What Do We Do About Summer?

I love summer!  I love the changing seasons in general, but I really love summer.  I love the sunshine.  I love the thunderstorms that roll in on hot evenings.  I love the heat.  I love cooking out, and trips to the playground and the beach and most other things you can think of about summer.  The only drawback is what to do about lessons!  Some kids want to take time off.  Even though they have more time to practice, some students practice less because their routines change, which can be frustrating.  And worst of all, my high school seniors leave me for college!  So what can we do?

This summer is going to be different for me.  We’re expecting our second daughter in less than two weeks now, so I’ll be taking some time off this summer too.  But it’s important to me not to leave my students hanging for the whole summer and to keep up their momentum.  I also don’t want to lose the growth trend I’ve been having in my studio.  So what to do?

Normally, I’d do some kind of Flute Camp or summer workshop, not just for my students, but my co-teacher and I try to get as many as we can from the area.  This year, we’re not doing the camp, so I’m planning on having a short workshop with just my students sometime once I’m back into the swing of things.  I also am advertising for summer only lessons; some of these you can convert to regular students so it’s worth it.  Kids, especially those in school band may have to audition for chairs or to be section leader, and I can help them with that.  I also start advertising for district band/orchestra audition preparation.  The audition pieces for my area just came out, and it’s very competitive, so now is the time for them to get coaching if they don’t already have a teacher. 

As far as students taking time off, from a business perspective it isn’t great for me.  I have absences and scheduling spelled out pretty well in my studio contract to prevent too much loss of income.  But, kids work hard all year at lessons and at school, and if they need two weeks off to go to the Grand Canyon with their family, I’m happy for them.  I also find it easier to schedule performing gigs in the summer to make up for some of the income as well.

Mostly, I’m just looking forward to meeting my new little one and enjoying the summer!