Fall semester kicked off this past month. We started online for 2 weeks to prepare for transitioning back to in person lessons for those who chose to. About 75% of my families chose to transition, the rest are staying online. Because I have limited room in my teaching area, we are continuing all group style lessons/classes online at least for now. (This includes camps and workshops) And because I will still be teaching 25% of my students online, it was important to have an easy “hybrid” set up where I can switch between an in person lesson to an online lesson at the drop of a hat, so to speak. (It just takes me a minute!) In today’s music teacher tip I share steps and precautions taken, things I purchased and guidelines that I set.
Recommendations
Below are the items I mention in this video to help with transitioning back to in person lessons… (affiliate links may be included) Feel free to ask me any questions you might have in the comments.
- Shoes Booties Box
- Shoe Booties
- No touch thermometer (similar to the one I have)
- Air Purifier with UV (I bought the small for the living room I teach in)
- Small UV Purifier
- Roland HP704 Digital Piano
- Luxor Multimedia Workstation (If you like this, do some digging online as you may be able to find it cheaper)
- Gooseneck tablet mount clamp
- Staff Dry Erase Whiteboard
- Benefect Botanical Disinfectant- Broad Spectrum All Purpose Disinfectant Cleaner
- Microfiber Bulk Cleaning Cloths (50 pack) (I bought these in white)
- Earbuds for Music Lab (I noticed these style earphones are a little more difficult for 5-6 year olds)
- Practice Pouches or Kits- Find the original post here and read more creative practice tools ideas here.
- Hand Sanitizer (I personally like the scented ones at Bath and Body works but provide an unscented option as well)
- Laser Pointer (I already owned a presentation clicker that had a laser pointer on it)
Not mentioned in the video but also recommend…
- Tonara– I have always written down my assignments, but this year I knew that I really couldn’t continue doing that. I use Tonara to type my lesson assignments in as well as send videos, PDF’s, audio files, digital sitckers, etc… for students. They are now in the habit of going to Tonara to check what they need to do that week. It has truly become a time and life saver. (Want to try it a month of Tonara for free? Use the affiliate code: MER20 which will also give you 20% off for a year should you decide to sign up later.)
- My Music Staff– I forgot to mention this as well in the video. My Music Staff is what I use to communicate with my parents. I always reconcile the lesson each week so they know how it went, etc… This is where they view the calendar, invoices, etc… I truly couldn’t run my business without it. Get a free month here with my affiliate link if interested.
Guidelines
COVID-19 Guidelines Sample This is the guidelines I used for anyone who chose to transition to in person lessons. You are welcome to use whatever you would like in your guidelines. I hope it helps!
Great article! Thank you!
Thanks, Claire! I hope it is helpful!
Hi Jennifer,
Watched your YouTube video. Like your suggestions. I was wondering how it is going so far? I am still online only. I have had a few students that have asked about going back to in-person lessons. I don’t have the ability to keep social distance in the studio I am teaching out of. So it’s a little harder to figure out right now. Just wanted to see how parents and students are taking to your guidelines and procedures. Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
Michelle J.
Hi Michelle,
Things are going very well! So far everyone has been respectful of the guidelines and staying home if they aren’t feeling well. I’m very pleased and feel like I have my groove down as far as the general routine.
Thank you so very much, Jennifer! This was incredibly helpful, and your blog post has perfect timing for me, as I’m hoping to transition back to F2F teaching from online for most students in a couple of weeks. I’ve been thinking about everything (it’s a LOT) throughout the summer, and your video and explanations helped me clarify some of my thoughts on certain points. Thanks! I really appreciate all the time you spent detailing your processes, and also sharing your printed sheet for your families. Take care, and have a fantastic school year! 🙂
Thanks, Janelle! I’m so glad you found it helpful! Best of luck in your transition!
Very helpful Jennifer. Thanks for sharing.
You bet! Thanks, Saundra!
Thank you so much for this. I have been teaching via online since March 13th, and continued to do so for a limited amount of students during the summer. I have been thinking about offering both face to face and online once my fall schedule starts, but was very curious what other teachers were doing, especially the guidelines and what parents needed to sign, etc.
On a side note, I sometimes work for a fire and water restoration company, and when this pandemic hit, they had a full crew, including my hubby and I, fogging different businesses. Benefect is the exact product we use to kill COVID-19. I do love the smell and appreciate that it is not harmful. The salesman that brought the product to my boss actually drank a little of it just to prove how safe it is. 😂 We are now headed to clean schools next week because of the all the wildfires we’ve had the last three weeks. Sometimes it seems to never end.
Thanks again for taking the time to share all your ideas with us.
Hi Emily! That is great to know about Benefect, just confirms my confidence with using it! That’s awesome! 🙂 Hope those wildfires get under control soon. My thoughts are always with those that are affected by them.
One last question…did you make your parents sign anything after reading your COVID-19 pandemic guidelines?
I did. 🙂
Thank you. I am typing up guidelines for when I start up again. I appreciate you adding yours to the blog post for us to read.
You bet! Good luck! 🙂
Thanks for your helpful tips, Jennifer. I plan on transitioning to in person lessons in a few weeks. A couple questions: how did your shoe booties do over the last year? Which shoe booties would you recommend?
Hi Laurie, I just bought shoe booties on Amazon. These are the ones I ended up ordering. https://amzn.to/3Aq67Du I was happy with them.
Thanks!