There have been lots of changes since I last blogged.
The biggest is that my son has started taking piano lessons from my niece. It is crazy seeing a piano lesson from two different perspectives: One: your own child is the one learning. Two: The one you teach is the one teaching. Needless to say, I have had to bite my tongue while I have watched these piano lessons. Is my desire to correct because I want so badly to see my son succeed? Or is it because I think of myself as the expert with the know-how, not my niece? I think there is some of both of that in there. Despite these concerns, I have found valuable qualities in my niece's teaching, and my son is doing just fine. Along with these, I have had a chance to reflect on my own teaching procedures and discovered valuable lessons I have learned throughout the years.
One of my concerns was that my son would not persevere if he did not have enough success playing his songs. His attention span is not that long, and I thought my niece's expectations might be a little bit high. After all, he has had no experience reading notes. (Yes, the concerns of a mother.) I am glad that I didn't tell my niece to just pass off his song. He has been able to reach the expectations of my niece with the diligent help of his teacher as well as his grandmother and parents.
Motivation really is a continual battle for children when the newness of something has worn off. I didn't know what to do to motivate him. He is very strong-willed and can be difficult to persuade, but my niece and her mother took that concern and found a way to motivate my son. I am so grateful and inspired by their work. They created the cutest practicing chart that involved paw prints and a paw patrol figure reaching his friend in the helicopter. Each time he practiced, he got to color in a paw-print and move the figure. After thirty times, the figure reached his destination, and my son was taken to the dollar store to pick out a toy. Since then, he has had new charts made whenever he has reached his goal, which is usually within a week or two. They have continued to be motivating.
This has led me to think: How can I motivate MY older students? They are older. I have been using candy rewards for every ten times they practice. Candy is always motivating. But to create more intrinsic motivation, perhaps I could plan a recital for them to work up to. Or even create a tradition of a recital every year. I know my second oldest has asked for one. Spring is usually not too busy (aside from school), The theme this year could be movie scores. Another year could be classical pieces. Another theme could be folk songs. I could invite other teachers in my area to join in. It should be a big to-do, Create excitement. It will be fun to hear other pieces underneath each theme. What may be more motivating is the girls own ward members participating.
There is more to reflect on, but I have a baby to tend to.
