Yesterday Mr. TOF had a long afternoon that involved dealing with difficult older siblings who wanted to push his buttons and aggravate him at every turn.  He held it together better than he does some days, but I came into the kitchen and found him in tears, extraordinarily frustrated after someone…

Mr. SP’s birthday was on Thanksgiving this year.  For the first time ever on a holiday, all of Dr. Peds’ family was together in one place to celebrate.  However, we actually celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday because some people were still traveling on Thursday.  It worked out perfectly because we spent…

For eight autumn seasons now, I’ve been blessed to get to teach music class for families of preschoolers in assisted living facilities.  Each week families bring their small children and we sing, dance, pretend and have a marvelous time interacting with the residents who live there. I teach the classes…

Someone was just a wee bit excited about the first snowfall last Friday.   What was he most looking forward to, you ask?  SHOVELING!  This boy still loves to shovel!  Sledding was a close second.

Mr. TOF loves raking.  Loves it.  Plus, he’s good at it.  For many days he persuaded a sibling, or persuaded a parent to make a sibling help him drag leaves down the front slope of the yard to make a giant pile on the sidewalk that he could run through,…

For the last several months I’ve made a habit of playing hymn arrangements for about 30 minutes before we leave for church on Sunday mornings.  I’ve made this a habit in the summer before, but never could I keep the habit going when school started and I started teaching Sunday…

When I was singing in my college choir, we started working on a double choir Bach motet.  The conductor divided up all of the singers into two choirs, and we relentlessly rehearsed the intricate music.  After a bit of time I started to feel confident in knowing the notes and…

Sunshine on a fall afternoon is beautiful to behold.

Last Saturday it was sixty eight degrees.  In November.  On a Saturday.  Amazing.  The kidlets elected to hike at Hartley.  In the Spooky Forest there were at least 30 college aged students dangling from pine trees in their camping hammocks, reading.  I thought that was absolutely fabulous.  Mr. SP and…

I think I write about Autumn being my favorite season as a piano teacher each year.  It continues to be a time of progress for my students, and I love working with them.  For many students who take a break over the summer, fall is a time to dive in…