I want to confess: I used to be SUPER MS. JUDY and I’ve been slacking off…
What do I mean by Super Teacher? Well, before I had my own little girl, I was really involved in my students’ lives and spent a good chunk of time outside the studio spending time with them. Yes, I used to be such an even more awesome teacher before I had my own famly in that I would go to their ball games, science fairs, Christmas pageants, boy scout ceremonies and birthdays and confirmations! I also would arrange with their parents and school and bring them one of their favorite homemade meals to their school and eat with them on their birthday!
Connecting with my students on this level really built relationships that have lasted decades! Oh great, now I feel OLD!
If you have a high retention rate, you may not feel the need to do any of these exercises, or if you’re an introvert (like me-shh!) it may be difficult to achieve this.. but here are some fun ways to connect with your students that I am trying to implement again!
This post from Teach Piano Today is the BEST!
http://www.teachpianotoday.com/2016/09/12/how-not-to-waste-time-figuring-out-your-piano-students/
as well as this one:
http://www.teachpianotoday.com/2012/04/19/how-to-teach-transfer-piano-students-with-a-little-help-from-hammerstein-its-qa-day/
and Wendy Stevens has a great idea for you here:
http://composecreate.com/get-to-know-me-teacher/
and here is a list of fun questions you can ask your students…
http://www.positiveparentingconnection.net/40-questions-that-get-kids-talking/
AND if you’d like THIS free Printable of What I ask my new students at their first lesson…please join my newsletter by typing your email in the annoying popup box…I promise to keep your email safe!
I hope you can use some of my ideas in your studio and I’d love to hear yours in the comments!
Need even more great ideas from Ms. Judy? Check out her 60 Day Makeover: Music Teacher Edition book HERE from amazon: