April Update: Easter Games, Composing, and... the Grinch?!

   It is a fact that Easter eggs were never really a thing at our house growing up. As a Christian family, our primary focus at Easter was our Saviour's death and resurrection. We, along with some friends, did a Resurrection Egg hunt once. That was both fun and meaningful. And, like many other grandmas everywhere, ours made sure there was always a candy bag for each of her grandchildren when we made it to her place for Easter. Those miniature gift bags held way more candy than a plastic egg would have! 

   Nevertheless, as far as teaching goes, plastic eggs make great teaching tools. Especially split in half and labelled with masking tape or permanent marker. 


   You can use the halves to build scales. 

   And Wunderkeys's note-reading slide puzzle is designed to be used with these colourful eggshells. 

   Meanwhile, this worksheet didn't require any plastic parts. But whole eggs were a big help for the stumped student who was having a hard time figuring out which note value was needed to fill in the measure. 

   But, actually, the biggest Easter-themed activity this year was improv and composing! Again, the improv rhythm cards and composing worksheets came from Wunderkeys. I handed out creative assignments based on students' skill level. Though, partway through composing with a couple of students during Buddy lessons,, I realized too late that this worksheet was a bit too easy for these Level 2 (RCM) girls! They probably could have come up with a complete Easter-themed composition on their own. Overall, however, this was a really great thing to have for many of my students. The best part? Composing and improv worked just as well during online lessons as they did for in-person lessons! 

   Not everything in the studio was Easter-themed this month. The Grinch and his friends showed up to play one day. These cute figurines that I found on Amazon are doing two things at once in this photo: rewarding their young fan for swallowing her fears and performing for someone, and helping her review steps and skips. Some children just need a little extra motivation to share their music with others. I was one of those growing up, except my teacher gave me stickers. :) 

   Now we're in full recital prep swing! Hard to believe there's just one more month till summer break....
Location: Onoway, AB T0E 1V0, Canada

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