This year our family met in Tokyo, Japan for Christmas. Since our family is spread out over the world, we now vacation by destination. We chose Japan since our oldest daughter and her husband live here. We have made many trips to Japan since Bethany, our daughter, moved there in 2015. However, this is the […]
December is here again, and so are all the trimmings that go with the holidays; shopping, parties, programs, family gatherings, special events, and the list goes on. In the midst of all of this, teachers are trying to finish up the last few days of school before Christmas break and keep students engaged in learning. […]
Here we go! We are officially into holiday program mode! Get out your jingle bells, Santa costumes, and prepare for lots of rehearsals! How do you survive this crazy season where all the holidays seem to collide at once? The answer is a lot of pre-planning! I’ve been teaching long enough that I have a […]
Summer vacation is in full swing, and we’ve finally had a few weeks to catch our breath after a busy school year. Now that we’re enjoying the summer, what are some good ways to revitalize ourselves while vacation flies by? The following are some suggestions to recharge and renew yourself during a break; to be […]
Valentines Day is such a fun holiday! I have fond memories of decorating a little brown paper bag with hearts and flowers to hold valentines that I would receive from my classmates. I also love the heart-shaped candy and Valentine party that I anticipated with great joy with my classmates! Valentine’s day is the best […]
Another year is past and a new year is here! I always like the beginning of a new year – completely blank pages that we can fill with our hopes and dreams. So many of us make many resolutions and goals, only to keep them for a few weeks, then return to our old habits […]
I just love Christmas music! Even though I start to look for new Christmas arrangements or write Christmas music and programs in June to plan ahead for choir and school, I still love singing the songs in December! Christmas music strikes such an emotion of happy memories for me when singing “Joy to the World”, […]
I love this time of year, but it gets a bit crazy with all of the special holidays colliding in the fall. We go from Halloween to Veterans Day to Thanksgiving to Christmas and then on to a New Year! Wow – I get a bit of whiplash trying to keep up with programs, lessons, […]
Every school year I enjoy helping my students prepare for a Veterans Day program. We spend time learning many wonderful patriotic songs such as “Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue”, “You’re a Grand Old Flag”, as well as the military themes for all 5 branches of the military. I wrote a song called […]