I’m getting crafty when it comes to encouraging my piano students to practice every day. Literally! Check out the instructions below for how to make a really fun home piano practice aid. My students and I will be making these as an activity during our next piano party. It’s great group-class activity as students are provided with a “take-home” object and the brainstorming it encourages is both creative and inspiring! I’m all about simplicity when it comes to crafting… so dive in and give it a try 🙂
Materials:
You will need either a wooden or cardboard “door hanger” template. I found mine at the Dollar Store for $1.25 for a package of two wooden ones. You will also need 6 clothes pegs, craft paint, stickers, a black pen and… some creative piano students!
How to Make your Crafty Piano Practice Chart:
1)
With your students, brainstorm 6 different “ways” they could practice their piece. My students I brainstormed with this week came up with the following: one octave higher, REALLY loud, right hand only, left hand only, with your eyes closed, staccato, starting from the middle…. you get the picture.
2)
Paint or colour your door hanger template. Decorate with stickers.
3)
Write each of the practice ideas on the back of a clothes peg.
4)
On the opposite side, place a sticker that will be “revealed” when the task is completed.
5)
Once everything is dry, clip the 6 clothes pegs with the instruction side facing out on one side. As your student practices their piece, they take the corresponding clothes peg off, flip it over to reveal their sticker and clip it to the opposite side (see picture).
Voila! An environmentally friendly (no wasted paper charts here!) and motivating way of encouraging effective daily practice. 🙂
I keep my eye on craft blogs for ideas that can be modified for piano teaching. This one came from a “chores chart” posted on Ideas and Inspriation for Crafty Parents’ Facebook wall. If you’d like to see all of the ideas I have found neatly organized in one place, then follow me on Pinterest!