For most people, the Covid-19 lockdowns were a time of panic – or at the very least, a lack of motivation.

For retired schoolteacher Pat van Loggerenberg however, it was finally a chance to put her years of musical knowledge to use, creating an exciting music-themed word search book.

A Treasure Hunt of Musical Gems contains 105 handcrafted puzzles, designed to promote learning through play.

Pat is a La Mercy resident with more than 40 years of teaching experience across South Africa, with time spent at both Crawford International North Coast and Umhlali Prep locally.

“I have always loved music, from when I first learnt to play the piano as a young girl, through my time at Wits University and for all my years as a music teacher,” she said.

“In this time I had to learn how to sell music to the children, not financially, but in such a way that they developed an interest in the subject.”

At first, Pat found that the school musical was a way in which to do so, adapting many classics while creating an original jukebox adaptation of Harry Potter.

“It was not always easy, because the productions could be expensive, but I did everything in my power to fight for them, because the kids would just absolutely light up when performing or watching. There is truly life in the school when a musical is on.”

But she also had to become wily in the classroom, keeping the focus and interest of the children through handcrafted puzzles.

She found word searches worked best, as they could keep the pupils interested while educating them at the same time.

For Pat, it also represented a puzzle of her own, learning the best way to fit as many words and terms as she could into one word search.

“The lessons I learnt while making those first ones in the classroom definitely made it easier when knuckling down to create a whole book.”

Pat is coy about her process, but admitted it took her about a week per puzzle during her spare time between playing with and tutoring her grandchildren.

It took around two years for the process from beginning to end, with each word search hand drawn and checked.

The puzzles are all themed to encompass the entirety of musical history from ancient to modern times.

Some contain musical terms, while others include unusual instruments or famous songs – no two puzzles are alike.

“I hope that this will be used by music teachers in their classrooms, but also for children who can become inspired to begin their own musical journeys.”

The book is available in South Africa on takealot.com for R350, while it can be sourced internationally on amazon.com.

It is targeted at children aged 10 – 14, with Pat currently busy on her second book for younger ages.

That is if she can find the time between enjoying retirement with husband Carl, her three children and seven grandchildren.

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