Let’s Talk About Practice
We’re getting settled into the school year and we have our first recital coming up! Now is a great time to talk about practice.
First of all, why is practice important? Practice is going to help your child make progress. When they make progress, they will enjoy it even more!
Now, having a child that will regularly go practice on their own is extremely rare. Just like they need to be reminded to do homework or brush their teeth, most children need to be reminded to practice too.
Practice doesn't need to be viewed as a chore and we don't want to force them to do it. However, we do want to help them create a habit.
Remember that we are a team (teacher-parent-student). We all want to help your child be successful and love music. So, here are some suggestions for how you can help support your child with practice:
Talk to your child about practice. Ask them why they think practice is important. Talk to them about when they want to practice and help them plan. It is helpful to pair practice with something that they are already doing on a regular basis. Here are some examples:
Before or after they brush their teeth
Before or after they eat breakfast/dinner
While dinner is being prepared
When they get home from school
A break in the middle of their homework
Remind them and encourage them when it’s time to practice. Their job is to go practice when you remind them. If they go practice, give them some positive reinforcement (ex: “Great job with your practice. I can tell you’re improving!” or “I really enjoyed hearing that!”). If they are refusing to go practice, don’t get into a power struggle. When this is happening frequently, it’s time to do a little investigation and problem solving.
My next blog will take a look at what to do if your child is refusing to practice. For now, focus on these two steps and let me know if you run into any problems!