This is what my studio families received this year. (Click to see it bigger) I don’t do make ups in my studio. Students have the option to exchange with another family if they can and I include bonus group lessons quarterly for the year. They can consider that a make up if they want or a bonus. But this year I decided to give another option that would not kidnap any of my personal time if a student should miss a lesson. First I started out with a FaceTime or Skype option. So if they couldn’t make it due to a circumstance like weather (we have had some crazy flooding here recently in AZ) or a car is not working, this would be a good option to try.

Then when I actually started lessons in August and had a student miss, a thought came to me that I should try doing a practice video for that student and send it to them for the week. I subscribe and use a lot of unlimited reproductions in music so I also sent them a digital copy of the piece I wanted them to learn. It just so happened that a few days later a family of 5 missed so I did the same thing with them. I liked this idea so much that I decided to include it as an option. So far I have done about 4 practice video’s.

These options I give won’t rob me of my personal time as I would do them during their normal scheduled time. I include guidelines so they don’t go overboard. So far I’ve only had students take advantage of the YouTube option which is fine with me! They are easy to do, take about 10-15  min. and then they have a practice video for the week to watch! I’m so excited!

I’m also super excited about our October guest who will be blogging for us soon. She has a lot of experience with online lessons and will be sharing some tips to help those who have always wanted to try it. Keep a look out for the October “Be Our Guest” feature coming soon!