Noticing in Lessons
- Sarah Lyngra
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
It's the end of July 2026. I started using little cards at the end of lessons to write one or two small things that students did.
These are shared with permission of my student. He likes to read them on his way to lessons.
The example above was started at the end of January this year. These little cards have improved all of my lessons.
Here's how:
I pay attention more. I know at the end of a lesson I need to write something positive, so I spend more time looking for positive.
My students' parents like them. It's often the first thing they check when they pick up their kids.
My students love them. They like the text side more than the pictures sometimes.
They provide a record of both the lesson and what a student is doing.
The music themed cards are a talking point, we discuss composers.
You can see by the examples that what I'm writing is pretty ordinary. In a previous post, I wrote about building Legos at the end of lessons. My students will build a few steps of the lego project- we finished the Grand Piano and have moved on to Artemis (a post coming up- the them for the fall is going to be moons, nights, and stars. . .) - while they build, I write the card.
Here's a little background and instructions for using the cards. It covers using the cards both in and outside of lessons:
Here's a catalog of all of the current Happines Card designs. Six sirenes, or the Mermaids are the most recent additions.
The tone of my entire studio has changed as a result of giving out little cards at the end of the lessons. I've said it before- the two criteria that I use to determine the success of a lesson are:
Does the student play better at the end of the lesson?
Does the student leave happy?
Using the cards captures both- I write what they improved on or did well, and students are happy when they receive them.
Happy Playing!
Sarah
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