Hi from Los Angeles

Welcome on board!

eddie_p_y wrote: Hi, I'm a homeschooling mom of a bright 6 year old who loves music. He's been trying out the Guess Key for 3 minutes or so and Gentle Piano games several times a week and already, he's able to play Hot Cross Buns and The French Song with two hands. I'm starting him on Prep Level C but I suspect we'll get through it much more quickly than indicated in the lesson plan.

The lesson plans are for other subjects - not just piano performance. For the piano we will choose more advance piano pieces. There are many layers for each activity and if you will share your progress, I will be able to help you to choose the right direction.

Wondering if you have any tips for how to create our progress diary (is there a good format for it, what are we keeping track of exactly and how does one get a diploma?).

Yes, Check, for example the diaries of Eliana, Ariana and Liliana in our progress diaries section. They are very precise.

Also, wondering if how you go about doing sightreading (how often do you do it?). Thanks very much for the support. It's a wonderful way to learn!

It depands of your chilld's personal needs. For example, if he develops his memory, fine motor skills and coordination fast, there is a chance that he will memorize piano pieces on the fly and will just pretend that he is reading them. In this case I would give him more for sight-reading to keep his eye-sight busy reading music notes without memorizing them. Otherwise, he will not be able to develop sight-reading as well as his piano technique. If his coordination and fine motor skills need improvement, he has to focus on this first. There are more to say. The bottom line is: using the same tools and the same piano pieces from the beginning (Introductory songs) we are able to determine early what is your son's strongest points and rely on them to build the education.

eddie_p_y wrote: Hi Hellene,

Thank you so much for the helpful information. I'll go ahead and start the progress diaries (I think I have an idea of what I need to do) and you or the other teachers will help me move up in levels/activities as needed, right?

Exactly!

The explanation of the sight-reading was very helpful to me. I notice that people seem to only post after they've completed the segment. Is that something I should wait to do when he's got segment 1 down perfectly or should I just post videos and pictures of where he is now after two weeks?

Consider posting as having a 'piano lesson': if you want to receive feed back asap, post asap. At the beginning you need more support. The more accustomed with method you will become, the less interaction you will need in the future.