Getting Multiple Kids to Practice

Two ways to motivate all your kids to practice, at the same time, with minimal effort.

I was talking to one of my piano moms the other day. All of her kids are taking music lessons, most of which play two instruments. She told me what she’s been doing lately to get her kids to practice. Here’s what she’s doing. She gave me permission to share her story.

Sibling Rivalry

Usually sibling rivalry isn’t a good thing, but sometimes it’s good to take advantage of it. What she’s doing is having her kids write down their practice minutes. At the end of the week, the one who has the most minutes gets a shake.

How Is It Working?

She says it’s working fantastically.

On the first day, the younger kid would practice half an hour, then the older kid would practice 45 minutes. Then the younger one would practice 20 minutes, to catch up with a 5 minute buffer. The second day turned out similarly.

I have yet to find out who won last week, but they were definitely determined to win that shake!

What if My Kids Aren’t Competitive?

Personally, my kids are not competitive. At all. Ever.

The older one would let the younger one win because she felt bad. The younger would let the older one win because she wanted to give her sister the gift of a shake. All practicing would halt.

In order to motivate my kids with a reward, I have to set a bar and anyone who passes the bar by the allotted time gets the prize.

For example, I would have to say that whoever gets 300 minutes of practice by Saturday 9AM gets to go for a shake. That’s 30 minutes at 5 days a week x 2 instruments. Knowing them, the challenge would be done by Thursday.

So, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to tape a piece of paper to the wall and find a coupon for shakes.

I did this in 2 seconds. Their initials are on the top.

Author: Tarah

I started playing flute in 1988 and piano in 1991. In 1996, my high school chose me to teach flute and piano to a partner grade school. I was chosen for a similar program in college. Tarah Schoell has always loved sharing her music and guiding others to learn new things. Because of this, she went to college to be a music teacher and has a B.S. in Elementary Education with a Concentrate in Music from Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN. Tarah uses her music education degree to teach from her flute and piano studio, play in various professional and community ensembles, and run a blog on practice techniques at thequarternotes.com. She is active in the Omaha Music Teacher’s Association because she likes to support her fellow music teachers and use the monthly continuing education opportunities.

16 thoughts on “Getting Multiple Kids to Practice”

  1. I?m pleased, I must say. Really seldom do I encounter a blog site that?s both educative and also entertaining, and also let me inform you, you have actually hit the nail on the head. Your idea is exceptional; the problem is something that not enough people are speaking intelligently around. I am really happy that I came across this in my search for something associating with this.

  2. I’m the owner of JustCBD Store brand (justcbdstore.com) and I’m presently seeking to grow my wholesale side of company. I really hope that someone at targetdomain can help me . I considered that the most suitable way to do this would be to reach out to vape stores and cbd retailers. I was hoping if anybody could recommend a trusted site where I can get Vape Shop Sales Leads I am presently considering creativebeartech.com, theeliquidboutique.co.uk and wowitloveithaveit.com. Unsure which one would be the most ideal choice and would appreciate any support on this. Or would it be much simpler for me to scrape my own leads? Suggestions?

  3. Oh my benefits! a remarkable article man. Thank you However I am experiencing problem with ur rss. Don?t know why Not able to subscribe to it. Is there anyone obtaining similar rss issue? Anybody that recognizes kindly respond. Thnkx

  4. You really make it appear really easy together with your presentation however I to find this topic to be actually one thing that I feel I would by no means understand. It seems too complex and extremely extensive for me. I’m taking a look ahead on your next put up, I will attempt to get the hold of it!

  5. Heya this is kind of of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding know-how so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  6. There are absolutely a great deal of information like that to think about. That is a wonderful indicate raise. I supply the thoughts over as general motivation however plainly there are questions like the one you raise where the most crucial thing will certainly be working in straightforward good faith. I don?t recognize if finest practices have emerged around points like that, but I make sure that your task is plainly recognized as a fair game. Both kids and also girls really feel the influence of simply a moment?s satisfaction, for the remainder of their lives.

  7. I simply want to mention I am very new to weblog and truly loved you’re website. Most likely I’m planning to bookmark your blog post . You actually have wonderful posts. Thanks for revealing your blog site.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *