By Dr. Julie Knerr
This week in my studio is the last week of lessons (aside from some snow makeups) and the week before the recital (which is this Saturday). What to do during this last lesson? Have a piano zip line!
It’s easy to do. It took me about 10 minutes to set up. I strung yarn around my dining room and clothes pinned directions to the yarn. The children follow the yarn with their finger and do what each sign says.
Here is what my dining room looks like now. Haha. I don’t think I’ll be eating dinner in here this week. It is adjacent to the living room (to the right), which is adjacent to my piano room.
After the first sign said they had to play their recital pieces three times for Emily (my video camera), they came to the Interval Sorting Station.
Note Names. I just used teaching aids I had already had in my studio.
I could tailor each station to the level of the child, especially this one, “Draw ?” I just had them write symbols they knew on a whiteboard.
Sort the dynamics and put them in order.
Draw Notes
I really didn’t know how long this maze would take, and it was different for every student. So the last sign was “Go to the Fish Pond.” What is the fish pond?
This is the fish pond. It is the floor. The Sight Reading Cards are the fish. The “hand of goo,” is sticky, and it is the fishing pole. The students cast the fishing pole to try to catch a fish. Then they play that card on the piano. The kids love this. They could do Sight Reading Cards their entire lesson in this way! So we just used up the rest of the lesson fishing and playing cards!
I have my Sight Reading Cards laminated and in a box, so I could pull the levels I wanted for each student. I use this box constantly. (Although the kids each have their own stacks of cards also, I like to have my sets laminated.) I just love looking at this box because it is full of well organized, shiny, colorful cards! (FYI, the hand of goo sticks to non laminated cards also. And you can wash your hand of goo with dish soap and hang it to dry, and it will return to its sticky self.
Sometimes I’m not quite sure what to do with the last lesson before a vacation, but this piano zip line was so much fun! Please post if you have any creative ideas for end of the year lessons!