There is a chill in the air and Christmas songs have begun to be practiced. It's hard to believe that the holiday season is only weeks away. I was shopping this week and noticed that Christmas music is already playing in the sound systems at the mall. I'm not sure I'm ready for all the hustle and bustle yet.

A quick reminder:  If you didn't get it last month, the Santa Beard Christmas incentive is still available on my website. My students are quite excited each week to glue cotton puffs to their Santa's beard for every time they practice.  

I love visiting other teachers' studios; I get inspired by their creativity. This summer, I visited LaVonnie Steger's studio in Cloverdale B.C.  She had the 60 Second Club chart on the wall and plays it with a twist that I had never thought of. Read about it below.  

Pin it to Win it Contest

is open until the end of November.

 How do you enter?

It's simple. Just "Repin", "Retweet", "Repost", "Share" or "Like" anything to do with Solo Time Music Games and you could WIN 26 pages of easy to do, quick to print up, play or display MYC-themed activities.
 These digital .pdf format activity pages are geared for ages 3 to 8 and include note naming games,  matching rests and take up only minimal amounts of important class time.  These pages help your students enjoy creating the happy habit of learning music theory!

Keep safe as the roads begin to get slippery with snow and ice. And stay warm!

Lois Dicknoether
Solo Time Music Games
info@solotimemusicgames.com 

Solo Time Music Games

are designed to instill a life long passion 

and understanding of music and its concepts 

through a fun hands on experience.

   

60 Second Club

LaVonnie Steger's 60 Second Club inspired me to do this incentive again.   She does it every week and the whole class participates by naming flashcards. Whenever the class gets to the prize portion on the chart they get one little candy, like a Smartie or a jujube.  Nothing big or fancy is offered in prizes for this activity but it is a lot of fun.  When my students reach the top of the chart I plan to give them bigger prizes. But that's still a secret. I started this game in September and it's now November. It looks like it's going to take us a while to reach the top. Students look forward to the last few minutes in class where they name as many notes (in as loud a voice) as they can in only 60 seconds. This activity has turned out to be the surprise hit of the year! For flashcards I use the giant cards from Wendy at Compose Create. Then I found a great site that had giant Solfege hand signs and put in the ones that we are using in Solfege. Here is a picture of Lavonnie's and the link to print off the one I created.

Circle of 5th's

Circle of 5th's Only $1.99 for tons of learning with this hands on manipulative teaching aid.  FREE when you purchase the Circle of 5th's you will receive the complimentary addition of 7 sharps and 7 flats to complete the Circle of 5th's for your more advanced students. Giant Floor Circle of 5th's Here is a picture I took of my version.  I would like to have used different colours but I have tons of pink card stock to use up!

To Market To Market

You are an expert in your field.

People trust you and they trust their children to you

 because they value your expertise.  

There are also many others in our field of musical instruction.   

On your website, Facebook page, Twitter, and Pinterest accounts,

be sure to give acknowledgement to other people in your field

who can provide valuable knowledge to the families with which you work.  

 We all had to learn from someone else, so

share what others have to offer with your families.
It will reflect well on you and your business when others see
that you value other people in your field.

Incredibox

Incredibox- 
This is SO SO cool!   Try it with your studios they will love to see all the different parts that make up a composition.

November 2012

November Greetings,

I trust you have survived Halloween Week in your studios. I don't teach on Wednesdays so conflict was avoided with the fun of the night and Thursday's class was a "sugar" high day.  I  had planned Halloween activities for these classes  aiming to work with the sugar and go with the flow by amping up the activity.  It was all good.

Getting into November and leading up to Christmas,  I find students need a little bit of incentive to practice. To help you, I've redesigned my Santa Beard, 25 Practice Days incentive to keep your students' motivation high. This resource is "Free" for use with your private and group lessons.

Many have asked when I'm coming out with new games. Well, there are plenty!  I have switched to a digital model for reproducing my games. The benefit to you is two-fold:  You can download and print games and resources whenever you like; and the cost is significantly lower than purchasing and shipping the hard-copy version. At a cost of only .99 to $2.99  you can now print all the copies you want for your students' needs within your own studio. No more waiting for snail-mail!

Out here near the west coast, we've all been thinking of the many of you who are in the east and on the east coast during Hurricane Sandy.

Please take care and be safe during this season of storms. I hope for your sakes and your students' that the wild weather doesn't force the cancellation of too many lessons. And if you have too, try using Google Plus as a way to do a virtual lesson. 

Take Care and All the best,

Lois Dicknoether
Solo Time Music Games
info@solotimemusicgames.com 

Solo Time Music Games

are designed to instill a life long passion 

and understanding of music and its concepts 

through a fun hands on experience.

    (repin any Solo Time Games post on pinterest to receive a FREE printable) 

Game of the Month

The games I've used most this month have been for review for students in higher level classes.  I pop them out before class and use them during solo's.  Critters go to Camp - Note and Critter review Primary Players - Primary Chord review  Pyramid Triads (this is an all time favorite) - Triad inversion recognition.  With this purchase you receive a "Free" digital print out to laminate for students to help them understand how triads are made.   I've laminated these for my studio and each student gets their own to take home and use in practice.  It has really helped them understand how triads are formed. Football Frenzy for Ledger Line review Very Important Numbers -  Bubble Gum - Recognizing Roman Numerals  .99 cents Giant Circle of 5th's - this is becoming one of my all time staples in teaching the Circle of 5th's. The students love being able to see the circle of 5th's on the floor as they create their own in their books.  This also comes with key signatures and relative minors up to 4 sharps and 4 flats. $1.99 Order 6 "Flashcard" games and receive "Free"  Shipping and Handling.

To Market To Market

Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Blogger,
GooglePlus, Tumbler, etc. etc.
These and more names are part of the social media facets of our virtual world.   But they will do us no good if we are not using them
on a regular basis by strategically posting.

I've noticed that many teachers have started new Facebook sites and
they all look wonderful.  Now, with your new site the "call to action" now is two-fold.  One is to be diligent in posting and the second
is to get people to like your site.
It takes a little bit of time to post and keep the page active but people need to be reminded of who you are. 
Is there that important "link" to your web page?

Also at the same time, why not open a Pinterest account
and pin about your product and service?

 Pinterest is the new way to market. 

Facebook is a time line, what you post is going to pass but with Pinterest, your postings are on boards and are always there for people to view and browse through.

Create value for future clients by posting pictures, comments, links and
by dropping little hints about who you are and why you do what you do.  Endorse other teachers and music websites.

You might be avoiding social media because you have enough students for this year. But what about next year?

It is important to keep yourself out there. For example, I received two calls this week as a result of my social media efforts. I ended up referring one student to another teacher and took the other one on as a private student. Social media does work when you make it work for you.

 My suggestion is to choose a couple of sites on which to market yourself
and keep those current and up to date.