What are some of your incentives after students receive their “diligence dollars” or “treasure chest points.” Do you have something “big” for them to spend them on, or do your students receive smaller prizes? I am trying to dream up something that would get my older students excited as well as the younger ones. It […]
Practice Incentives
Monday Mailbag – Treasure Chest Piano Practice Incentive
I was directed to your site from an Internet search I did to find more info about piano pedagogy. I think I originally found it on www.toddfamily.com/policies. Anyway, can you tell me more about your Treasure Chest idea? Sure! One year for my practice incentive program, I did a Treasure Chest theme. Students could earn […]
Monday Mailbag – Music Practice Tips for Young Children
This week, I received an e-mail from a mother looking for practice advice for her almost-5-year old son, who has been in Suzuki cello classes for about a year. She writes, “I know he likes to play, once he gets going and concentrates and is playing. However the practices are becoming a power struggle; he […]
Practicing Piano with a Deck of Cards
Here’s another new blog I just came across recently. Wow, I’m so excited at how many music education blogs are popping up these days! If you have such a blog or have a recommendation of one, please let me know! Check out this great practice idea called, Scramble. All it takes is a deck of […]
Go For The Gold!
The practice incentive I developed for last year – Go For The Gold! – is now compiled and available for purchase. In the spirit of the Olympics, I developed a practice incentive with an Olympic theme. One new thing I tried was assigning each student to a team and then basing the winners on the […]
31 Days to Better Practicing
Want some fresh ideas to jump-start the new school year for your students (or yourself!)? I suggest you head over to Chris Foley’s Collaborative Piano Blog for some great, practical ideas on practicing. Last year he wrote a series on 31 Days to Better Practicing and this year he’s put together a handy reader’s guide […]
