Hello friends!
Long time no see! I’ve been taking it easy this summer, recovering from some major teacher burnout. (More on this later, I promise.) I’m so excited to be back on the blog lately, and after two Suzuki institutes this summer (ISSI and ASI), I am feeling more and more dedicated to my work as a Suzuki teacher—and soon to be Suzuki parent! (Insert squeal of excitement and fear here.)
Five Violin Teaching Tips, Tricks, and Resources:
1. Email templates. I get a lot of prospective student inquiries this time of year. Having a canned response that I can copy and paste, editing for personal details, saves me a lot of time. I also have all of my Suzuki parent education emails going out automatically which saves me a lot of time too! Here is a link to my Suzuki parent education email course.
2. Pilot Frixion Erasable pens. I use these all the time in lessons! Sometimes to write assignments and sometimes to draw attention to something in the music. They are colorful, write well, and they are erasable. I bought these at Paula Bird’s suggestion, and now I’m obsessed.
3. SECE—Taking the SECE training in July has completely changed my teaching mindset. There will be more blog posts about this coming, and I can’t wait to incorporate some of the SECE ideas to my pre-twinkle violin students. Including using a lollipop drum—won’t the four to six year old crowd love this?
Update: I used the Lollipop Drum on Wednesday with a ten year old to tap out rhythms in The Two Grenadiers. Super fun even at that age!
4. I loved this blog post from Christine Goodner. I don’t want to give anything away, but you cannot forget this when you are scheduling your lessons. Teachers, share with your studio parents. Parents, share with your friends! It applies to many activities, not just violin!
5. I am very interested in personal development, and habit formation, and I love the writings of Dr. Covey, so I was excited to see this podcast series by Paula Bird about the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Suzuki Teachers & Parents. September is the second January (beginning of the academic year, a fresh start) so it is the perfect time to start, or renew, a habit! (Cough, cough) Like practicing!!
What are you loving this week? Please let me know in the comments!
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