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Cindy B., Illinois

Carrie, I don’t think it’s the age differences or the size of the group but rather a territorial issue. The girl in particular you mentioned needs to learn that you mean what you say the first time you say it. One of the rules I’ve set in my studio, when children are at multiple keyboards, is that no one may play a single key until it’s time to, when I say. Anyone who plays even one key is sticking a toe into my territory and I send them to their seat, though kindly and lots of uh ohs – someone’s finger must have slipped. They all understand that they’ll lose the privilege of participation temporarily if they break the rules, and the rules are there to keep the lesson going smoothly. I have also had to send a child out to the waiting room during a lesson if she’s being ‘impossible’.

I prefer to believe that the most difficult children are probably going to be the ones likeliest to excel if given boundaries, which helps me not to lump any children into the ‘uhoh’ category.

Sheri R., California

I have distracted kids, too, and I’m just always reminding them to look. I find asking the students questions is helpful in keeping them focused and is beneficial as well because it gets them thinking. I often have 3 or 4 students playing the piano at the same time even if they aren’t all playing in sync. Sometimes they are just looking for the “G” or the “top black note” or something like that. It’s hard for some of them to watch–they want to be active. Having them do patterns on each others hands many times and on different keyboards around the room can help break the lesson up. It feels fun to go to different spots in the room and they are getting the repetition. I have questions on laminated strips that they love to pick. For Dreams there could be a question like “what is Sentence One LH” etc. For each song there can be a lot of questions! If you’re interested in my list I can send it to you.

Being on Jackson Blues after 6 lessons is no problem. I have groups that are there by lesson 3 and others, usually younger kids, who are working on it still in lesson 10.

As far as being “out of control” I have found talking about rules, and reminding them when necessary, is very helpful. Kids tend to respect rules if they know what they are and if you need to remind them from time-to-time that’s okay too. I just do it in a way that doesn’t have them feeling bad about themselves.

Dixie C., Washington

I’ve found that my students learn at all different rates at ages 5-7. Some are rather quick to catch on & have good finger independence & concentration, while others just take longer to get their fingers working & learn to focus. I find quite often that these younger students often get off to a slow start, but once their fingers are working for them, they’re off & running. I’ve quit being too concerned about pacing, as long as they’re moving forward. I did have two 7-yr.-olds with the little brother of one who is 5. I decided to teach the 5-yr.-old alone for now, even though he’s catching on quite well. The 7-yr.-olds were just ready to progress faster. I can always put him in with another group or student later on.

I’m interested to hear what others have to say.