October Update (It's time for that already?!)

 Last month I was excited to post. 

   This month, my main thought is, "I have to blog?! What am I going to blog about?"

   I can't even rely on my photos to jog my memory. Because it seems I went back to my typical self and forgot to take pictures of most of the activities. (Sorry, if I have any look-at-the-photos-first readers.) I mean, my piano teachers never took photos. At least, not while I was watching. 

   Maybe we'll spotlight online lessons for today. 

 Online Lesson Fun





   I can't claim being an online expert yet in the piano teaching world. But I will share with you some of my favourite things about it:

  1. I don't have to Disinfect. Absolutely. Everything. before my student shows up. Or worry about what happens when I've just finished disinfecting and one of my siblings decides to come in just then. Or freak out over the universal question: "Are my hands clean enough?" 
  2. If the studio's messy, all I have to do is shove the mess behind the laptop. No one will ever know. 
  3. YouTube! I love screen sharing YouTube videos with my older online student! 
  4. The Record feature. I don't know if my students ever actually use it or not. But if they've forgotten exactly what I showed them, and it isn't in their notes, they do have the option of watching last week's lesson. All over again, if they want. Or just the five minutes that they need. (Hint, hint...)
   Some areas I'm still problem-solving in:
  1. Making sure my student's on the same page as me -- sometimes literally! Although this really hasn't been as much of an issue this year as it was during the COVID lockdown in March. I think the communication game I told you about last month helps. Also I now know to guide my students' camera setup so I get the best view of them. (Ironically, I'm still trying to work out my own camera setup. But that's because my table is in one spot for in-person lessons, and another for online lessons.) 
  2. Not being able to point out to them exactly where on the keyboard to place their hands. But, hey, is that all bad? I mean, my online students are forced to develop independence early on, whereas I have wondered during all this pandemic stuff if my in-person students were previously too dependent on the fact that I'd physically move their hands if they didn't place them right. (Now I can't do that. Which is good. Now they actually have to listen to what I'm telling them!)
  3. Remembering to tell the parents what the students will need for a game before the lesson. Getting a game emailed to the parents is the easy part. Remembering to tell them that they'll need 18 pennies (or buttons, or Lego blocks) and a dice is the hard part. 
  4. Prizes. I think I've got my rewards system worked out, but Composer Month is starting on Monday, and I haven't figured out how I'll get any online students who happen to be on the winning team their prize. I do have a few ideas... just nothing for certain yet. (The good side: That gives you a reason to come back here next month and read what I figured out!) 

Location: Onoway, AB T0E 1V0, Canada

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