Weekly Lesson Organizer

In my Get Organized! and Storing Music posts, I alluded to a system I use to help stay organized when teaching lessons to 30+ students each week. It’s nothing fancy, but it helps me keep track of what materials need to go to what student and keeps my most frequently used teaching tools readily available. Here’s a snapshot of my weekly lesson organizer:

I have a hanging file for each day of the week that I teach. If I get a new book for a student, I just drop it in the file for the appropriate day. If a student accidentally forgets a book in the studio, I drop it in their lesson day file. Same goes for worksheets I want to remember to give to a specific student.

Here’s a closer look at some of the other items I keep in the organizer:

This handy notepad is where I keep track of all the music I need to look for or purchase the next time I make a trip to the music store.

I love these music flashcards! The ones I use the most are the notes on the staff. I like that each card has the full staff, regardless of whether the note is in the treble or bass clef. And I really like the second and third sections on each card that contain short patterns incorporating the specific note so that students can practice identifying and playing the note in a context similar to what they would find in a piece of music.

A collection of dice and pawns that can be used for various games at the keyboard. Very handy!

An assortment of magnets that I use with a magnetic white board. I use these for melodic dictation or I draw a quick staff on the board and use the magnets for note or interval identification.

The white board and markers get used every day in my studio! I can’t imagine functioning without them. Whether it’s something simple like writing out the Major scale pattern or practicing drawing treble clefs to fine-tuning notation skills or writing answers for listening activities, this board is well-used (obviously, since it’s falling apart!). Using a white board and markers provides an easy way to incorporate activities that address all three major learning styles – aural, visual and kinesthetic.

I’d love to know if you have tips for staying organized in your studio! I’m constantly looking for ways to run things more efficiently and love to know what’s working well for other teachers!