Making Learning Fun

Lately I've been on a kick to gather some really fun supplementary materials to use in my studio.  It started out with simple worksheets to send home or complete in the last few minutes of a lesson.  Now I'm collecting a whole "tickle trunk" full of colourful games, flashcards, exercises and seasonal/themed pieces that I believe add a spark to each lesson.


Often times piano lessons can involve sitting on the bench for 30 minutes while playing material that has been practised for the past week, then getting new homework and going home.  Instead of this predictable and often tedious routine, I strive to make each lesson stimulating and engaging through the use of great supplementary materials.

Last week I found some fantastic Halloween pieces and games on Susan Paradis' Piano Teaching Resources blog.  Susan designs and writes countless pieces, games and worksheets that she offers as free downloads (donations are appreciated).  I decided to print out the Pumpkin Patch game and Bats and Cats game to play this week.  Of course I used my handy laminator to make everything look even better!

I've been using the games all week and my students are having great fun playing them.  The bonus is they only take about five minutes to play and the kids barely realize they have just reviewed all their notes (evil laugh)!  Check out my favourite blogs in the sidebar to visit some other great sites.  My next goal of course is to make some of these worksheets and games myself!  But that's another post...
~ Jennifer