Do you ever wonder if your students are practicing over the break? That's my state of mind right now. One the one hand, I'm glad that my students are forming good habits, partially due to the incentives in place in the studio that I blogged about in October. I'm grateful for the beginning students who have finished a level of method books and always come prepared to their lesson. Additionally some beginners are almost ready to participate in the MMTA State Piano Contest in January, along with many middle school and high school students. JRB and above students have an opportunity for extra coaching on their contest piece on January 8 and I hope they all sign up for a time. Also coming up on January 22 and 23 is the Ribbon Festival, a recital for students at Wayzata Bay Mall, an opportunity to hone performance skills.
Still, I'm thinking of how to inspire them further - maybe some kind of practicing contest? I'm open to any ideas. If you're a teacher, what do you do to inspire students to greater growth in the months between January to May?
