Friday, August 14, 2015

Avenue of Life

Hello, hello!

I hope this finds you all well and enjoying back-to-school season.  ☺

I promised to tell you about some of the new things going on in life here, so I'd like to share about one of them today:

A few months ago, I heard about a community center in the area called Avenue of Life.  A friend was tutoring there for the summer, and I thought it sounded like a pretty neat establishment.  It didn't occur to me till a few weeks later, however, that there might be opportunity for me to help out there, too.

Long story short, I am currently teaching piano lessons there on a volunteer basis!  I started a month or so ago, and for now, am teaching one afternoon a week, in order to continue to try to protect Bryant and my evenings together.  It was good to start in the summertime, because I was able to teach kiddos during the earlier afternoon hours.  I/we didn't know what my time there would look like once school started, but I just found out (as luck...actually, as God would have it) that the day I chose to teach lessons there happens to be the weekly district-wide early release day!

The clientele has varied a bit every week, but I've seen some students attend more and more regularly, as well as new ones coming each week.  It's a bit of a challenge to know what to be prepared for each time I'm there, but I just take as many books/resources as I can, and hope I can meet the needs of whoever shows up!  I enjoy the variety, and the "unknown" keeps it interesting and exciting.  (For example: A brother and sister who recently started lessons with me previously took lessons with a Spanish-speaking teacher and learned the notes not as letters, but as solfège syllables!  Their goal is to learn the "letter version" of the musical alphabet in addition to learning to read the actual notes on the staff, rather than intervals and patterns.)  

I'm confident this opportunity was an answer to my prayers for guidance in finding ways to use my time and share my gifts.  This season in my life is "wide open," at the moment, and I'm thankful for the ability to take advantage of this particular opportunity, especially.

I haven't shared a student story in quite a while, so here is a short one for you:
One of my adult students (who has Asperger's syndrome and suffers from other physical ailments) told me this past week that our piano lessons are the highlight of her week.  She is "obsessed" (her word, not mine) with the piano and absolutely loves to practice.  What more could a teacher ask for?  ☺

Thanks for reading!

Musically yours,
Kensy


Favorites of the day:
date nights, courtesy of Groupon and my thoughtful husband
sunshine and pool time
exploring