How many hours a day should 

I be practicing? 

This article talks about the difference between mindless practicing and deliberate practicing. It is hard to make the switch over and trust that it is the better way, but in the long run it is well worth it! This mindset is something that I'm working really hard on in my studio right now. More often than not,I'll get a sigh or eyes rolled if I tell the student he/she gets to do one of the repetition games I have. After we do a few repetitions of deliberate practice, they hear the difference and are satisfied with the work they have done.

The Wiggle Game

I often wonder where kids get all of their energy and I wish that I could have some of it!

 Wiggle Time isn't just for when these folks are on! You can make wiggle time during practice time to help release some energy so your student isn't bouncing all over the place while you're trying to do the 10x spot your teacher assigned. It's pretty easy - put some music on and let your kid wiggle while he/she is standing in play position. When you pause the music, they have to stop wiggling. Play the music at different intervals of time. You'll be able to see when your child starts getting tired, because they will stop wiggling before you stop the music - encourage them to keep moving so they get all of their sillies out (but shh!!! don't tell them that!).
Now you can get to work. Happy Practicing!

You can read more about the Wiggle Game in Ed Sprungers Book Building Violin Skills on page 170.

12.12.12

You may or may not know, but I am slightly obsessed with numbers. When a special day like today comes around, I have to do something fun or exciting or something worth remembering. Today was no different. When each student came in, I asked if they knew what day it was - some of them said "Wednesday" some said "the 12th" but most just looked at me like I was crazy. I told them that it was 12.12.12. and that's when I started to get A LOT of eyes rolling at me. I did have some students that were cute and played along - and even thought it was pretty cool themselves! I told them we were going to celebrate by playing their practice spots 12x!!! How fun is that?!!

My husband and I went out to eat to chinese food today to celebrate this special day and the fortune he got was "everyday has something special worth celebrating." I thought this ended our $12.00 dinner perfectly!

The Task is Complete!

Are you aware that the "dollar" isle at Target is now the "under $3.00" isle?! I should have taken a picture of the big sign that was above my favorite corner, but I'm a little upset if you want to know the truth! Nevertheless, I found some really cute practice ideas there today while I was in the "big city."

I found these 4 wood cookies that came on a wood cookie sheet - they were adorable.  

They also had cupcakes that came in a pack of 6, but for the idea I had, I would need to get 2 packs and I didn't want to spend $6.00 in the DOLLAR ISLE for 2 items!!! For those of you feeling less frugal than I am, I'll tell you what I was thinking... I was thinking that you could get 2 packs and then fill up a muffin sheet from your kitchen! How fun would that be?!!! 

Since I tend to spend the most money from the DOLLAR ISLE and there were some other items I really wanted to get today, I narrowed it down to this cute $3.00 item so I could have the best of both worlds. 

This little cake is perfect for repetitions for so many reasons! 

My husband was actually the one that helped me narrow it down to the cake. 

These are his reasons... 

• It's just so stinkin' cute! 
• Imagine me saying that, now imagine my husband imitating me saying that - of course he does it to make me laugh and to assure me that it is as cute as I think it is ;)
• It's unique - it's totally different than any other repetition counter I have
• The students would be able to complete something.

I really liked all of these reasons, but he sold me on "the student gets to complete something." It's true that they get to get complete many things - like putting all of the pennies in the jar. The differnce

 for this game is that they can see a complete circle - they can see that all of the pieces need to fit together to make a whole.  They can see that the task is complete. I can't wait to give this new game a try in lessons on Monday!