Celebrate Summer with this "End of June" S-Cubed Sight Singing Program and Mastery Belt System Giveaway

Around the country and beyond its borders, most teachers are out for the summer.

So, I am hosting a giveaway of the largest bundle in the S-Cubed series, and also the newest addition to the S-Cubed Series family, Mastery Belt System, created by Pamela Weaver of The Choir Room on TpT.  That is over $400 worth of free materials!  Someone will get those items for free on Monday, June 29, 2026.  All who enter the giveaway will receive an email from me on Monday morning, June 29, letting them know how to get some items in my store for 50% off that day only, including the Mega Bundle and the Mastery Belt System Bundle. 

By now, most choral music educators have heard of the S-Cubed Sight Singing Program for Beginners, but if you haven't, click this link to see the reviews that I've kept for the last 13 years as I've been sharing it, and you can also check out the reviews in my TpT store..  And click this link to access the FREE curriculum map, which is available exclusively in my TpT, so you can see how the lessons flow and what is covered if you want to learn more about the program.  

If you haven't heard of the Mastery Belt System, make sure to read the product description in this link.  And also, watch this video of an interview I did with the creator, Pamela Weaver, in late February.  She has created a wonderful incentive program for students of S-Cubed in which they progress from one color "belt" to the next as they master the various skill sets of each individual lesson successfully.  If you are a long-time user of S-Cubed, her program can inject new energy into your journey with S-Cubed.

Also, if you are a long-time user of the S-Cubed Sight Singing Program for Beginners, and you've created something that you think could enhance or amplify the S-Cubed journey of teachers and students, email me at inthemiddlewithmrd@gmail.com.  In the subject line, write "Can we schedule time to talk about what I've created?", and I'll get back to you.  

That is exactly how my journey with Pamela Weaver and The Choir Room began.  It was almost a year ago when Pamela contacted me to share her system with me.  We worked together slowly and steadily over several months before we offered it, and many teachers have purchased The Mastery Belt System and are using it in their classrooms.  If you're one of those people, and you are reading this, please leave reviews on TpT in my store or hers, depending on where you purchased it.    We need them!  It helps more people find our work when we have reviews.  In fact, if you leave a review for any product of mine that you have purchased in my TpT store between today (June 22, 2026) and June 28, 2026, email me, and I'll send you a product from my store that is worth up to $25 in value.  In the subject line, please write "I left a review for..." and list the product.  I get notifications from TpT on every single review that is left, but I don't get access to your email addresses when you do that, so please make sure to email me.  

So, back to the giveaway-  You can enter below these photos!

*When you enter, make sure you include your correct email address in your entry.  Otherwise, you will not be entered in the giveaway. 

*There are multiple ways to enter, and you are welcome to do them all to increase your chances.  

Click the link below in blue to enter the giveaway anytime between now (June 22, 2026) and Sunday night, June 28, at midnight Eastern time.   >>>  S-Cubed and Mastery Belt System Giveaway.

Good luck!

The Curwen Hand Signs Leverage all three learning styles for S-Cubed Sight Singing Program

Using the Curwen Hand signs is not that hard. 

I learned them in my 30s while creating the S-Cubed Sight Singing Program for Beginners, and I did so through daily use in a gamified setting.  I learned the power of lifting and lowering the hands and pulsing to connect the rhythm to their brains.  I took it further with exercises like "Follow the Hand".  Then I incorporated increasingly subtle hand movements when I added the "Ear Training" component, which is woven throughout S-Cubed.  

Using the hand signs with my students was simple, not scary, and a game-changer.  

Many choir teachers learned to read music while they were children, taking piano lessons.

In that setting, there are multiple advantages-

*The privilege of private instruction

*The early start to learning to read music

*The kinesthetic/visual/auditory connection that comes while you are reading and hearing the music that you are making while reading it from the page.

Most of our beginners have had none of those privileges.

So, we must find ways to successfully get our students...all of them...to successfully read...no matter what learning limitations they have.

We know that leveraging all three learning styles is one of the best ways to do that, so if you've resisted learning and using the Curwen Hand Signs, rethink it.  

When I did it, I literally did so in front of my students through the game Forbidden Pattern each day.  They loved the game, and before I knew it, I was fluent in the usage of the hands signs, and so were they.

I've always recommended these charts from Dancing Crayon on TpT because she created them just for my program when I was getting started sharing S-Cubed.  She also created one for the Chromatic hand signs that I use in S-Cubed, which is available for you if you dare to get that far into the program. 

I've kept track of the reviews and testimonials from teachers who have used my program for years.

If you are thinking about using S-Cubed next year, take time to read them and take a look at the free curriculum map located in my TpT store!

If you have any questions about the program, as always, email me directly-  inthemiddlewithmrd@gmail.com.  Subscribe to my email list by emailing me and writing "Subscribe" in the subject line.  

 

Prioritizing your health

I've always prioritized my health.   

I still do it. 

When I wake up every day, I am thankful.

Then, I decide...When am I going to work out?  What does that look like?  How long do I have?  Do I really want to work out hard, or do I want to play Pickleball for 2 hours?  

Today, I did a quick leg workout, jump rope, and some plyometrics between sessions with clients at Lifetime.  

I am 62, so it all looks different now than it did back in the day.  

I'm helping this amazing human being return to prioritizing her health as she retires from an epic career.   

I am thankful for the opportunity to do it.  

I am careful with her.   

She is just two years older than I am, but because she has not always prioritized herself and her health, I want to get her where she wants to be, one step at a time, without injuries.  

This is my next chapter.  

I've always prioritized my health, even as I ran a program of 350+ students in public schools as a choral music educator.  

I want to move as well as I can, as pain-free as I can, for as long as I can.  

That is what I want to help others do.  

I am loving this next chapter.  

Need a free Broadway Musical Unit for the end of the School Year?

Need a free Broadway Musical Theater Unit for the end of the school year?

This one is great!

You can test out my Broadway musical theater series that I have in my TPT store with this free lesson.  

This unit focuses on the musical Hairspray!   There are so many great lessons that come from the plot of this show, and the kids love watching the musical. As with all of my musical theater units, it is filled with activities that are interactive.  There are games. There are opportunities for singing, acting, writing and creation.  

Go and get it… And then consider purchasing some of the other units in my TPT store on Broadway Musical Theatre.  Leave a review!  It helps more teachers know the quality of the product, and it helps me help you better!

Mr. D- Creator of S-Cubed Sight Singing Program for Beginners on "The Choir Guys" Podcast

We had a blast talking about everything ranging from Pickleball to my "not so secret" past as an Aerobic Gymnast to the Olympics to solfege and sight singing!  

Blake Richter and Daniel Gutierrez are two delightful hosts of The Choir Guys podcast.  They love teaching middle and high school choir, and so did I before I retired and moved on to things like Pickleball and personal training!

One of my core missions in life is and has always been to help middle school teachers, and that is also what these two are doing with their podcast.

Listen to it here or wherever you get your podcasts!

Do you hate it when your admins and counselors dump children into your Choir Program?

Do you hate it when your admins and counselors dump children into your choir program mid-year?

We've got a solution for users of the S-Cubed Sight Singing Program for Beginners!

We officially introduced Pamela Weaver, of The Choir Room on TpT last night on Zoom.

She tells us all about the reasons she created the program and how to use it. We also learn about her donut obsession and how she starts the program to get "buy in" from every student.

The video begins at the 12-minute mark, and it includes an approximately 50 minute discussion of the Mastery Belt System for S-Cubed Sight Singing Program for Beginners created by Pamela Weaver of The Choir Room on TpT. She tells us the "what, the why and the how" of her new system that is sure to motivate your students to excitedly achieve the various concepts that students need to master to move toward the sight singing competency of each step of the program...and your admins will love it too. And another thing- When students get "dumped" into your program mid-year, you'll have exactly the tools you need to walk up to your counselor and say "We are setting this new student up for failure because the student is unable to do these things." Pamela provides the list in her lessons. It'll make it way easier for you to keep your program filled with students who are in the right class for their ability.

Sit down with a glass of your favorite beverage, and learn about this awesome new system that will enhance your experience using S-Cubed Sight Singing Program for Beginners while motivating your students to do their best.

Here is the link to the video.

Ask Mr. D and Pamela Weaver- Creator of The Mastery Belt System for the S-Cubed Sight Singing Program for Beginners- on Zoom!

Pamela Weaver from The Choir Room on TpT has created a new series called "The Mastery Belt System" specifically for use with the S-Cubed Sight Singing Program for Beginners.  

Her students love it (and so do her admins!). 

We will be on Zoom on 2/24/26 at 7 PM EST where we will learn what this supplemental program can add to your S-Cubed journey.  

Join Dale Duncan, from Music in the Middle with Mr. D on TpT, and Pamela Weaver, from The Choir Room on our free Zoom to learn more about what choir teachers are talking about!

Reserver your spot here on my Facebook page-  Click here.

I hope to meet you there!