It’s time for the “preparing for fall” posts where I share what new items or ideas I will be using for my students during the year.
As you know, I am an office supply junkie and August is the best and the worst time for those of us plagued with this condition! But every year, my obsessions with office supplies helps me find an actual useful incentive for my piano students. This year, the find is a variation of one of last year’s finds, but my students loved them and it actually improved their practicing dramatically!
What could possibly be a perpetually useful incentive?
It’s the Pilot Frixion Clicker, Retractable, Erasable Gel Pen! You remember that two years ago, erasable highlighter came out and it was one of the best finds ever! I started highlighting notes and writing in comments IN my students’ music IN COLOR! Then, when they no longer needed the notes, they loved erasing it. It was magical. I’m still amazed every time I erase a highlighter and a gel pen.
So last year, I offered them as an incentive which you can read about here.
Here’s the great thing: Office Depot has them on sale at a price I think no one will ever beat. They are only $4 this week for a package of 3! I won’t tell you how many packages I bought, but I’ll be offering them as an incentive again this year, because some of my students have lost theirs and some would love to have a new color.
I love it when an incentive keeps on incentivizing the right kinds of things! Seeing my students come to their lesson having marked up their music on their own just makes my day!
You might also be interested in reading the Preparing for Fall category of posts or the 2010 Product discoveries post, the Composer Seals and Artistry Cards post, the Fall Lesson Book Bash post, and the Binding Machines post.
What new things are you using this year?
Those look really fun! I’ll have to check them out. I’m really excited because I just got a Yamaha Clavinova to add to my studio yesterday! But the students would probably more excited about erasable gel pens… lol.
I think my students would love these! This will make it so much easier to keep track of what exactly the student needs to work on for each note.
The erasable pens were a BLAST to use until I discovered that they don’t really erase…..when they are in a cold environment (leaving your piano books in the car in the winter), the ‘erased” marks come back! On the other side, books that are in the car, or sun, in the summer heat, cause the heat-sensitive ink to disappear. So, I have discontinued using these pens. Bummer!
Hi Peggy, Yes I read that on the back of the package, but I’m not too worried about the markings that come back as being a disadvantage compared to the advantage of having kids practice effectively. But I understand that you might not want that for a score that a judge might use, just in case the book stays in the car for a while before the performance!