News & Blog
An Idea as the New School Year Approaches
Let me share some adjectives and comments I get from clients and their parents. Perfectionist. Type A. Anxiety. Stressed. Effortless. Must good at everything. I can’t get anything less than an A. I have to be thin. I have to be pretty. If I could change one...
Better Family Connection in 2023
Thanksgiving was last week and if you’re anything like me, you’ve already moved on to Christmas and maybe even 2023. This time of year seems to move so much faster than the rest of the year, am I right? We are programmed to make resolutions or changes in...
A Student’s Life in a World with Guns
Recently, the high school near my home had a “code red lockdown” which is every bit as scary as it sounds: a code red means that there is an immediate threat to the school and its occupants and that all people will be moved to safe areas and the interior...
It’s Happening Right Under Our Noses
I’ve seen girls change in the 30+ years that I’ve been teaching and in my last 4 years as a coach in the wellness industry. The confidence level has dropped, the anxiety level has risen, comparing themselves to other people has risen, and the seeming...
The Voices in Our Heads
Is there anyone out there who says mean things to themselves in their heads? Be honest! We all have some kind of running dialogue in our heads (our thoughts) and sometimes we take it to a negative place, saying super ugly things to...
What Is A Toxic Friend?
We all have that person in our life who we’ve known for a long time and have always liked spending time with…until we found ourselves realizing that things have changed and we don’t actually enjoy that person anymore. She makes us feel agitated, she...
Girl Power? Not Until We Change A Few Things
This past Sunday I had an interesting conversation with my friend Jill, who runs a successful choral program in a public school. We were discussing the new school year, the current challenges of the pandemic, and the effect that remote learning had on the kids,...
Senior Year: The Beginning of the End or the Beginning of the Beginning?
School is starting all over the country in what promises to be another strange year for kids and parents. I’ve seen many posts from friends and acquaintances who have kids entering their final year of high school, with musings of how they got to this point so...
A Slight Diversion from Coaching Topics
Normally I write about kids, life coaching and what I’m experiencing with my music students but today I was compelled to write about something that transcends both my worlds as a life coach and musician. It may take a bit to get to the point but...
Reading is Fundamental!
I’m sure I’m showing my age but who else remembers the RIF* “Reading is Fundamental” commercials on TV in the 70s/80s? “Once a child learns to read, the world becomes an open book!” I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on: Nancy...
Teen Girls and Nutrition
This is such a huge subject and it’s not likely to hit everything in one post but I want to open the discussion since the topic has been swirling around since…forever. I finally decided to write about it because I’ve now talked with two friends whose...
Teens Need ZZZZZZZZs
This week, I encountered two music students who were not their usual “on-the-ball selves” during their private lessons. After observing them make a few mistakes that they normally wouldn’t make and a whole lot of yawning, I asked each girl if she was...
Reflections from “COVID Conversations”
This weekend I had the pleasure of leading a small group of middle school girls in a “COVID Conversations” workshop. It was my first student workshop that was health-related, rather than music-related. I was excited and nervous but ready. You see, I had finally...
How much news coverage is too much for my teenager?
This is a touchy subject right now because “news” is everywhere and not all of it is reliable! While we want to raise informed kids, it’s important to monitor the constant stream of information, much of it negative, that comes their way. The answer to that...
The Joy of Participation
As I practiced my clarinet today, I had a thought that gave me pause: Many kids today are stuck in a cycle of activities that they would enjoy more if they weren’t always feeling like they had to be “the best” at it. What happened to doing something for the joy...