Nurturing with Love and Nature
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| Mini piano created with Perler Beads For more photos see: Piano History and Caring For Your Piano and Piano Performance Class blog post. |
I am a naturalist, and I turn to the healing and therapy of nature in my teaching approach. My studio is nature-based, with many of the theory games, techniques, and the atmosphere of my studio expressing the combination of my passion for teaching and nature.
Here are a few examples of a normal day at my studio. There is never a dull moment!
Photos above: Sand play theory activities for keyboard and note identification.
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| Using stones for rhythm study. Small sticks represent the barlines. Students clap various rhythm patterns with the use of a metronome. |
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| Note identification through nature Tic-Tac-Toe game. |
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| Nature theory game identifying the keyboard. Theory worksheet are also nature themed and include nature facts. |
(Left) Students are allowed to bring nature finds to piano lessons
as a means of communication before or after piano studies. (Right)
Jackson sharing his pet tortoise !
Turtle Mania! (Studio mascot, turtle on practice beads as a reminder of slow/detailed practice, and turtle rubber stamp.) More practice beads on right. The piano bead handmade with polymer clay.
Turtle Mania! (Studio mascot, turtle on practice beads as a reminder of slow/detailed practice, and turtle rubber stamp.) More practice beads on right. The piano bead handmade with polymer clay.
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| “It’s probable that in the artistic hierarchy birds are the greatest musicians existing on our planet.” ― Olivier Messiaen |
The student above (Kennedy) has shared information she has researched about Cuckoo birds before performing "Cuckoo" --Suzuki Piano School Bk 1, pg 18. She is also learning to identify various birds, and to have an appreciation for nature along with her training of keyboard and note recognition.
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| Note Recognition Theory Game |
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Honeybee Awareness Day!
Students had a honeybee themed Performance and Theory class. Their performances included honeybee songs that they composed, and they played honeybee theory games created by the lovely Georgina Wilson of Greeside Music! Following that, they attended a Honeybee Festival together at Phinzy Swamp Nature Park.To see a photo gallery of our adventure, visit: Honeybee Awarness Day! |
| Students and I made Honey Bee plates after Piano Performance Class. |
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| Honeybee table display |
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| Honeybee Theory games |
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| Karis, age 4, gives report about the honeybees before performing "The Honeybee" during performance class |
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| Andrew shares what he has learned about honeybees before performing "The Honeybee" (Suzuki Piano School, pg 17) |
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| Students and parents admiring the honeybee observatory at Phinizy Swamp Nature Park! |
Honey Bee Letterbox and informative books to accompany the Suzuki Solo "The Honeybee". When students do background reading on the topic or composer of their solo, it helps them to connect with the piece. The letterbox clues are based upon facts studied regarding the solo. To find where the letterbox is hidden, students correctly answer the clues.
Stamps hand-carved by students. This is done while quietly listening in on another student's lesson, or while listening to classical CDs at home. The stamps are used as a personal letterboxing ID when stamping into the journal of the letterboxes that they find, along with a brief message. To learn more about letterboxing, see:
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| Robert's artwork in harmony with our studio mascot! |
Ella gifted me with Twinkle cookies! She performed all of her Twinkles beautifully, and shared her research about the stars before performing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" during performance class.
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Earth Day Awareness!
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| Suzuki Earth Day Concert performance at Phinzy Swamp Nature Park |
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| Delicious caked served at a Suzuki Earth Day Masterclass taught by Robin Blankenship! To see more photos of this event, visit Earth Day Masterclass |
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| Paper bag nature journals that I created for my student to carry on their hike for inspiration in creating nature themed compositions. |
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| Dylan and Jackson sketching and taking notes during their hike for their nature compositions. |
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| Our Studio T-Shirts. |
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| Captain Planet's stamp of approval of this beautiful grand used for our Suzuki Earth Day Piano Concert, thanks to Turner's Keyboards! |
Lovely flower pots handcrafted by my darling students after performance class! Students were given cards that I jot down things that I wanted them to work on, such as their bow before performing, (card 1), rest position on the bench and getting ready above the keyboard -elbows slightly out- (card 2) etc. Other cards were challenging areas that they were to work on for their Earth Day solos. Students planted a seed in their pots and were to successfully complete the tasks on their cards before the seed sprouted.
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