When You Can't Sit In the Lesson

 
 I feel like I can't overemphasise enough the huge role that parents play in their children's lives. (Take heart, discouraged moms!) I mean, all I have to do is look at my own parents. I could go on and on and on about them -- but to stay on the topic of music, they've been actively supporting my music for 14 years, ever since the day I started piano.

   When I started under the MYC program, it was a requirement for the parents to sit in on their children's music lessons. Mom, at that point, had very little musical training. Yet by sitting in on the lessons, she was able to understand what was going on -- enough to keep on top of me, not only making sure I got my 30 minutes of practice in, but also making sure I was doing it right. In my mind, this is the ideal scenario.

   But ideal is not always possible.

   I'm well aware of that. Parents are busy people. So if you can't sit in on your child's piano lessons, for whatever reason, what can you do? Here's a couple of suggestions you can try:

  • Ask you child what they did in lessons after lessons, in the car, or around the dinner table. If your child is the type that needs some specific questions before they'll talk, try these ones:
"Did you do any music games or activities?"
"What piece are you learning now?"
"What was one new thing you learned?"
"What was something you reviewed/worked on?"
  • If your child can write well, get them to write down everything they remember about the lesson as soon as they get home. This will also help their memory! I remember reading that we forget 90% of what we're told over time. Writing it down quickly will help that!
  • Read their notebooks. I try to write specific directions to them every week. No, it probably won't make much sense to you. But that gives you another question to ask: "Can you show me what Sarah meant by _____?"
  • Consider recording the lesson. I record my lessons with my teacher on my phone and, as mentioned in last week's post, play back the recordings through the week. 
  • And remember ... you can always text or e-mail me! 
      Got any more ideas, or strategies you use when you can't come to your child's lessons? Leave a comment below! (Remember that you have to click on the title of the post to leave a comment.)


 
Location: Onoway, AB T0E 1V0, Canada

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