I listen to a lot of classical music with my two kids, and not because of the Mozart Effect. I have no expectations that my children’s IQ will shoot up by listening to classical music. Mostly, I listen to classical music because I love it. Like parents everywhere, I share my passions with my kids. […]
Leveling Up: Adding Layers of Ability
I took a few creative writing classes in college just for fun. When we would read each other’s assignments, I noticed that there was a huge range in the quality of writing. There were the creative writing majors (whose writing was gripping, raw, and artistic) and the non-majors who were trying it out (me.) The […]
The Diagnosis Free Suzuki Studio
One of the essential tenets of Suzuki Philosophy is that “every child can.” That phrase is one of my teaching mantras. I constantly think about it. Every child can. Every. Child. Can. Every child can learn to play the violin. It’s my job to figure out how to make that happen. I am so glad […]
Helping Double-Jointed Students…
For years I struggled with vibrato. The two types of vibrato I could accomplish were uneven, tight, and narrow, and uneven, wide, and slow. Basically I sounded like an unfortunate church choir. It wasn’t until my last year of my Bachelor’s degree I finally realized why. My fingers were double-jointed! At the lowest part of […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]