We are receiving free music lessons via LessonFace, but all hilarity, misadventures, and kick butt tips are my own.
Last month, I talked to you about LessonFace; this awesome online music lesson system that we are trying. Our family loves it so much that we are actually continuing the online acoustic guitar lessons, and wanted to share the journey with you guys. Figured that we are going to have some bumps and adventures along the way to teaching my daughter guitar, you might as well learn something from it right?!
This was Bayla’s first month with guitar, and she’s having a blast. October, her teacher, is really the best teacher that a mom could ask for. She’s educated in music, she’s fun, and most of all she’s really inspiring for Bayla.
Being a homeschooling mom, I realize there is only so much that kids can learn from their moms, and it’s nice to have another role model for the girl child to look up to. Plus, it’s one thing for mom to tell Bayla to practice and it’s quite another to have her guitar teacher to tell her she needs to.
Practice, practice, practice. That’s probably the BIGGEST struggle that we’ve dealt with so far. Bayla has this fear of practicing. She’s a little bit like her mama when it comes to expecting to be instantly perfect at everything she touches. It’s hard for a kid that’s a perfectionist to realize that even Taylor Swift had to start off with a single chord.
Bayla was REALLY stubborn at first about practicing. It was like pulling teeth .That’s when I used her teacher to my advantage. Dearest daughter really didn’t care if I was annoyed she didn’t practice, but she really didn’t want to disappoint October. LessonFace’s messaging system comes in really handy at this point! It let’s Bayla and I communicate directly with her teacher even though she lives in California.
If you have a kid in music lessons, and you are struggling to get them to practice. Here are some tips that October, Bayla, and I came up with to actually make your kid look forward to practicing music.
How to Get Your Child To Practice Their Music
Practice in Short Spurts: Practicing in shorter spurts will help your child feel like they are less tied to their instrument. If you practice 3 times a week for 20 minutes each, it will fly past.
Make a Reward System: Give your kid praise for practicing. Bayla and I get some Xbox One play time together every time that she practices. It makes her really try her best because she looks forward to the reward.
Get Your Music Teacher Involved: Keep open communication with your teacher, so your child knows they can expect similar praise and accountability from both you and the teacher. Trust me, this one is a sanity saver.
Random Surprises of Awesomeness: Every now and again plan a surprise, related to music, for your child to show them you are proud of their efforts. Take them to a local park and watch local musicians, take them to the theater, or just spend the take pretending you are in family rock band. Make it fun and creative.
Lead By Example: You’re never too old to learn something new. Have the kids see you practice something that you are completely new to, and talk about how it’s challenging, and even sometimes scary, but it’s totally going to be worth it in the end.
Stay Consistent: Scheduling your practice time helps a LOT. That way it’s predictable, the kid knows when to expect it, and they know once they do a kick butt job they can look forward to all the praise for their awesomeness. Staying consistent is probably THE most important one on this list. Consistently practice, consistently praise, and consistently help your kid kick butt!
If you’ve been meaning to get your kids involved in music, make sure to check out my LessonFace review here. Trust me, I do NOT have the time to cart my kids to music lessons, especially now that we live in the sticks. LessonFace is a lifesaver, and it’s so great to see my kids actually getting into learning instruments. Plus if you use this LessonFace coupon code july at checkout your save $10 off your lessons this month!
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