Why I offer free trial lessons to prospective students and why you might want to, too. Free trial lessons are a somewhat controversial topic in the music teaching world. Many teachers believe offering a free lesson devalues our work and encourages prospective students to exploit these offerings. This may or may not be true. But […]
motivation
Is My Child Talented?
(Blog post by Suzuki violin teacher, McKenzie Clawson.) Every so often I have a parent ask me if I think their child is talented. My answer is always a variation on, “I don’t know, and it really doesn’t matter.” What is talent anyway? For many, talent is a skill that comes easily. Well, I’ve never […]
McKenzie’s Institute Reflections
Every year that I take Suzuki Teacher Training I write pages and pages of notes. Though I’d like to review my notes more, it doesn’t really happen. In the last few years, I’ve started ending the course by creating one page of key takeaways. I tuck it into my planner and skim through before I […]
Why I Have My Kids Take Violin Lessons from SOMEONE ELSE
Teacher Appreciation week is the first full week of May, but since I think celebrating teachers for only a week is ridiculous, we’re devoting the whole month of May to teachers. (Yeah, yeah, and because I totally missed the first week of May somehow. I’m way behind on EVERYTHING this month.) I always knew that […]
More Practice Routines!
Today’s post is by my sister and fellow Suzuki violin teacher, McKenzie Clawson. Mckenzie: 7:20 Breakfast is wrapping up. I remind the nine year old violinist that it’s her turn to practice first and she has ten minutes until we start. There is eye-rolling and general chagrin. We chat for a few minutes and then […]
Sample Suzuki Practice Routines
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about some things to consider when creating a practice routine for your family. In today’s post, I dig into the details and share our family’s practice routines. To be perfectly honest, our routines change from day to day depending on my energy levels, our schedule, and my kids’ […]
Suzuki Practice Routines
Ideas for Creating or Improving Your Family’s Suzuki Practice Routine… It’s finally beginning to feel like Spring here in Utah, and it’s making me long for fresh starts in so many ways. I’ve been going through kid clothes and throwing out everything too small and too worn. I’ve been going through the cupboards and putting […]
Making Practice More Peaceful…
Practicing with our children is sometimes difficult. With all the other tasks on my to-do list, it seems like I often have no energy left to deal with delay tactics, tantrums, and other problematic practicing behaviors. Do you ever have thoughts like these? “Why can’t he just come to practice when I ask?” “Why does […]
2018-2019 Plucky Violin Teacher Book Club Schedule…
Hello my friends. I’ve largely been absent from the blog for the last year. I never intended to neglect the blog so long, and I’m so excited to be re-committing to writing and learning more about teaching. If you’re interested, over the last year, I… began teaching Suzuki Early Childhood Education classes became totally overwhelmed […]
September Book Club Review: The Practicing Mind
The Practicing Mind by Thomas Sterner is an excellent book, and a quick read. I listened to it on audible last fall and loved it. The main thesis of the book is that, “Real peace and contentment in our lives come from realizing that life is a process to engage in, a journey down a […]