Hippo Helper

So you've taught your student lots of new things, but you want to make sure they remember it all. But review lessons are so boring--for you, for the student. How can you keep them engaged in a review session the entire time?

Introducing the Hippo Helper! This is a great tool that you can use and reuse whenever you need to review or fill a little time at the end of a lesson. It allows kids to feel like they're in control of the lesson and keeps them engaged and entertained the whole time.

Supplies:

• Plastic container (I used an old dishwasher detergent box with a pop lid)
• Popsicle sticks
• Marker
• Construction paper
• Googley Eyes

Instructions:

Decorate the container to look like a hippo. I used blue construction paper and glued it around. Then add the googley eyes to the top. On the popsicles sticks, write things that the student has learned. Some examples:

• Two black keys
• C
• Quarter note
• Forte

Put the popsicle sticks in the container. During the lesson, let the student pull out the popsicles sticks one by one. I find it works best if you keep the hippo far enough away from the piano that the student has to run/walk back and forth. This helps them get their wiggles out, and it keeps the giggles coming.