Morning)

8

Flat Tuition Payments for Private Music Lessons (Chad Twedt | Cerebroom)

9

7 Quotes that Forever Changed My View of Money (Joshua Becker | Becoming Minimalist)

10

My favorite new desk organizer caddy.

11

You Can Now Ask Google to Take Your Personal Data out of Search Results (NPR)

12

If you’re an Anne of Green Gables fan like me, you might get a kick out of this video: Life-Changing Homemaking Secrets from Anne of Green Gables.

13

A couple of new favorite recipes that have made it into my rotation recently:

Lemon Asparagus Couscous Salad with Tomatoes (Skinny Taste)

Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza Stuffed Peppers (Kalyn’s Kitchen)

14

I’ve been watching YouTube a lot lately, can you tell? LOL Here’s one more video I can’t resist sharing – Jeremy Siskind’s version of “Girl from Ipanema.”

1

Since Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner, here are some of my favorite Mexican-style dishes:

Game-winning Guac (very classic)
Guacamole Salad (fresh and healthy)
Ground Beef Taco Casserole (good as a dip for chips or as the base for taco salads instead of just seasoned ground beef!)
Skillet Chicken with Mexican Green Rice (super easy and great for feeding a family)
Taco Torte (a fun twist and pretty presentation – but easy!)
Churro Brownies (sooo good)

2

RCM Piano Syllabus 2022 (6th Edition) – a great rundown from Rebekah Maxner

3

Spring is in the air: here are some good Spring Cleaning tips from the special Saturday edition of my favorite news podcast.

4

A fun unboxing video from Janna for her new hydraulic bench!

5

Looking for a fresh idea for fun little student prizes/incentives?

From Lauren Lewandowski: How I Use Music Money in My Studio
From me: A Simple Incentive Program and Prize Box Items Students Love

6

Five Statements Your Kids Need to Hear Today (Forward Progress)

7

Helping students at performance time:

Piano Performance Checklists (Piano Pantry)
Preparing Students to Perform Their Best (podcast w/ Leila Viss & Samantha Coates)

8

Studio Awards: Policies and Procedures(Piano Pantry)

9

Yeah, I’m pretty sure I have almost all of these items, so I agree 100%! 🙂

1

As this first Friday Finds post following the MTNA 2022 conference, here are a few recaps you might enjoy:

Reflections on MTNA 2022  (Janna Williamson)

2022 MTNA Virtual Conference Recap (Joy Morin)

Music Teacher Eats: MTNA 2022 Edition (Amy Chaplin)

2

After staying at my house (and sleeping in my studio space – ha!) during the MTNA 2022 conference, Janna was inspired to do a tour of her studio!

3

Teacher Anna Haugen has a website called “Midlife Creative.” She recently did an artist feature post on a woman who makes incredible homemade pizza every Friday night for her family. The kind of pizza she makes is the kind of pizza of I love but don’t take enough effort to make regularly. I’m thinking it’s time for that to change…

4

Jennifer Foxx hit a tender spot in my heart when she recently shared a new playlist on Spotify she’s been developing called “Feel Good Songs.” Follow her and give it a listen!

5

Interest in choral singing is not declining in America, so why are church choirs disappearing? (Baptist News Global)

6

This short 5-minute video taught me some really amazing keyboard shortcuts! Even if you don’t use Evernote, many of these are applicable in other programs.

7

A great post on using devices for music reading and hands-free page-turning. (Creative Piano Teacher)

8

Food Prices are Going Up at Levels Americans Haven’t Seen in Decades (NPR)

9

Over the last few weeks, I have found myself incredibly addicted to a YouTube channel called Honeyjubu. She is a Korean woman who Vlogs about home life and food. I’ll just say there has been some serious binge-watching going on.

In the process, I also discovered a similar one called Hamimommy.

Do you have any favorite Vlog channels you follow on YouTube? Let me know in the comments!

10

Thanks to Leila Viss for telling me about the “Everything Happens” podcast by Kate Bowler. Recently, I really enjoyed the episode with novelist Ann Patchett.

11

14 Food Logos With Sneaky Hidden Messages (Taste of Home)

Oh my goodness, you have to take 5 minutes to actually read and process each of these 14 logos. So fun!

12

For Easter each year, we drive 50 minutes immediately following church to an extended family pitch-in lunch for my husband’s side of the family. Due to having to pack up food prior to church and have it sit for 3 hours in our car before the meal, I always do easy things that can survive without heat or refrigeration (or be OK with a simple ice pack).

This year’s picks:

Scotcheroos (made with Special K cereal)

Dill Pickle Dip with crackers

1

Curious about the Boom Card “boom”? LOL Check out Melody Payne’s tutorial on using boom cards in online lessons.

2

Language Matters: What Languages Learners Need to Know About Ukrainian (Duolingo Blog)

3

Coffee Drinks from Around the World (Williams Sonoma)

4

Canva is such an amazing resource and one that I have come to use almost daily. Even when I think I know a program well, I find myself always learning something new from Katie Wardrobe at Midnight Music. Check out the podcast episode #134:10+ Canva features you probably didn’t know about.

5

Music Notation Software Recommendations for Teachers and Students (Color in my Piano)

6

“The Pianist” Movie – A True Story (Piano Street)

7

Recent recipe finds worth a try:

Baked Chicken Taquitos (Kirstineskitchenblog.com) – My brother made this and even his (super picky) kids loved them, as did we!

Cuban Beef Picadilla (The Kitchn) – A fairly simple dish that can be served with rice or cauliflower rice on the side.

8

The Best Music Quotes for Piano Teachers (Creative Piano Teacher)

9

I just find this soooo touching and yes, it totally made me cry at the end!

10

An excellent article from Jane MacGrath on progressing students through what she calls “black hole literature.” An excellent pairing to this article is another article and free download from Janna Williamson on how to evaluate repertoire difficulty.

11

WordPress vs. Squarespace (Janna Carlson | Studio Rocket Web Design)

12

We’re all a little picky on the way we teach chords and scales. Maybe this new complete scales and complete chords book will be one that works well for you!