Starting New Habits for a Successful School Year!

So summer has come to an end and we all need to get back in routine. So much of developing a working routine is setting daily habits. These may be designating a time for homework, reading and doing chores, or finding time to prepare dinners, clean the house and exercise with a busy schedule. There are some great habits we can establish NOW to prepare for a successful year of violin.

Daily Practice - Remember that consistency is key to not only developing habits but also for young children to accept and understand new routines. The family that requires practice to happen a few minutes EVERYDAY will have more success (and less convincing!) than those that only practice occasionally, but for longer amounts of time. Daily habits are healthy habits.

REVIEW before NEW Pieces - failure to play previously learned pieces means that our new skills will suffer if not stop all together. Get playing those oldies!

Daily Listening - along with consistent daily practice must come daily listening. Listening ensures that we have a deeper understanding of our repertoire and our instrument and also opens up incredible motivational doors.

OBSERVATION: Attend Performances & Recitals - another motivational booster. Upcoming recitals on Oct. 16th and Nov. 20th are mandatory, but there is so much to hear outside of the violin school. Check out local music venues regularly (like Aeolian Hall and the London Music Club) as well as Western University and Library performances which are usually FREE!

It is easy enough to say that we are going to practice, work/do homework, get meals ready, vacuum, exercise, etc. etc.  We know the things we should be doing because we know they are good for us and a lot of the time we want to do these things, and then 10:00 pm comes along and we wonder where the day went. Decide what the important things are to get done in a day and a week and then schedule, plan, organize and commit. Charts can be incredible resources for not only kids but for our adult routines as well. Check out the PRACTICE SHOPPE for lots of free charts (where I get most of my 100 charts). Interested in finding motivation for organizing other areas of your life? Check out these blogs: I HEART ORGANIZING, ORGANIZING JUNKIE.