My word for 2020 is OPEN. If you’d asked me what that meant on January 1, I would have said it’s a state of mind that encourages me to notice and seize possibilities. OPEN prompts me to be prepared to act, and act boldly. It pushes me to take risks. On January 1, this felt […]
The Value of Quiet
I had a chaotic day yesterday. From my daughter waking up early, to a rock band rehearsal in my band room when I got to school, through a busy teaching day where there was always a lesson or rehearsal going on, to my daughter’s dance studio after school, there was a constant stream of noise […]
The First Day of Band
This week is the first-ever day of band for my fourth graders. Yesterday was Beekman’s first rehearsal; today is Vail Farm’s. As my Beekman kids walked into the cafeteria in the morning, carrying their instruments to store on the stage, I called out to them. “Who’s excited for band?” When they called back, “I am!” […]
Cross-Pollinating Creative Practice
“How would you practice this?” I asked my private flute student. She’s in ninth grade, very talented, and currently working through the Anderson Opus 24 Etude book. (Flutists will know the one.) “What would you do first?” She told me that she’d play through the first few lines very slowly. Then, once she’d gotten a […]
When Do You Throw Away The Game?
My seven year-old son loves board games, and we have a lot of classic games in the house. Yesterday, he wanted to play “Guess Who?” a game I’d bought on a whim at an old general store a few years ago because I remembered it fondly from my childhood. I hadn’t looked at it too […]
Mid-January Life Update
Today is the start of this month’s blog streak! I’ll be posting every day from now until Saturday. I love blogging week because it pushes me to write more freely. I love it even more this month because I’m hip-deep in creative projects at the moment and feeling so good about it. But let’s start […]