Addition and Subtraction at the Ice Cream Shop

Hi, my name is Sarah. One reason I love this job is that I get to interact with students and parents from all over the world. I love making connections with each individual student, and finding out what things we have in common. I stay busy with all of my hobbies and am constantly learning and progressing. I do art, write, have service Thursdays where I find ways to help others (I don't teach this day so I can focus on others), am active in my church, and work with youth. I live on an acre and have goats and chickens, and will sometimes take my students on a field trip during class to see these animals and others. I have experience teaching ESL to China and have been online teaching exclusively for about 5 years. "Traveling" virtually has really made me fall in love with different parts of the world. For this reason, I am actively teaching myself Portuguese, why? Because learning never stops! One of my day jobs is as a Family Advocate, where I can help teach parenting skills, and assist families in finding resources. I also work in post adopt, and help with families who have adopted. I have 5 kids, and two were adopted as teens through foster care. I also have a one year old grandchild. I have published three books. I can work easily with parent's schedules and can even create a customized class. I am a calm teacher, who is good at assessing what each individual child needs and I believe I can communicate well with them. I take my schedule seriously and will always to try be present in class and on time. I will early need to reschedule a class, and when I Do, I automatically will push back the class a week and communicate that. If you are having to miss a class, please message me if possible. I make a great effort to be in my classroom ready to teach. If your student is the only reason I had to rush home to teach, and they aren't in class, it can be frustrating. 

I only teach one on one music classes at this point. I find that a lot of my students come from quick group online classes, but they can't fine-tune their skills and feel they are rushed. Or else they learn from YouTube or phone apps, and need to come back to the beginning in order to learn the basics. I carry a load of about 50 students per week. I will try to accommodate everyone's schedule, but I do now have to have a waitlist. I keep spreadsheets of what each student is working on. I also will always include the assignment in the classroom. I expect every student to practice a couple times a week at least. Parents, you can help by encouraging them. 

I am part of a rescue center in Kenya, which helps child brides escape marriage and abuse. I am in the process of bringing home an adorable little baby from Kenya to raise here so his mom can go to high school. Because of this, I may need to once in a while take a week or two off from teaching lessons so that I can travel back and forth to Kenya. I hope once the baby is here, I will still be able to teach at my full schedule, but I may have to lighten my teaching load in a few months (this update is 10/22). 

I currently teach violin, piano, viola. I can assist in beginner cello or note finding on guitar. I truly love my students and my job. I haven't changed my rates since I was 16 years old., (except to accommodate for the Outschool charges). I believe everyone should be able to afford music class. I do have a psychology degree and a music minor. Fun fact, I went to the same college and program as the Bearded Lady from The Greatest Showman. We went to school at the same time in my small town in Southern Utah. 

Let's try it out! I'll see you soon.