The weather has finally improved in our area of the world… and the kids here have been starved for sunshine for, well, at least 6 months! Sitting down to practice piano at home is the last thing on their minds… unless they are a child who attends our music studio! Our Piano Practice Incentive has them focused, happy and massively productive. Here’s why:
Motivating the Masses
We began a “Spring Practice Challenge” at our studio at the beginning of April and the results have been fantastic. Parents are emailing to let us know how motivated their kids have been at home, teachers are thrilled at the progress their students are making and I am excited to know that our spring recital will be well-attended and top quality. If you too would like to see the same results, try out this practice challenge yourself!
Get That Talent Blooming!
1) Cut out one paper circle for every student in your studio and enough colourful “petals” for 5 per student. Construction paper or even paint chips work great as petals! If you don’t enjoy scissor tasks – send home a sheet with each student and a ziploc baggie for them to cut out and keep their own set.
2) At each student’s lesson, ask them to write their name and/or decorate the circle. Pin or tape it to your studio wall.
3) (Download) and hand out the Spring Practice Challenge chart to each student.
4) At each lesson, check their chart and tape the appropriate number of petals earned to their paper circle.
5) At the end of the challenge, draw a name from the list of students who reached 5 petals. Award a fun prize to the winner.
Check out the photo below of just some of the walls in our studio that are now in full bloom!
Simple, Yet Effective Piano Practice Motivation
Students at our studio have really enjoyed watching the flowers bloom week to week. In our large studio in particular, we have an all-out garden growing! Students really enjoy checking out their friends’ flowers and it has been motivating for them to know that others will be seeing their flower bloom too. The flower wall is such a fun visual for parents to see just how much music is being made at your studio. Enjoy!
($9.95 US)
Elizabeth Mannhardt says
This is fun. I have practice challenges leading up to every quarterly recital that are based around the theme of the recital. For instance, we did a Disney theme and each of the students was one of the princes or princesses in a Disney film (I made figures that looked like each student) and for the hours they practice they moved up the stairs on a large Cinderella’s Castle I constructed. Ones who reached the castle got crowned and an overall winner, 2nd, and 3rd were awarded. When our theme was Around the World in Song I had a huge world map with locations pinpointed and connected by a red ribbon (ala Indiana Jones) and each student had a small biplane they “flew” around the world. There were prizes when they reached certain destinations. There have been many more challenges but currently we are doing a spring recital Impressionistic PIano: Painting with SOund. Each student has a paint palette picture on the wall and they are filling in the colors of paint as they practice.
Andrea says
Hi Elizabeth – I love the paint palette idea! So creative 🙂
Nancy Hiatt says
What kinds of things do you use for prizes? For those of us who teach out of our homes – how do you use this incentive?
Michelle Miller says
Great incentive! Last spring I did an ice cream sundae incentive. Each 5 days of practice added a topping to their sundae, then we had a sundae party at the end of the year.
Amy Reiff says
Posting four years later, lol. But with our recital coming up this weekend, (April 24)I’ve decided I need a fun incentive for *May,* to keep the students engaged and practicing *after* the recital.