By: Madi B. Shaer
Often times, change is a very hard thing to deal with, but in this case, welcoming Ms. Yandoh into the Tenacre community was a piece of cake. Tenacre now has two new music teachers, Ms. Kornfeld and Ms. Yandoh. Ms. Yandoh has two adorable kids, Iris and Kaz, in Kindergarten. A piano expert, Ms. Yandoh is the new music teacher for grades 3-6. Before teaching at Tenacre she taught at the Fessenden school for boys in Waltham, Massachusetts. So far at Tenacre, Ms. Yandoh has done an amazing job with school plays, music classes, assemblies, and December Celebration, and we know that she will do a great job with the Spring Musical, as well. In the words of Ms. Yandoh herself, “Tenacre is great and I love it!” I have gotten the privilege of getting to know Ms. Yandoh very well, and I hope that this article will help you learn more about her, too!
Ms. Yandoh is a musician today, because of what she has learned in the past. She first started to pursue music because when she was little, her neighbors were throwing away a piano, and they asked her parents if she would like it. Ms. Yandoh’s family said, “Yes,” and Ms. Yandoh started to practice. After a little while her piano playing improved, so her parents got her piano lessons. Ms. Yandoh started taking piano lessons at eight years old, and her music skills only got better from there. She played all throughout high school, and when Ms. Yandoh began applying to colleges, she had to audition to get accepted. Our music teacher ended up going to Ithaca College in New York where she got her double degree in piano and performance education. Then, later in life, she went back to get her Masters in piano at the same time that she was teaching. She says that she always knew that she wanted to pursue music, but if that didn’t happen, then she always thought being a food writer would be an interesting job!
Clearly, Ms. Yandoh is a highly educated musician, and she uses this knowledge whenever she teaches. Tenacre isn’t the first school Ms. Yandoh has taught at, though. Before Tenacre she taught at Fessenden for grades Pre-K through 9th grade. She thinks one of the main differences about Tenacre is that it is much smaller and quieter, and she gets more hugs here. Even though Ms. Yandoh has only been here for a short amount of time, she has already improved a lot of our music curriculum. While she has directed many performances and assemblies, she says that the main highlight for her so far has been December Celebration, and she did an amazing job!
Ms. Yandoh creates so many interesting and entertaining activities in classes, and a lot of people wonder where she gets these ideas. In the 5th grade music classes we have been working on Bucket Drumming. Almost every single kid in our class loves the unique concept of this activity, including me. In our interview I asked Ms. Yandoh where she gets all of her unique ideas. She said that she makes some of them up, and gets some from the internet. She also gets some ideas from conferences where other teachers and educators share and collaborate. When asked if there were any negatives about teaching music, she said that there were only two. She doesn’t like when people finish her sentences, and she doesn’t like anyone asking her “what if” questions.😊 She said that her main interest in music would have to be a tie between singing and playing the piano.
After reading this, I hope you know more about our new member of the Tenacre community, and that Ms. Yandoh is an incredible musician. But, other than music, running, cooking, seeing performances and musicals, dancing, playing with her kids, traveling, and napping are some of her favorite things, too. At Tenacre, Ms. Yandoh is also known for her amazing and unique sense of style. She takes her work seriously, but she always knows how to have fun. Now if you see Ms. Yandoh in the halls, you can talk to her about these subjects, or …give her a hug!
“TYT!” –Ms. Yandoh
Resources:
Ms. Yandoh
The Tenacre Tiger Paw 
I liked learning about Ms. Yandoh. You did a lot of research to get all of this information about her. If her neighbors never were going to throw away their piano Ms. Yandoh would never have been at our school teaching music. I like your title “starting on a high note.”
LikeLike
Nice job on your tiger paw Madi. It’s nice to know a little more about Ms. Yandoh! I really thought about the things I knew about Ms. Yandoh, and I couldn’t really think of much besides that she has two kids. Your article really informed me on Ms. Yandoh knowledge!! Keep up the good work!!
LikeLike
I like your article Madi! I never knew she wanted to be a food critic! I wonder what would’ve happened if she pursued THAT dream!
LikeLike
Madi,
You wrote a wonderful article and I like your creative title. Thank you for sharing interesting information about Ms. Yandoh. Tenacre students are very lucky to have her as a new staff member. Have fun with the bucket drumming!
Mom
LikeLike
I really like your article Madi! I never knew that she used to work at Fessenden. I think that it is so interesting how she got her piano and started playing. If they threw out the piano we would not have her as our music teacher today. It is also really interesting how she got into college. Good job!
LikeLike
Nice job Madi!! It’s so cool to learn more about Ms. Yandoh and her life!! I NEVER knew that she wanted to be a food critic!!
LikeLike
Great article- Mrs. Yandoh is so talented and we are very lucky to have her at Tenacre! I loved reading more about her.
LikeLike
Lots of good research- sounds like you and Ms. Yandoh had a good time talking together as you did your research. I could hear the enthusiasm in both of your voices as I read your article.
LikeLike
Great article Madi! I agree with you that Ms. Yandoh has done an amazing job at Tenacre. I never knew that she taught at Fessenden before coming to Tenacre. This was a really interesting article. Good job Madi!
LikeLike
I REALLY enjoyed this article! I did not know so much about Ms. Yandoh. Who knew that she worked in Fessenden! I will have to show this to my parents. Great job Madi!
LikeLike
Madi you did such a great job! I loved how your article flowed clearly. I also liked how you said “TYT'” at the end. That was a nice touch. I learned so much about Ms. Yandoh! I didn’t know that she got the piano that her neighbors were throwing away! Overall you did an awesome job!
LikeLike