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In the 3rd ICYMI episode of 2024, you’ll hear about a one-stop superstore for printable assignment sheets. With more than 20 sheets, you can try a variety!
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Items Mentioned and Other Related Content
Episode 132 – Life After Tonara: A Teacher Talk Follow-Up
Assignment Sheet #23 – Practice Tips
Transcript
Hey, friends, welcome to episode 133 of The Piano Pantry Podcast. Today is the 3rd ICYMI episode of this year where I bring you something you might not know about but may find useful in your life as an independent music teacher.
Last week’s episode followed up on the closure of the Tonara practice app from the fall of 2023. Piggybacking on that episode, as we move into the start of fall lessons, I wanted to make today’s episode another resource for giving assignments.
I’m Amy Chaplin, host of this podcast. Since starting the Piano Pantry blog in 2016, I’ve been sharing with teachers all kinds of things about managing an independent studio. If you’re new around here, be sure to hit that subscribe button so new episodes will download automatically.
In case you missed it, the Piano Pantry website hosts a huge compilation of 23 different printable assignment sheets I call “Assignment Sheet Central.”
When I started teaching piano lessons full-time in 2011, I started making my own assignment sheets in an effort to grow and improve the structure of my lessons**.** I distinctly remember this as a period of intense growth and scrutiny of myself as a teacher.
During this time, I was trying to figure out how to be a piano teacher rather than a classroom music teacher. Although I had been teaching piano part-time for years, it felt like a whole new world.
I created new assignment sheets at least once a year and would often have different sheets for my school-age students than I had for my preschool students than I had for adults, so I could have three different sheets going on at once, though not always. Summer always proved a good time to try new sheets before launching it with my full studio in the fall.
My assignment sheet obsession started as a way to write out my own lesson recipe if you will. Their role became a way for me to help guide my lessons and remind me of what I needed to incorporate. Looking back at these sheets, each one tells a different story of the goals I had at the time and the things I was focused on as a teacher.
Over the past 14 years, I’ve created 23 different sheets. At first, I was going to pick my favorites to share, but I realized that each one was, at one point, a wonderful, new, and perfect solution for me, so who am I to say which one will work best for you?
There were times in the early days of assignment sheet creation when it almost felt that if I could just make the perfect assignment sheet, I would be a perfect teacher. Hahahahah yes, we’re all laughing—I know! Looking back now, I realize that is ridiculous.
Most of the time, the main reason I was switching assignment sheets completely out of boredom. I got tired of looking at the same sheet day in and day out. Plus, I start thinking, “Gee, maybe if I add a new joke or quote to the sheet each week, I’ll entice my students to look at them. Hahahaha yes, once again, a laughing matter. LOL
No matter what you do, there are always students who fill it out diligently and others who don’t bother. I’ve called them anything from “Weekly Learning Guide” to “Assignment Sheet” to “Assignments for the week of…” to “Piano Homework” to “Daily Practice Steps” and more. Does the title make a difference or inspire them more? Nope, not one bit.
Over the past 14 years, I’ve gone through phases of not using any assignment sheets – that was, of course, mostly spurred on by Covid and the move into practice apps – but since those days, I have a small handful of students who have requested to have an actual assignment sheet.
No matter how hard we try – I think we have to accept that there is absolutely no perfect solution for giving assignments that’s perfect for every student or for every teacher.
The most recent assignment sheet I published just a couple of months ago – #23, includes some specific practice tips and practice-building habits right on the sheet. All 23 of these assignment sheets are bundled together in one download.
Is the perfect sheet going to make them magical-perfect practicers? Probably not, but a new one is always gives you a fresh shot. LOL
You can find this assignment sheet resource at PianoPantry.com under the resources section, or just Google Piano Pantry assignments and the link will magically pop up from Google’s vast vat of knowledge. LOL.
If you like hanging around and getting support from this ad-free podcast, consider joining me on Patreon at PianoPantry.com/patreon. For $4, you can be a silent partner, or for $7, you can get some more good stuff from me, including short, easily actionable tips sent to you on a regular basis, weekly power hours, email processing support, and more. Again, that’s pianopantry.com/patreon, or you can look up piano pantry directly on the Patreon website.
Be sure to hit that subscribe button so new episode will download automatically. Good luck with the start of the school year, and I’ll see you next week!
