Studio Management
Help for New Teacher
I’ve been teaching Simply Music for 8 months. I am a single mother with a little boy in grade two. I thought teaching piano would be my answer to the struggle that working as a mother can be. I am finding that I’m beginning to…
Managing Teaching and Homeschooling
I am curious as to how those of you who home school and teach SM coordinate your teaching schedules. We have four children whom we home school and I have a moderate-sized studio and am struggling to maintain a healthy balance between my two responsibilities.…
Tips & Tricks for Bringing Closure to Piano Lessons
I would love to know if anyone has any special ways they end their lessons. This could obviously be different from kids to adults. High 5’s, goodbye song? stickers? I find that the end of my lessons just kind of dribble out, rather than having…
Saying Class is Over
I was hoping I could get some ideas on how to politely end class (mainly private lessons) at the proper time. It works great when my next student is already there and waiting, but when I don’t have a class following I sometimes have trouble…
Classical Stream
I just got off the phone with an adult that started learning traditionally and wants to try out SM. I let her know the various genres we teach, and she let me know she is not crazy about jazz or blues. I have had another…
Time off in a Group Setting
I have a student who will be taking about a month off when his mom has a baby. I couldn’t find anything about this in Simpedia, which surprised me. It’s no problem for me that they’re taking the time off. This is a time when…
Restoring Students’ Momentum After a Break
Do you have a particular thing that you do the beginning of the year to get everyone focused again? There are three times a year when my studio has a break from lessons. Spring break is a week, summer break is 3 weeks, and Christmas…
Regaining Momentum After A Break
I have a bit of scheduling dilemma and would welcome some input. I have some students who are anxious to start lessons, but because of vacations they’ll be away in August and I’ll be away in September. If they were to start now they would…
A Break from Lessons
I would appreciate advice regarding a 6 year old who has been taking lessons in a shared lesson for about 18 months. She is keeping up well in the lessons, so I was surprised to find out when talking casually to her mum that the…
Impacting Attrition Rates & Longevity
I am wondering if anyone has any data on attrition rates for SM: meaning – what percentage of students discontinue lessons and when that is most likely to occur? I am working on my schedule for this Spring and trying to think about how best…