Music Teacher Tip #23: Strive for 5!
Jennifer Foxx 
Strive for 5 is something I started last year with my students to boost practice slumps. You can read the original post here, but I wanted to share a little bit more in depth about Strive for 5 and share what I did last year in comparison to what I am doing this year. It’s all about experimenting to see what works best. I’m looking forward to seeing the results at the end of the year! In a nutshell, Strive for 5 is exactly what you might think it means. I want students to strive for 5 days of practice […]
Music Teacher Tip #22 Part 3: Transfer Students Introductory Lesson Evaluations
Jennifer Foxx 
Here is the final tip in the 3 part lesson evaluation series. In Part 3, I share what I like to evaluate and assess with transfer students who have had lessons before. Did you miss Part 1 or 2? View them below… Music Teacher Tip #20: Early Childhood Introductory Lesson Evaluations Music Teacher Tip #21: New Beginners Introductory Lesson Evaluations
Music Teacher Tip #20 Part 1: Early Childhood Introductory Lesson Evaluations
Jennifer Foxx 
Music Teacher Tips #20-22 will be a 3-part series. In part 1, I share what I evaluate with early childhood students (4-6 years) at the introductory lesson. Introductory lessons is a free interview and evaluation where I take the time to evaluate and assess where a student is musically, review studio policies, talk about my studio programs, share how I run my studio and show them the music lab. This also is the perfect time for me to watch for any red flags that might come up, and get a general feeling if we will be a good fit for […]
Music Teacher Tip #21 Part 2: New Beginner Introductory Lesson Evaluations
Jennifer Foxx 
This is Part 2 of a 3 part series on lesson evaluations. In today’s music teacher tip, I share what I like to evaluate with new beginners who have never had lessons before. This is typically any student 7 years old and up. (I go through what I do with younger students in part 1) Next… Part 3: Transfer Students Lesson Evaluations Did you miss Part 1? View it here: Music Teacher Tip #20: Early Childhood Introductory Lesson Evaluations
Music Teacher Tip #19: Establishing Boundaries
Jennifer Foxx 
As we begin another school year, I thought this would be the perfect time to talk about boundary setting. While boundaries may come across as a negative thing, it is actually a very positive and healthy thing to establish. Establishing clear boundaries means you are establishing clear communication. You are putting expectations on the front line and in doing so, you will find they will respect them and you for the clear communication. People will push boundaries as far as you will let them. That is great news! You are probably thinking to yourself, huh?! It’s great because the key […]
The Importance of Listening
Jennifer Foxx 
One of the most important skills a student must have when practicing is to be able to listen. Have you ever had a student that can play through a piece and it sounds completely off? They might be playing in the wrong key, or wrong position or just missing all the accidentals. You sit back in amazement waiting for them to hear how awful it sounds as they continue to plunk away without a care in the world. Just as it is important to teach our students to practice, it is equally important to teach our students to listen when […]
Cool Songs Club by Jerald Simon
Jennifer Foxx 
Disclaimer: Affiliate links are included. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions I have expressed are my own. I have had the chance to play around inside Jerald’s Simon’s Cool Songs Club and wanted to share a bit about it. If you are familiar with Jerald’s music, you know that his main goal is to motivate and inspire students. You also know he is very generous in what he gives. His Cool Songs Club is no exception as you will soon find out. What are Cool Songs? Jerald Simon, founder of Music Motivation®, creates COOL SONGS […]
Back to School BONUS Sale!
Jennifer Foxx 
Did you hear? TpT is having a Bonus back to school sale on Tuesday, August 20th and I am participating. I’ve already marked all my resources off 20% off beginning Tuesday and if you use the promo code: BTSBONUS19 you will save another 5% off! If you missed the sale a couple weeks ago, don’t miss this one as it will only last ONE day! Happy Shopping and Planning! Just click the graphic below to get started… P.S.S. Did you know you can earn credit towards future purchases just by leaving kind feedback on your current purchases? I love receiving feedback. […]
NCKP 2019 Conference Saturday
Jennifer Foxx 
Saturday at NCKP ended up being not at all what I had planned. My husband was supposed to meet me in Chicago at the conference hotel that afternoon so we could go on a road trip where I would be getting 5 additional states for my “50 by 50” goal. But things changed abrubtly when the night prior my son ended up in the ER, extremely sick from ketoacidisis. It was at that time that we found out he had diabetes. Long story short, my husband cancelled his flight to Chicago, I ended up changing my flight to come home […]
NCKP 2019 Conference Friday
Jennifer Foxx 
The 2nd day (or 3rd day with Pre-Conference Wednesday) of NCKP! Did you miss Wednesday and Thursday? NCKP 2019 Pre-Conference Wednesday NCKP 2019 Thursday Creating Collaborative Experiences for Students of All Ages Sarah Alexander and Whitney Hawker Good goals for teachers- We have to make music in every lesson. Taking the smallest part of what they are working on and really playing it musically. Modeling beautiful music making each time you see them. Private Lesson Collaboration Activities- Sight-reading- Exposure to different classical styles. Hear the teacher model. Provides framework for score exploration Develop musical and listening skills: balance, tone , […]