“My dad said I should start with my map pin here because that would give me the most central location for getting to the other destinations.” ~student after the September Surprise
“My dad had a question…can you go around the world to the east and come back in on the west?” ~student at the first lesson
“This is so exciting it makes me want to sign up for lessons!” ~a studio Dad
When I first started developing year-long practice incentive themes for my piano studio (24 years ago!), the purpose was to provide motivation for my students to practice consistently and effectively. That seems like a no-brainer, huh?! But over the years I’ve seen many secondary benefits as a result of using them, not the least of which is the “buy-in” factor from parents, particularly dads.
Often the moms are already more involved in the lessons, transporting their kids to and from the studio each week, attending Year-End Evaluations, scheduling the additional music events during the year, and so on. However, as you can see from the above quotes, inviting the whole family to attend the September Surprise! kickoff for the year where I announce the practice incentive theme seems to really get the dads engaged in piano lessons and on board supporting their kids in their musical studies. I love this! And I love how it bolsters the motivation and effort of the students even more, too! This realization is a big encouragement to me and sure makes all the time and effort invested in developing these practice incentive themes well worth it.
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