Category - Friday Finds

 

1

All my students are getting new binders this year. I’ve been rotating quite a few over and over but it’s time to start fresh. At their final evaluation meeting, I laid out 8 color options for them to choose from: black, blue, red, lime green, and peach, pink, periwinkle, and teal. 

Since I purchased them in sets of 4, I made students give me 3 color choices in order of favorite. That allowed me to utilize every binder I purchased.

Once I had everyone’s options, I sat down and assigned colors. It sounds like a lot of work but it really was quite easy.

Let me just say that the pastels were by far the favorite colors. Next time I may limit to those 4 colors.

 

2

Price-setting and finding the right balance for your business as well as your local community is definitely a difficult game to play. Clinton Pratt developed a really useful Tuition Calculator that can help you play around with numbers in a variety of settings/situations.

 

3

Nicola’s recent video on Project Management Software had me ready to give them a shot again.

I’ve tried Trello and Asana both in the past but am really picky about my workflow and I just didn’t love them. While Evernote has worked pretty well for me in the current format I’m using, I was starting to feel something a little more robust was needed. Nicola convinced me to give ClickUp a shot. I’ll let you know down the road if I stick with it!

 

4

Piano Studio Business Claims: The best things in life are tax-deductible (Rebekah Maxner)

 

5

Anyone else struggle to keep your dishwasher from getting nasty? I rinse everything before it goes in and take a paper towel and wipe out the gunk at the bottom hinge after I put away every load but it’s amazing how yucky they still get. Ever looked inside the side gears? Ick!

I’ve struggled off and on with having way too many dishes still come out unclean (and our dishwasher is only a year old). I would alternate back and forth between Cascade liquid and powder and others.

The pods have always felt way too expensive to me for something that isn’t really inconvenient.

However, that all changed when I became desperate to not have to re-wash half a dozen items every time and finally broke down and bought the most expensive pods. Voila. Problem solved.

Finish Quantum Powerball.

Haven’t had to re-wash one dish since.

I got the big pack.

 

6

Overcome the Disadvantage of Friday Piano Lessons (Nicola Cantan)

 

7

If only I had a reason or good space for this piano rug…

 

 

 

8

If you’re interested in learning about MLT. Andy Mullen over at The Improving Musician is a great place to start. He has loads of quality resources in his Free Student Library.

 

9

Recently, I stumbled across a fantastic Ukulele teaching resource from Musical Mama. Uke lessons are a great 2nd instrument for teachers to offer. Entrepreneur that I am, a few years ago, I taught myself just so I could teach one of my student’s lessons that were interested instead of passing the income into someone else. Something to consider!

 

10

The past two weeks I have definitely been in a bit of a food funk. The last week of lessons was so crazy and my first week of I’m just tired and recouping. My drive to cook has been minimal, however, I never like to leave you hanging with food fun so here it is:

Grilled Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (Cook’s Illustrated)

Olive Garden Salad copycat recipe (Dinner at the Zoo)

Cashew Crunch Salad with Sesame Dressing (Pinch of Yum)

Chicken Porridge a.k.a. Chicken Congee (Seonkyoung Longest)

 

Follow on Instagram: @food.fun.with.amy

 

 

Happy end-of-April!

Here are my favorite fun finds from all over the web this past month for you, my dear peeps.

~Amy

 

 

1

The Real Book (Episode #438) from 99% Invisible podcast

The absolutely fascinating story of how the popular “Real Book” evolved into fruition.

 

2

My Hunt for the Original McDonald’s French Fry Recipe (Atlas Obscura)

How interesting! Do you remember the original McDonald’s french fries (prior to 1990?) Even though I was a kid in the ’80s, I don’t.

They were apparently fried in beef tallow rather than vegetable/soybean oils as they are today and in turn were much crispier.

Of course, I’ve already put beef tallow in my Amazon shopping cart. We’re not McDonald’s eaters, but like a good American, enjoy eating a good french fry now and then.

 

3

 

Have you heard of CeraVe? If you have any kind of skin sensitivities, it’s a product developed by Dermatologists that’s available in your local drugstore or grocery.

I found out about it when I had a crazy heat rash on my legs a couple of summers ago that wouldn’t go away. After going to the dermatologist, their simple recommendation was the CeraVe Itch Relief Moisturizing Cream and a mild antibiotic.

 

4

Do you hold year-end evaluation meetings with parents and students? Here are some resources to help.

Friday Finds #214 – Year-End Evaluations (Piano Pantry)

Friday Finds #215 – Parent/Student Questionnaires (Piano Pantry)

Maybe Measuring Progress is Really Measuring Something More Important? (Key Ideas podcast)

 

5

8 Solo Piano Collections for Worship (Ashley Danyew)

Ashley has a podcast called Field New on Music Teaching and Learning I’ve been enjoying recently thanks to a recommendation by Joy Morin.

 

6

A fun virtual tour of Leila Viss’s piano studio.

 

7

My highly recommended recipes from what I made in the past four weeks:

Chicken Fajita Stuffed Poblano Peppers (Simply Recipes); For a little healthier side, serve alongside quinoa rather than rice.

High Protein Oat Waffles (Skinny Taste); I already shared these several weeks ago but they are too good to not bring up again!

Rhubarb Dream Bars (Baking You Happier)

Southwestern Apple and Radish Salad (Cook’s Country); Add some shredded rotisserie chicken to make it a meal.

White Bean and Tuna Salad (Simply Recipes); Add some extra salad greens for a more robust salad.

 

8

The Ultimate Music Education Book List (Mrs. Stouffer’s Music Room)

Wow, an incredibly comprehensive list!!

 

9

In case you missed them and they are just what you need at this time:

Friday Finds #213 – Recital Prep

Friday Finds #216 – New Student Interviews and Registrations

 

10

12 Facebook Settings and Notifications You Can Turn Off Immediately (Real Simple)

 

11

How Music Teachers Can Sell Digital Products (Piano with Lauren)

 

12

Music Publishing 101 (Chrissy Ricker)

 

 

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You may not be mentally ready for it, but this is the time of year to be thinking not only about Summer lessons but about your student load/list for the Fall term.

Along with that comes the work of meeting with/interviewing and registering new students. Take some time to think about the process you use. The way we run our student interview meetings, and the process set up for registering students is the first peek families will have into the quality of your studio.

Do you like what you see? Is it the kind of onboarding process you would feel good about if you were the one signing up? Is everything streamlined, easy to understand, and smooth and painless?

Here are some resources for you today as you consider your own interview and registration process.

 

1

How to Plan a New Piano Student Interview or Meeting (Colourful Keys)

 

2

3 Printables for Interviewing Students (Color in my Piano)

Interview Evaluation Forms (Music Educator Resources)

 

3

 

One activity I find great to do with students during your first meeting is to decorate the piano. It gives you a chance to engage with the student and shows parents you work to make lessons fun. (Piano Safari)

 

4

New Piano Student Interviews – How to Seal the Deal (Compose Create)

 

5

How and When to Say No to Prospective Students (Teach with Diane)

 

6

One Registration Question Not-to-be-Missed! (Piano Pantry)

Here are 5 Questions Ask Every Piano Parent (Teach Piano Today)

 

7

 

If you’re looking to book interview meetings and/or do your registration forms online, there are all kinds of tools out there to make it easier. Some favorites I’ve heard of from other teachers over the years:

Google Forms

Typeform: People-Friendly Forms and Surveys

JotForm: A Typeform Alternative

Doodle: Free online meeting scheduling tool

Simplify This: Online Appointment Scheduling & Booking Software

 

8

Would you like to obtain signatures on your policy documents but want to keep it all digital still? Check out Sign Easy, an electronic signature app.

 

9

Supercharge Your Piano Studio Organisation with Google Gadgetry (Top Music Co)

 

10

Why You Need a Piano Studio Child Protection Policy and Plan (Rebekah Maxner)

 

11

The Email Every Piano Teacher Should Send Home at the Start of the Term (Teach Piano Today)

 

 

Last week we looked at resources for writing end-of-year evaluations. That is, teachers assessing student’s progress, skills, and future goals.

At the same time, it’s good to ask students and parents to reflect on the past year, including things such as dedication, implementation, efforts, and progress. Not only that, but it’s good to obtain feedback on your own teaching and business from families for your own growth and reflection.

Here are a small handful of resources to get you started.

 

1

When I crafted my first questionnaire 10 years ago, I was super thankful for Natalie Weber’s example to get me started! She has two forms available, one for parents and one for students.

 

2

Curious what my forms look like? Download them here: Crafting Year-End Parent / Student Questionnaires (Piano Pantry)

 

3

Here are two fun examples of simple feedback forms for young children to fill out:

A Report Card for Piano Teachers – How to Get Honest Feedback from Piano Students (Teach Piano Today)

Here is a great self-evaluation form for younger students that uses smiley faces for measuring from Nicola Cantan

 

4

The Mind-Reading Music Teacher: How to Impress Your Customers (Daniel Patterson | Grow Your Music Studio)

My favorite snipped from this post:

It would be better to use an online survey tool like Polldaddy, Google Forms, or Typeform. These tools are free to use. Give people the chance to anonymously answer these questions on their own time. You will receive longer, more honest answers.

Ask non-threatening questions. Ask open-ended questions and give parents a chance to elaborate. Here are some ideas:

• Why did the families in your Studio pick music lessons? (as opposed to dance, soccer, karate, etc.)
• Why did the families in your studio pick you over everyone else?
• What did the families think lessons would be like?
• What concerns and fears did your families have with starting lessons?
• What general goals do your families have for their child? (not related to music)
• What do families not like about being in music lessons?

 

 

Congratulations to Jennifer Smith, winner of last week’s giveaway during Friday Finds #211, celebrating Piano Pantry’s 5-year birthday!

She will win a copy of Kevin Olson’s book “Impressions on Color”.

(Jennifer, check your email inbox for details!)

 

1

As someone who has given Ukulele lessons in the past (I don’t have anyone currently), I really enjoyed Andrea Miller’s interview with Judy Naillon on starting a Ukulele program. I wish I had this podcast when I first started!

 

2

Avocado Time (Seth Godin)

“Face-to-face is like a perfect avocado. The cost of in-sync time, real-time interaction time, that’s time that we don’t get again.”

[Peanut Butter Sandwiches and] The Order of Operations (Seth Godin)

“Like so many things, the order is not optional.”

 

3

A free digital download of a really fun and unique song written by Canadian composer Lynette Sawatsky called “Covid Blessing”.

From the composer:

I wrote the piece based on a C°VID motif (the letter C, a diminished chord (°), the dominant chord (V), the tonic chord (I), and the letter D). A little nerdy, but musicians understand. 🙂

I think we are all getting a little weary, and this music helped me process a bit of what I am experiencing. This short piece is my musical blessing for those who are alone and isolated. It’s a prayer as we wait for better days ahead.

How beautiful and clever is that?!

 

4

Lazy Genius Podcast #194 – From Selfies to Politics: How to Share Yourself Online with Laura Tremaine

I think we can all use a little reminder from time to time of healthy ways of using social media. 🙂

 

5

5 Activities for Online Piano Lessons (Melody Payne)

 

6

The GIML (Gordon Institute for Music Learning) website got a huge overhaul including a new logo. It looks soooo much better and in with the times. Well done to all those involved – it was much needed!

 

7

Sproutbeat recently went through a big overhaul combining their worksheets app with the Leap Games online into one location! Check it out:

8

3 Surprising Ways the Pandemic Improved Your Eating Habits (The Nutrition Diva Podcast)

 

9

A Paperless Way to Track the 40-Piece Challenge (Leila Viss)

Hmmm…intriguing!

 

10

A custom playlist for Easter filled with all of my favorite worship music celebrating the resurrection.

 

11

How to Create a Virtual Piano Recital on YouTube (Piano with Lauren)

 

12

I have lots of amazing recipes to recommend that I discovered this past month!

Baked Cod with Garlic & Herb Ritz Crumbs (Ina Garten)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Protein Shake (A Sweet Pea Chef)

Crispy Parmesan Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad (Giada de Laurentiis)

High Protein Oat Sandwich Rolls (Skinny Taste)

Hot Honey Garlic Skillet Chicken (The Kitchn)

Italian Sausage Balls (Food Network)

Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa (Damn Delicious)

 

13

How to Be a Better, Happier Cook Based On Your Enneagram Type (Sarajane Case | The Kitchn)

 

14

New podcast discovery this month: Sounds of Encouragement with Melissa Slocum.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen me post a story that said her voice reminded me of the old radio show host, Deliah, from the ’90s! She’s so soothing to listen to! LOL

 

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Subscribe to the Piano Pantry email list and get my once-a-month “Secret Letter” which includes what’s been going on in my studio that month, new posts on the blog, books I’m reading, favorite Instagram posts, and other fun things like that. 

Sound good?! Subscribe here.