Did I just see a back-to-school commercial? Yes, I did. And while summer is in full swing for some teachers, for others, the return to lessons is rapidly-approaching.
Heading back to lessons after a summer break is always a bit of a shock to a piano teacher’s system. One moment we’re enjoying a holiday or a more relaxed summer session and then the next moment… BAM!… we’re back in “full-on” mode.
So it’s best to be prepared well in advance.
With the aim of helping you ease back into lessons in a more relaxed way, we’ve rounded up our most useful “back to school” piano teaching posts. Check out the 5 articles below and start your fall-term lessons without breaking a sweat!
Five Of Our Most Helpful “Back To Lessons” Posts
The posts below will help you ease into the first few weeks of lessons feeling prepared and ready to rock. To kick off your fall term with a good dose of awesomeness, keep reading below…
1. An Improv Activity To Rock Your First Lessons
Kids are overwhelmed during the first few weeks of school… new teachers, new friends, new activities, new routines… they’re exhausted! Give your students’ tired faces something to smile about with this awesome improv activity that will help them ease back into lesson routines.
Never taught improv before? No problem! Our approach provides just enough structure to make sure it’s a successful experience that will leave you both smiling.
2. How To Reverse The “Summer Student Slide”
Did your piano students accidentally take a ride on the “summer slide”… that slump that occurs after two months with little to no piano practice? Sometimes, piano students who are away frequently during the summer, who attend all-day summer camps or who spend time at a vacation home with no piano in sight, return to lessons having lost valuable skills..
Everyone wants to start lessons on a positive, happy note, so if you have piano students who have taken a few steps back, you’ll want to follow our 5-step plan to get them back on track.
Check out the 5 ways you can reverse the Piano Student Summer Slide here.
3. Get To Know Your Kiddos With This Fun Printable
Chances are, piano students will tumble into your studio for their first lessons back full of stories of summer adventures. And because the more we know about our piano students, the better we are able to understand what makes them “tick”… I always grab onto any opportunity to learn about their worlds.
But… engaging in “What did you do this summer?” conversations can often open the floodgates of chatter that will take up your entire lesson. So instead, pull out this freebie printable and have some fun learning about your students’ summer in a way that still involves the piano!
Find out how you can play “The Sounds Of Summer” in this post.
4. Re-Connect With Tweens Who Suddenly “Grew Up”
This happens to me every year… the “little girl” that I waved goodbye to at the end of June walks in at the end of August and is all of a sudden, not so little! Two months can make a world of difference… and it’s important to able to re-connect with your tweens quickly.
When it comes to “risk of quitting lessons”, I consider tweens a high-risk group. Because of this, I spend a great deal of time connecting with my tweens and teens to counteract the social and emotional challenges they may be dealing with at school.
5. Avoid Making These 9 Piano Teaching Mistakes This Fall
I make mistakes all the time… no matter how much I organize, plan, prepare and schedule… things sometimes don’t go as planned.
Over my many years of teaching piano I have learned that there are nine mistakes that I just cannot make at the start of my teaching year. One day I wrote them down so I could avoid potential problems… and then I decided to share them, so you avoid my mistakes too!
Learn from my blunders and avoid making these 9 piano teaching mistakes this fall.
6. Bonus! Use These Printables To Make Memories!
Trevor and I love seeing our Piano Lesson Photo Props popping up on social media. One of our favorite props is the “My First Piano Lesson” printable! A first piano lesson is a special occasion that must be celebrated!
If you’ve missed our previous photo prop sets you can find them here. We’ve also created a new one you can use with all of your returning students this fall! Download the pdf here.
Libby Goins says
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