River River Gently flowing

Solo Time Music Games - October 2010
Putting the Flash in Flashcards

November Greetings with a warm cup of your favorite tea,

October has flown by, November is here,Christmas songs have been determined and Solo Time Music Games web site went down...again. I wasn't sure what the problem was but when I checked, I realized that so many teachers had been to the website and downloaded the Halloween resources, that the site was shut down for a few hours until I could increase the bandwidth! I feel honoured that so many teachers and students were benefiting from resources that were posted by Susan Archer and myself. For the month of November check out the resource page for some interesting links to giant flashcards and Conservatory Canada information.

November is a rainy month here in the lower mainland and for some of you the snow has started to flurry and stay. It can be a dreary time for lessons as it gets dark early and students are tired from a long day at school. Remind parents that this is only seasonal and very shortly the daylight will return.

To get through this season why not put the fun in your class room with a few games from Solo Time Music Games to help your students forget the cold dreary days. The games I've used in the last few weeks are Burger Intervals, Noah's Ark, Goin' Nuts, What's that dot, Bee-fore and Bee-after and Measure Up!

Here is a quote I ran across a few days ago. There is much truth in it.
Pieces will never produce technique!
Building technique first will enable students to play anything well.

Have a wonderful November!
Musicallyours,

Mrs. Lois

MYC Certified Teacher

Solo Time Music Games

info@solotimemusicgames.com

Teaching Tip - Rivers and Waves

" River, River"

The song "River River" by Frances Balodis is a huge hit in my classes when I start teaching about bridges. For this fun activity, I take a sheet, (a white queen size one) and have everyone hold on to an edge of the sheet.

With the first verse, we wave it gently to signify a "gently flowing river" and then "very strong and wavy" for the second verse about waves.

I don't remember where I first heard about this activity but it has made for a lot of fun over the years with my classes of five and six year olds.

Game of the month - Burger Intervals

Burger Intervals

Older students have now transitioned from counting up intervals to determining if they are major, minor or perfect.

A rule I always teach my students is that women are like the intervals one, four, five and eight...they are perfect.

Everything else is major or minor.

www.solotimemusicgames.com

To Market To Market - Trade Shows

Going to a trade show is a good way to adverstize your business but often the cost of being in a trade show is far too great for the average music teacher.
Another alternative is to go as an attendee. Dress in your best teaching attire and wear something with your logo on it, wear a name tag, I ordered a really cute tag from Beth Tadeson of "Addressed Impressions" and have your business cards in hand.

Go with the purpose in mind to network with all the exhibitors. Going first thing in the morning is best as it is not busy. Put on your smooshing shoes and talk to anyone and everyone.

Connect, give them your business card and get theirs and don't forget to follow up with a phone call or e-mail in a week or so.

Give it a try! The price of entry into the trade show is cheaper than a booth. Go with several teachers, split up and market the trade show and enjoy it at the same time.

You might not have a future client at that exact moment but for sure they will remember who you are and might recall your conversation to give you a referral when talking to their friends. Several ideas for this article were from "66 Tips for Marketing on a Shoestring Budget" www.sueclement.com.

Solo Time Music Games

Postage free on order of six games or more for the month of November. contact Mrs. Lois directly for this offer and quote NOV10

info@solotimegames.com