A CHRISTMAS SEASON SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR PIANO TEACHERS...PART 2: AVOID WASTING TIME IN DECEMBER

Recently on social media a fellow teacher expressed concern that she was wasting time this holiday season because she was spending most of her lesson time on holiday music, games, and fun activities, rather than moving forward in the lesson books and introducing new concepts.

I understand the inclination to feel like you're wasting time if you're not moving forward, but I'd like to argue that, with most students, it's a waste of time to introduce a lot of new things in December. When the holiday season kicks off after Thanksgiving, children are overwhelmed and distracted by everything else that's going on around them:
Families are shopping and participating in holiday traditions.
Kids are busy making wish lists and Christmas cookies.
They're rehearsing for plays and school programs.
They're planning for trips to visit relatives. 
And then there is the recent trend of giving final exams to children in Elementary and Middle School! 

Adding to this overwhelm with new musical concepts and practice demands can be counterproductive, so let me offer an alternative: Review Season!

In my studio I do review season twice a year in December and in June. Review Season is two-fold, and here's what it looks like:

1) We take a break from lesson books and concentrate on fun repertoire that is not overly challenging.

This usually means a Christmas book or a few engaging holiday pieces.
​
For Christmas music recommendations, see my previous post here.

Some students aren't interesting in playing holiday music, and that's totally fine, but I still like to give them something fun to work on this time of year. Here is a great collection of "wintery" pieces by Dawn Ivers that your students will love!

Christmasy or not, I want these pieces to review concepts that students have been working on this year. They should present some sort of challenge, but nothing that can't be worked through in a week or two. 

My goal is for students to have a handful of pieces that they can play for their families over the break. 

2) We play LOTS of games!

My favorite way to combat  Holiday Season Overwhelm is by making learning extra fun. We normally play games frequently in lessons, but this time of year I make sure to have lots of holiday-themed fun with me at all times. I always play at least one game, sometimes more, in every single lesson, even with older students!

Games can be a great way to review reading concepts, musical terms, rhythm, and all kinds of other theory concepts. Here are a few of my favorite free games to get you started:

Heave Ho Ho Ho! from Teach Piano Today to review Cs on the grand staff

Reindeer and Elves Keyboard Race from Susan Paradis to review piano keys

Gift Grab from Colourful Keys to review musical terms and symbols

These are not necessarily games, but they are great activities to include in your Holiday Review Season as well:

Holiday Rhythm Cup Explorations from Compose Create. (this is not free, but it is SOOOO worth the cost!)

Top 5 Christmas Piano Printables from Teach Piano Today. Follow this link for some fun holiday composing, improv, and practice activities.

Before I instituted Review Season, I had to spend a lot of January reviewing concepts students had learned in the fall. Spending December on review helps students to solidify their learning. They come back from the break confident and ready to push ahead.

What are your favorite review activities?