TAMPA, Fla. — A Bay Area woman has turned the ultimate loss for a mom into a joy filled calling. Karen Gliddon is teaching music to little kids with cancer.
Each Wednesday Gliddon travels to the 1 Voice Academy in Hillsborough County to use an interactive style of teaching called Music with Mar.
It was developed by Maryann “Mar” Harman. There is lots of movement involved.
“There’s an excitement with sound and exploration. It’s a way to express yourself,” said Gliddon.
What You Need To Know
Karen Gliddon teaches music to children being treated for cancer
She uses the “Music with Mar” method
The children go to a special school called 1 Voice Academy
Gliddon is motivated to teach children with cancer because her son Matthew died from Leukemia
The students attending the school are being treated for cancer and can’t attend regular schools. 1 Voice Academy feels more like home.
“It’s magical to watch it unfold,” said Gliddon, who forms a bond with the children. “This is my second time with my friend AJ and we’re connected. The first class was way different than this experience.”
Gliddon also has her own business called K Peas Place in Tampa. It’s an indoor playground where she also teaches music to children.
Gliddon has a special reason for teaching music to children with cancer. Her son Matthew passed away from leukemia when he was five.
She was so devastated that she didn’t want to continue teaching music. But then she got a phone call from Our Lady of Lourdes church in Dunedin where Matthew’s memorial service was held. They wanted her to teach music to their school students.
“And I said that’s a sign that he wants me to continue. And I continued and it was hard, but it became easier because it became therapeutic.” Gliddon considers her teaching a calling from God.
Gliddon has become a blessing for 1 Voice Academy.
“She brings what I like to call accidental learning,” said 1 Voice Foundation Executive Director Mary Ann Massolio. “The next thing you know they are doing sign language, and they are writing their names, and they don’t necessarily know they are learning.”
Gliddon has a goal for what the children experience.
“Joy. It’s all joy. The academic side of what unfolds really is something that develops on their own,” she said. “I just hope they enjoy coming and being together.”