We Did It! 100 Hours!

We did it! In three weeks my students worked together to sight read for 100 hours. Everyone pitched in with 10 minutes or so each day. We are raising money for Vision Health Month so students will be bringing in donations, which we will give to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind on behalf of the studio. The CNIB piggy bank is just waiting to get filled up.

It was fun watching the thermometer going up each day. I kept it up to date on my studio website. The student who was responsible for reaching 6000 minutes was very pleased with herself on Saturday.

This project has also given me some added inspiration to develop a sight reading program over the summer. I don't teach during the summer months because I need a big block of time to bring all of my creative ideas to life. This summer it's going to be all about sight reading! I have some great ideas and of course you will be the first to know as my material develops. For those of you who are on the fence about an iPad, this just might push you over the edge.

Spring Recital... We Are Winding Down!

The past month or so has been full of interesting projects at my studio. As each goal comes and goes I can feel the year is quickly winding down.

1. RCM practical exams
2. Musicianship exams
3. RCM Theory exams
4. Sight reading for 100 hours
5. Studio DVD Recording
6. Spring Recital
7. Young Composers Project

The Music Room

This past weekend we had our Spring Recital. We are very fortunate to have access to a special venue called The Music Room. It is a small, intimate space for about 100 people. Students have the opportunity to play a beautiful Steinway concert grand.

In the hustle and bustle of concert day I didn't have time to take pictures, but hopefully some of my piano parents will soon send me photos, as we did some group shots at the end of the concert.

I had a little extra fun with the program this year, opting for a swirly design on bright spring colors. Oh and we had matching butterfly and flower cookies too!

Recital Program

I have read many blog posts on creative ideas for theme recitals. This is one area I want to improve next year. My recitals tend to be rather traditional and I would love to put more effort into creative performances. As soon as May settles down the brainstorming for next year can begin.

Sight Reading Month is Working!

Last week I presented my students with the idea that we would work together as a studio to sight read for 100 hours this month. We will be raising money for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) because May is Vision Health Month.

I put together a BIG box of random sight reading books. At each lesson the students pick out any two books to borrow for the week. We are trying to keep it fun and not too tricky.

We will be tracking our sight reading minutes for four weeks. To reach the 100 hour goal, each student will need to sight read for just 10 minutes each day. The first ten minutes are done during lesson time, where we have been sight reading duets together. Fun!

Yesterday was the first day that charts started coming back to me and we are off to a great start! All of my Monday students spent time sight reading and made a good contribution towards our 100 hour goal. I found an online thermometer generator that I will put on my website so students can watch us get closer to our goal. I wonder if we can do it?

May is Vision Health Month

I feel the need to do something special in my studio to remind my students that sight reading is fun! Wendy shared an idea that she saw in the April MTNA e-Journal about National Sight-Saving Month and how Patricia Powell uses this as an opportunity to raise funds for a local visual health charity.

This is a great idea! Starting today my students will be keeping track of how many minutes they sight read each day. I have a big box of sight reading material which I will lend out. We will keep this up for four weeks.

Here is the little chart that each student will receive at the beginning of each week.

I will ask parents and friends to make pledges for the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) in support of Vision Health Month based upon the number of hours we collectively sight read as a studio. I think a good goal for the month is 100 hours. I am planning on pledging $1 per hour of sight reading.

I think this is going to be fun!