I think 2020 has been a whirlwind for all of us! I haven't updated you all for awhile (aside from my creative writing post), so I want to let you know how the studio is doing and what's coming up in the future.
January: The High School Seminar was fantastic! We had a great turnout, and Kim Quon was very gracious to answer all of our questions. Her presentation was also very informative. I would love to host another of these seminars in 2021, although I'd prefer to wait until spring or summer to catch homeschoolers just starting in the fall (and also for nicer weather).
The Performance Workshop was fun, and I have posted it to my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Kts1Zo9MeOc
Even better though, were the fun times we shared together during the YouTube recital! The pizza party, the workshop, the ice breaker, the performances, and the general comradery left me with such an uplifted feeling by the end of the night! I must say that this was my all-time favorite event, followed by the YouTube recital that we had just last month (but more about that later). If you want to see videos of student performances, just head over to my YouTube channel (see above link) and look for the playlist called: YouTube Recital. There are a bunch of new pieces in that playlist thanks to the recital we just had, but you can easily see when everything was uploaded.
March: Our research paper class began in March and ended 10 weeks later. We had a blast and learned a lot too! These classes are important for any college-bound homeschooler, especially if they haven't had any exposure to research papers, deadlines, and teachers who aren't Mom. The kids all did very well, and I hope their skills continue to grow!
It occurred to me at some point during the month of March that I didn't need to wait for YouTube recitals to upload pieces that my students are excited about! The first piece in our "Just for Fun" series was performed by Olyvia. Listen to it here: https://youtu.be/RJZRW4mT21o
During this month, several of my students switched to Skype, Zoom, and Messenger lessons for a while. I did a bit of research and worked very hard to make sure these lessons were a success. I have to say, teaching online was way more fun than I would have anticipated! It's a little more work to maintain rapport, but everyone was so much more relaxed, and the parents didn't have to drive to lessons, so it was definitely a win!
April: We didn't get to have our recital, but we still held the bi-annual practice competition!
May: The results were tallied for our practice competition:
1st place ($30 prize): Jonah S.
2nd place ($20 prize): Kate H.
3rd place ($10 prize): tie between Chloe H. and Cabella H.
September: We started our Multi-Sensory Creative Writing class. While the YouTube recital is my favorite event, the MSCW series is my all-time favorite class. I have been teaching it since 2011. During that summer, my son and I were attending a newly established homeschool co-op. The co-op itself fizzled quickly, but the ideas that were developed over the course of those few weeks will last me a lifetime!
October: We finished up another practice competition and had our 2nd YouTube recital! Here are the winners of the competition:
1st place ($30 prize): Kate H.
2nd place ($20 prize): Chloe K.
3rd place ($10 prize): Jackson D.
The YouToube recital was a blast as well! We played the same exact ice breaker because I liked it so well in January. The performances were fun, and I loved hearing the kids introduce themselves and bow if they remembered. :)
I spent the next couple weeks uploading the kids' performances. Some of them had to be re-recorded during class in the following week/weeks. (We had a microphone malfunction during the recital.) I actually uploaded the final one today!
The week after the recital, I found some old performances that had been recorded previously, just for fun. Needless to say, I uploaded them to the Just for Fun playlist on my YouTube channel. Since then, a few of the students have been recording some of their weekly assignments in class, "just for fun"! I hope to keep it up. I think it's a great way for the parents to share their child's achievements with friends and family, not to mention be able to keep up with their child's progress.
Kate's duet.