I always knew I wouldn’t be teaching my own children the violin. Practice helper at home? I’m all in. But, being the teacher? No, thanks. I wanted to have someone in my corner. Someone I could reach out to for advice, and help on this journey. And, it doesn’t hurt to be able to say, […]
Dealing with Imposter Syndrome (For Suzuki Teachers)
Imposter Syndrome, or the belief that you are not qualified for your job despite evidence to the contrary, is a plague that affects almost everyone I know. I’ve heard about it from engineers, teachers, writers, business owners, and of course, music teachers. (And it probably doesn’t help that you’re told by everyone you know that […]
PVT Small Shifts Series: Energy Matching
This is part of a new series about subtle changes we have made that have made a big difference in our teaching. I used to think that the key to getting a child to change their behavior was to model it–to the extreme. A very wiggly, distracted kid needed me to be be calm and […]
Plucky Violin Teacher Book Club Review: Simplicity Parenting
Every discussion about a parenting book should probably start with a disclaimer: This book works for me. It works for my kids. I do not know you. I do not know your kids. Consider it and use it or throw it in the garbage. Amen. I first read Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of […]
Why You Should Create a Facebook Page for Your Music Teaching Business
Whether we like it or not, Facebook is here to stay and it is a major player in the lives of our potential students and their parents. If you are a Suzuki teacher, I strongly suggest creating a business Facebook page for your studio. Here are a few reasons why you may want to create […]
Practicing with Interrupting Younger Siblings: The Unhelpful Helper
Shall we start this blog post with an embarrassing confession? Okay, great, here it is: Almost every time I finish practice with my adorable pre-Twinkler, I hide in my closet and eat chocolate for a few minutes. Between my daughter’s perfectionism and distractibility and my two year old literally throwing a basketball at us through […]
Helping Parents Practice: Plucky Violin Teacher Book Club Review
This is one of my favorite books about teaching and parenting, so I was excited to revisit it last month. As both a psychotherapist and experienced Suzuki teacher, Edmund Sprunger is uniquely prepared to address the obstacles Suzuki parents face when practicing with their child. Helping Parents Practice is laid out in such a way […]
4 TIPS FOR TEACHING NOTE READING
Because I like to research things obsessively before I begin (like reading 10+ parenting books while pregnant), I’ve been researching how to teach my daughter to read. Reading about the steps of learning to read has inevitably lead me to ponder on the similarities between teaching reading (totally new to me) and note reading (which […]
What Your Suzuki Violin Students Need to Be Successful…
Does it seem like the other teachers get all the good students? Is your studio filled with poor practicers, wishy-washy whiners, no shows, and parents who forget to pay? When I was a new teacher, I envied the more established teachers that I knew. It seemed like, somehow, they got all of the awesome students. […]
One Point Lessons…
I have heard from so many amazing teacher trainers about the importance of a one point lesson. I have nodded, and enthusiastically written “Only one thing in the lesson!” in my notes. Then, I go home, look at my students, and think, “How? Let’s do a five point lesson instead.” When you have spent years […]