Most of you know that Valerie and I teach piano lessons. At the end of the school year we hold a recital and I always like to give the students a little gift. This is what I did last year. This year I wanted to give them something that would help them in their piano lessons. I really wanted to make them their own canvas bags to hold their piano books, but had a hard time making it economical. Instead I stumbled on these Rhythm Sticks on the Music in Motion website. I often pull out my drum pad and drum sticks during lessons to help them with rhythm, but for a good price I could get them their own sticks to use at home and in lessons! I also decided to get them a pad of manuscript paper to encourage creativity and composition. One way that I use rhythm sticks in their lessons is by playing a fun game with dice. This is where the crafting comes in. I bought these foam dice at the dollar store. 2 dice come in a package for $1. Then I printed out different values of notes and rests on the computer, and cut them into squares that would fit onto the dice. I laminated them. And then ran them through my Xyron sticker maker, and adhered them to the dice. Now I have all sorts of rhythmic possibilities for my students to play on their sticks! Roll the dice and tap it out. Also notice that one of the sticks is ridged. Whenever there's a note more than two beats in length I have them drag the smooth stick along the ridged stick for the length of that note. They love it! I think this is the first time I've crafted for my piano lessons. Hmm.... what else could I make? Connect with us! You can find us here: