Well, this is a post I never expected to see myself writing! LOL.
Over the past two months, studio teachers from all over the world have taken the plunge into unknown territory
Here are 7 things that I learned from our first Zoom recital. I hope this will make your recital a little easier!
#1 Do a practice run
For our in-person recitals, we always do a rehearsal the day before. I’m glad I didn’t let the online format change this norm.
Holding a practice recital the week prior gives students, parents, and ourselves a chance to know what to expect. Even more importantly, it allows you to practice “managing” the recital online.
Definitely plan on requiring a parent to attend the rehearsal so they can practice holding the device and we could pick the best location. This will avoid you having to give instructions during the recital like “move a little further back”, or “turn your camera sideways” or “no, no, that’s too close – we want to see their hands!”
The practice run will make everyone feel much more relaxed going into it recital day!
#2 Send an Invitation Email
Send families an email at least a week ahead of time that is specifically for them to forward on to family and friends. Here is mine. Feel free to use it or any portion of it as needed.
I was incredibly inspired by Leila’s “making sense of it all” comparison of dandelions and grace that accompanied her new arrangement of Amazing Grace.
When we lived in Melbourne, Australia (2006-2009), Drew and I were both fascinated to learn that many students in Oz take a “gap year” between high school and college. Unlike the US’s tendency to push all students to college immediately, the gap year was a time for them to travel, work, and explore the world.
I’ve always thought education in the US could benefit from encouraging something like this. I mean, who really knows what they want to do for a career when they’re 18? NO ONE, really. A large majority of people end up doing something different than what they studied in college.
This fresh salad takes a bit of prep work but is VERY worth it. It makes a huge bowl and the leftovers keep well for a day or two. Mediterranean Three-Bean Quinoa Salad (Two Peas and Their Pod)
Even though for some of us, our school term lessons may have been over a week or two ago, there’s something about the first week of June that screams: SUMMER!
The seasons to me are a delicious gift from God – I love them. It always throws me off a little though that (in our part of the world) Spring isn’t technically over until the end of June and Summer doesn’t end until the end of September.
The weather, tells us the seasons are:
Summer = July, August, September
Fall = October, November, December (technically we celebrate Christmas only 4 days after Winter begins)
Winter = January, February, March
Spring = April, May, June
The school year tells our brains they are:
Summer = June, July, August
Fall = September, October, November
Winter = December, January, February
Spring = March, April, May
I always feel slightly off mentally- almost like miss the last month of every season. Do you ever feel like that as well? Maybe I’m just strange! Ha!
Anyhoo…
Here’s some good stuff for you this week. Take it or leave it. 🙂 Talk later!
~Amy
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Summer is always a fun time for students to play things like Disney music. I finally bought the new Faber Disney books Lauren brought to my attention awhile back. They’re FAB! (Lauren Lewandowski | Piano with Lauren)
Many of us are in a place right now where we’re wrapping up our school term of lessons and (hopefully) taking a breather before we start the Summer term.
After sitting on my bum in front of Zoom for 6-7 hours a day over the past eight weeks, I’m feeling anxious to get my body moving a little more again.
I thought it appropriate that this week we focus on wellness content!
1 – Pilates
Let’s kick it off with my #1 recommended item. It’s one that I’ve mentioned in recent weeks that has been a life-saver for me these past two months. It’s an online pilates program I heard about from Natalie Weber called The Balanced Life.
All it takes is 15-18 minutes a day (approximately once a week there’s a 25-30 minute workout). Within a couple of weeks, my muscles started loosening up, popping and cracking of shoulders began to lessen, and I felt stronger and more toned. The best part? You barely break a sweat!
P.S. Yes, I will get a referral credit if you join through this link, but don’t worry, it doesn’t cost you any extra! As a matter of fact, the only way to join outside of the open membership window is through a referral link!
2 – Yoga
Yoga is not the choice for me – my body enjoys Pilates much more – but Yoga is very popular with many these days!
Sitting at a desk or piano all day can be tough on the lower back. Did you know you can find workout routines on YouTube?
Of course…YouTube has everything! LOL.
7 – Inspiration
A few favorite wellness quotes and mantras:
Eat three meals a day; keep portions small; eat seasonal fruits and vegetables;
drink lots of water; savor wine; walk more, and have occasional treats. ~Murielle Guiliano
Guiding principle: eat less meat and junk food,
eat more vegetables and whole grains.
You know how sometimes in life you’re told about something that you know you should do but at the moment, you just can’t bring yourself to mentally mess with it?
That’s how I was when we started using Zoom for our online lessons.
Teachers in Facebook groups were mentioning the importance of the “Enable Original Sound” setting to help with sound quality but I was just trying to wrap my head around getting myself set up online to pay it any mind.
Then two or three weeks of lessons went by and I was DONE with the garble. It was time to upgrade our sound.
Do I kick myself a little for not dealing with this sooner? Yep. But, oh, well, I’m over it now.
Through all of this, I have to say one thing all my studio families have been mentioning in our evaluation meetings this week, was the quality of my communication throughout this whole process. They felt the instructions were incredibly helpful and easy to follow.
That’s part of our job! Quality communication.
To spell things out as clear and easy as possible, I gave my step-by-step instructions using screenshots. It doesn’t get easier than that!
Teachers: You have my permission to copy and paste this entire email and use these images to send to your studio families (if you don’t mind having my mug shot! LOL).
I just wanted to drop you a quick note and let you know that I’ll be a contributor on a webinar put on by The Francis Clark Center this Thursday, May 21 @ 11:00 a.m. EDT.
Our topic will be focused on games during online teaching. Other contributors include Nicola Cantan, Joy Morin, Christina Whitlock, and Melissa Willis. What a great crew and I’m honored to get the chance to be a part!
I’m guessing you know most of these ladies but if you don’t, here’s a little about each one:
Happy weekend, friends! Here’s is my humble list of recommendations for the week:
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Do you love tacos or anything Mexican food as I do? You might enjoy the documentary Taco Chronicles on Netflix.
I’m not a big documentary person but have been fascinated by this one. I learned about several different styles of tacos and some I had never even heard of like Tacos de Canasta (the “basket” taco). (Just a heads up it’s in Spanish with subtitles, but that makes it even more authentic!)
Can you believe I’m lucky enough to have neighbors that grow both asparagus and rhubarb? Counting my blessings on that one! I shared favorite asparagus recipes recently so here are a couple of Rhubarb ones we’re enjoyed:
Don’t let anyone fool you – strawberries aren’t the only thing that goes well with Rhubarb. I used blueberries in this recipe and it was absolutely delicious!
Here we are, four years from the first time we talked about this studio-wide challenge, and every teacher around the world has suddenly been thrown into online teaching like we never expected.
So, today, let’s talk about three different ways we can adapt this challenge to online lessons including the pros and cons of each format!
If you haven’t read the original post yet, you’ll definitely want to check it out to have a better understanding of how the challenge works!
Are you as excited as I am to have May turn the corner? The weather has been beautiful and the school-year term of lessons is wrapping up.
If you’re like me, that means that the next two weeks won’t be necessarily less work, but just a slightly different schedule and routine with group classes, Zoom recital prep, end-of-year evaluation meetings, and more.
A change of routine is something that I always welcome with open arms and an eager attitude.
May, we’re so glad you’re here!
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Rebekah has several great tips in this post that helped me in my planning!
My students and I have been hard at work during our Zoom lessons with the One-Minute Club Note-Naming Challenge. I recently did an update to the original post including seven really great tips on conducting this challenge.
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Are you passionate about music education? Consider voting to help make this product idea a reality: A Lego Symphony Orchestra (Natalie Weber | Music Matters Blog)
A few weeks ago, I shared with you the emotional roller coaster I had been going through that week with online lessons to the point that by Thursday I almost had a full-blown panic attack.
While things subsided pretty quickly (especially thanks to upgrading our wimpy internet router to a small commercial-grade one), my body and mind are still frequently fighting small instances of this a couple of times a week.
Luckily, I’ve had the wherewithal to recognize when it’s happening and act. How have I tackled it?
First, be aware that it’s happening.
Second, DO something. Mostly, I make immediate attempts to go on a LONG walk, take a drive, or busy my mind doing something else – the first one being the best.
I’m not telling this so you feel sorry for me. I just want you to know that if you’re experiencing these things, it’s OK because you’re not the only one! In all honesty, I don’t mind online lessons and even enjoy them at times.
The first find I share with you in this week’s list I think will shed some light on what many of us are experiencing.
Mainly, I’ve learned that awareness, acknowledgment, and action some of the best principles we can apply to not only managing stress but other areas of life as well!
How are you dealing with little inklings of stress/anxiety that you may be experiencing?
Take care of yourself and enjoy this week’s finds!
Looking for a better weather app? I highly recommend spending the few dollars to get Dark Sky. Both my husband and I have been using the basic Apple weather app and also Weather Underground for a while. The most recent update to the latter, however, made us finally give up for good. It was just way too complicated and unintuitive to use. Dark Sky is super simple while being visually pleasing and informative. Highly recommended! We both approve!
