Friday Fave: Spring Break!

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Woohoo! After a long, cold winter, there’s really nothing better than an entire week off of school. Spring break was made for catching up on sleep, friends, and life in general, and that is exactly what I plan to do with mine! I will still be seeing some of my students who are not on spring break, but I won’t be waking up at 5:30 to get ready for school. And boy, am I looking forward to that :)

Spring fever sets in for me towards the middle of February, when Mother Nature teases us with those semi-warm, sunny days. Now that April is in full swing, spring fever has taken over the Hope Institute. If you’ll be taking your spring break next week, please enjoy it! If you’ve already had it, or if you don’t get one at all – I apologize for the reminder ;) Either way, have a wonderful weekend!

Autism Awareness Month

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April is Autism Awareness Month

You can help spread the word about autism in many different ways. Here are just a few suggestions:

  • Write an article and send it to the newspapers.
  • Dedicate a song on your local music radio station for “Autism Awareness”.
  • Wear your ribbons & put your magnets on your cars.
  • Make a donation on behalf of an autistic child.
  • Try to get your favorite business to make a donation to autism research or donate a percentage of the daily sales.
  • Bring awareness to you community with a bullentin board.
  • Post an autism awareness message on Facebook and/or MySpace.

World Autism Awareness Day is April 2. For more information about World Autism Awareness Day and listings of events from around the world, please click here.

April Fool’s Day!

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

It’s only 8:30 am, and I’ve already been pranked…by my principal! He sent out an email telling us to come to a faculty meeting at 8:00 am, and then when we got there, we found that there was no meeting, only delicious muffins :) I’ll take a prank like that any day of the year.

And in honor of the first day of April, here is the newest song of the month:

April, it’s April,
For thirty days it’s here,
April, it’s April,
The fourth month of the year.

April Fools is on day one,
Jokes and pranks are so much fun,
Play a trick on one of your friends,
Before this day ends,

April, it’s April,
For thirty days it’s here,
April, it’s April,
The fourth month of the year.

April 22nd is Earth Day,
Let’s keep our planet clean,
Recycle and plant some trees,
And make the whole earth green,

April, it’s April,
For thirty days it’s here,
April, it’s April,
The fourth month of the year.

Spring is here the whole month long,
And flowers start to bloom,
When April showers are over,
The sun shines in our room,

April, it’s April,
For thirty days it’s here,
April, it’s April,
The fourth month of the year.

I have a busy but exciting month ahead of me. I’ll be celebrating both my mom and dad’s 50th birthdays, next week is spring break, and then the following week, Zach and I are off to San Diego! I can’t wait. But for now, enjoy your April Fool’s Day and if you play a prank on somebody, make it a nice one!

Spring Snow

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

When the forecast called for snow this weekend, I laughed it off. After all, it’s spring…right? It rained all day long on Saturday, and by late evening the temperature had dropped considerably. Maybe the weatherman was right after all?

Sure enough, when I woke up early on Sunday morning, I looked outside to see approximately four inches of snow covering the ground. So in honor of Illinois’ freak spring snowfall, I’d like to share my snowy day song (one that I thought I wouldn’t have to think about for at least eight more months).

Snowflakes, snowflakes, float to the ground.
Here they come without a sound.
Big and small, down they fall,
It’s a snowy, snowy day.

See the ground, all covered in white,
Can you feel the cold air’s bite?
Making snowmen, snow angels too,
Snow is falling, yes it’s true.

Snowflakes, snowflakes, float to the ground.
Here they come without a sound.
Big and small, down they fall,
It’s a snowy, snowy day.

Make a snowball with your hands,
Toss it up and see where it lands.
Soft and powdery, white as glue,
Snow is falling, yes it’s true.

Luckily, most of the snow has melted and the high today is 60 degrees. My spring break starts next Monday, so I’m crossing my fingers in the hopes that this weekend was meant to balance out a perfect week of sunshine and 70 degree temps. I have other weather songs, ones about warm weather and fun in the sun, that I’d really like to get to. Have a great Monday, everyone :)

Friday Fave: My Piano

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Can I tell you a story? It’s about a girl and her piano. The piano came long before the girl did…it belonged to her mother, and what a prized posession it was. The piano was the centerpiece of the living room, and a source of endless entertainment for the girl even when she was very little. When she turned five, her mother asked her if she’d like to take piano lessons. Of course she said yes, and so she began her first of many, many years learning to play.

The girl had lots of different piano teachers. First a whole slew at the music store in the mall, then a nun named Sister James Marie throughout junior high and high school. But while her teachers changed, she came home and practiced on that same piano. She didn’t practice as much as she should have, but she did the best she could. After all, she was a very busy girl.

When the girl’s mother turned 40, her family threw her a surprise party. But the biggest surprise was a baby grand piano, which sat front and center in the living room. The old piano still had a spot in that room, but it was mostly ignored. When the girl’s parents moved to a new house, the big shiny one had it’s own room upstairs while the old piano was relegated to the basement. There it stayed for several years, collecting dust.

By now, the girl was all grown up. She and her husband bought a new house, which had a room perfect for her teaching studio. All it needed was a piano. So all the men in the girl’s family got together and rescued that old piano from the basement, lugging it up a flight of stairs, out the door, onto a truck, and finally into the room where it will live from now on.

And that is the story of this girl and her piano. It’s amazing to me that the very same instrument I once banged on as a toddler will be used to teach countless other children how to play. I love my piano.