At the first lesson of the school year, all my students – whether they’re in the 1st grade or a senior – are asked to fill out a practice schedule card and return it to me the following week.
I tell them it’s an exercise in thinking through their day and the time they’ve been given to use wisely. It’s not that it has to be set in stone or that it can’t change, it’s simply good practice to go through the act of writing out their weekly schedule.
I was inspired by a similar card we were given in college that mapped out the day in 30-minute increments. I lived by that card and found it to be very beneficial so why not try it out with my piano students?
This free download includes both a blank version as well as an example page. The first year we did this, I was getting enough “how do you want me to fill this out?” questions I figured an example was in order for the next year. While they’re told to fill it out however they want – it’s for their benefit – they still seem to need a more concrete example.
If your printer can handle it, printing on card stock works well. Print the blank page on one side and the example on the other. Once the students turn them back in, I display a copy on the studio bulletin board. Of course, there are always one or two students who never turn it in. Some bring them back colorful and others quite sparse.
I leave them up for about a month and plan to pull them back out in January to review them with students and talk through whether they need to re-think their practice time.
3 Responses
Thanks!! I’m going to try using these.
Hi Amy–I am going to use these with my college students in piano lessons and piano class! I do something similar with my advisees, and also when I taught College 101. Many thanks for the form! Juanita
Excellent! Yes, these will be great for college students!