Saturday, April 2, 2016

Spring 2016 Newsletter


It has been a little less than 8 weeks since lessons resumed in February, and we've already accomplished quite a lot! In this short time, we have:
  1. Continued to work on the development of proper technique through scales for the adults and pentascales and TEDDtales (an interactive, story-based approach to technical exercises) for the children. 
  2. Made weekly progress in the method books.
  3. Selected pieces for the upcoming spring recital and have started to master them. 
  4. Started a composing unit from Teach Piano Today called The Curious Case of Muttzart and Ratmaninoff
  5. Completed multiple themed activities and worksheets that focused in improving note reading (crosswords and worksheets from funandlearnmusic.comHorton Hears a Who! Coloring Page, Dr. Seuss Improvisation exercise, Face the Spaces game, etc) and tried an app called Flashnote Derby.
  6. Participated in a studio Lego Practice Incentive. This idea came from Jenny Boster's site under a post entitled, The Building Blocks of Piano Incentive Program. We followed Jenny's incentive almost exactly, and concluded the incentive with a party where the "Master Practicer" received his certificate and we all watched The Lego Movie. I gave each participant the Lego that they earned to take home and Nanoblock musical instrument kits. 
I'm so proud of how hard everyone has been working and I'm looking forward to the recital!