I love to teach! It’s my passion in life. And, teaching piano? The best teaching gig I’ve ever had. This site is all about the best teaching resources I’ve found & created that make my life, and yours as well, just a little bit easier & fun.
I earned my Bachelor of Education in Secondary Education from University of Alberta. While working on my degree, I opted to specialize in Special Needs Education. After over a decade of experience as a teacher & administrator in private schools in both Mexico & Canada, I've taught just about every grade (1-12), plus almost every subject possible at the junior high level. What I learnt was that it didn't matter which grade or subject I taught, what mattered were the SKILLS I taught my students. Sure it can require trial & error to finding what works for each student, but the end result should be a student who enjoys learning & is independent.
When I'm not teaching, playing piano & researching, I can be found spending time with my family. Movie afternoons (Star Wars anyone?), playing video games (ah, Fortnite how you have taken over our lives), & many, many .. many discussions related to comic books, video games & superheroes are some of our favourite things. It's not always easy living with 3 guys, but our very talkative twins make life interesting for me &, my not-nearly-as-talkative, husband. (He's learnt to be an amazing listener.) And when this mommy needs “me” time? Reading copious numbers of novels, going to yoga, & making vegan food are some of MY favourite things.
Want to become a more creative music teacher?
Or create more balance between your studio & life?
I'm here to help!
Things You May Not Know About Me:
- At one point, I was taking Argentinian Tango & Hip Hop classes at the same time. LOVED tango & enjoyed every class! The hip hop classes … well, I’m more suited to listening to hip hop. It really wasn’t pretty. But, I can often be found dancing, or at least shimmying, to whatever song I’m listening to.
- I really enjoy making homemade preserves. This leads to peach bellini jam, spiced blueberry spreads & as many great combos as I can find. Trying to eat it all isn’t possible though, so the jars often become gifts which my clients really enjoy.
- My favourite drink is tea. And, because I enjoy variety there is a whole shelf at home. 30 different types is in no way too many, regardless of what my husband tells me. (Thank goodness he supports this addiction.) Walking into a David’s Tea store? Mmmmm. It’s fast become one of my happy places.
- I am a voracious reader. I typically read a novel every 2-3 days. It is a rare thing for me to leave the house without a book. While I’ve tried reading e-books, I’m definitely old-school & prefer a physical copy. Oh, and putting me in a library … another of my happy places!
- I get really excited about new ideas, especially in education! Things have changed in the past decade, so it is fun to research new trends & include the ones that benefit my students. Plus, it’s impossible to get bored with so many different activities & options out there.
I hope that my journey inspires you in your teaching! When we, as teachers, stop learning & exploring new ideas, we become stagnant. Going through the motions doesn’t help our career enjoyment & certainly doesn’t help us guide the next generation of musicians. So, let’s explore together!
I’m going to devour your website. I have 27 students and feel like I have almost no time for anything else in life but planning for them…which I love! My husband on the other hand is already asking when I will retire! LOL! (HE must be feeling a little neglected.) I’m feeling like you can help me be a better teacher and maybe not work such long hours? HOw in the world do you have time for so many extra fun things?? Anyway…thank you for sharing your ideas and resources to help others. What a blessing! Also, I tried to click on your repertoire lists but the link wouldn’t open. Any suggestions?
Becky, I enjoyed reading your comment about “devouring” the site. I do the same thing.
You absolutely deserve to have a creative studio AND a life outside of that studio. There are ways to “stretch” out the prep time a little. One of those ways is to divide my studio into levels. Nearly everything I create in my studio is set up that it can work for almost every single level with a little tweaking.
To access the repertoire lists, just visit https://theunfinishedlesson.com/store/. The lists are under “Administrative”.
Hello fellow Tim Topham Inner Circle member. After finishing a course where they talked about your blog, I was intrigued to visit your site hearing that you do traveling teaching which is what I do. Speaking of Star Wars, the new one just came out and I covered Across the Stars 🙂
Hi Eric! I’m glad to see you here fellow IC member! I enjoyed listening to your piano cover. My husband & I watched the latest Star Wars over the holidays here which was, of course, followed by an analysis of how it compared with the previous movies in the series.
Would love to hear more from you regarding your travel teaching! What are your favourite parts & what do you find the most challenging? Happy holidays!
I love about pages that include personal quirks and things about us that make us unique.
Argentinian Tango – you’re too cool! I took tap in college and enjoyed it more than I expected. I love to can and preserve too! One of my favorite preserve recipes is Amy Bronee’s Red Pepper Jelly from The Canning Kitchen cookbook. It AMAZING to eat on top of a good sharp cheddar cheese and crackers. As a matter of fact – I can relate to you on all points! I could only dream of reading a book every 2-3 days right now but I plug away as much as I can.
I really enjoyed your About page as well … cute photo of you & your husband! I loved finding out you are a foodie as well & enjoy reading your recipes (even the ones I can’t eat). And, a good red pepper jelly recipe … so amazing! I sometimes add it stir fry right at the end for a quick, flavourful glaze. It’s always a big hit with the family.
The biggest draw for Argentinian Tango was that if there is is a mistake, 80% of the time it’s the man’s fault & 20% of the time it’s the woman’s fault. But, the guy’s job is to make the girl look great, so it is still his fault that 20% of the time. Not sure how cool it makes me, but something where someone else is in charge of making me look great & I can’t get blamed for anything sounded pretty awesome. Lol
Tap, on the other hand, I need to give you kudos. There is no hiding behind anyone there. The foot movements are really intricate & can get so fast! I am always amazed when I see a tap routine because I really don’t know if I could get my feet to move like that. That must have been so much fun, but challenging to learn!