by Dr. Julie Knerr
This summer has been fabulous! I resigned my position at the Hartt Community Division to work from home and have been setting up my studio. I love practicing and teaching in this room, and since I’m at home, I get to teach in my slippers!
I also bought a few more Ikea bookshelves to reorganize the Piano Safari inventory/collating/packing station in my basement
But the highlight of the summer so far has been my trip to Ohio to visit Katie and her family. We planned Piano Safari Level 3, which we hope to release by next summer (or possibly by MTNA San Antonio!).
At NCKP, Katie and I presented a lecture entitled “The Role of Rote Teaching in the Development of Reading, Technique, and Artistry.” It was well attended and well received. We were thrilled to connect with so many wonderful teachers and to have discussions about combining rote teaching with a strong intervallic reading approach, which was a new and exciting concept to so many teachers.
The next morning we presented a Publisher Showcase about Piano Safari Level 1. It was also very well attended by enthusiastic teachers. We woke them up for this 8:00 a.m. session by playing the Rote Piece, “I Love Coffee. I Love Tea.” In spite of us not having enough coffee ourselves, the showcase went wonderfully!
Most of the conference was spent at our booth talking to teachers. It was so much fun to meet so many teachers from around the country and the world!
I filled my Honda Civic with materials for the conference and drove to Ohio and then to Illinois. I was very happy to have a much lighter load on the way home due to the enthusiastic reception of Piano Safari by the conference attendees.
On my trip back to Connecticut, I purchased a dolly to aid in bringing a large stack of orders to the post office. It is a definite upgrade from making several trips into the post office. 
It was a wonderful trip to visit the Fishers and attend the NCKP Conference. I am now catching up on work, weeding my garden, and recuperating with trips to the beach!
I hope you are all enjoying the last days of summer and getting excited for the coming school year!