***GIVEAWAY DAY***

I am so incredibly excited about today’s post! My sister-in-law started a new job teaching second grade at a classical style (private) school this year. A couple of months in I asked her how things were going. She had glowing reviews of the curriculum, her staff, and her students. But the one thing that stood out to me from our conversation was how much of her teaching is through reading. They read literature to learn English, they read books to study history, and they read to learn about science and nature. I’m not just talking about reading textbooks either. The whole idea of the curriculum is to instill a love for learning in each and every student.

This definitely got me thinking. I grew up in public school, and although I love reading, I did not necessarily love learning through textbooks. Now there is certainly a place for this (I am not advocating getting rid of your piano lesson book!), but I have been working on finding resources for teaching music through literacy to engage my student’s learning 🙂

There will be many more blog posts in the coming year on this topic … but today? I have an incredible resource to share with you that I know you are going to LOVE!

I recently discovered FableNotes, and after ordering the book and workbook I instantly fell in love! So today I’ve teamed up with Marin Marka, pediatric occupational therapist, piano teacher, and author extraordinaire to do a free giveaway – a signed hardcopy of her book, “Here Comes the High Notes”, and digital workbook download! Check it out below- (photos shared with permission). You’ll find this is a fantastic way to use reading to teach music!

Are you in love with this as much as I am? I’ve only showed part of the book here … but there are fun and lovable little creatures for each note on the treble staff 🙂

Whether you use the books during piano lessons, in group music classes, or encourage your studio families to purchase them to read as bedtime stories, I am confident you will find this resource to be well-loved! One of my favorite parts is that Marin also offers a workbook to bridge the gap from “the treble note committee” on the staff to the everyday notes we use to read music. Hardcopy, digital copy, audiobook, digital workbooks and more are all available at fablenotes.com. Make sure you check out more of the heart behind her work, and keep an eye out for her low note book that is in the works 🙂

To enter the giveaway, comment on this post with one of your favorite note reading activities you use in your studio or how you plan to use this book in the future to promote a love of music and music literacy 🙂 A winner will be randomly chosen on December 13th, so be sure to check out the other 12 Days of Christmas Note Reading series in the meantime!

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