How do you manage music practice time with kids?

[geochick]

My two kids are just starting Suzuki violin lessons. They're supposed to practice 30 minutes each day, but in two 15-minute sessions.

Many of our practice sessions end in tears. One kid often makes a comment about the other kid's playing, so I've started isolating practice/kids. If we practice late in the day, my kids are often too tired to even think about practicing without tears.

Tell me how you manage instrument practice time. How old are your kids? Do you do it first thing in the morning? Evening? What's your rule about other kids being in the vicinity? Do you use sticker rewards on a chart? Something else?

TIA

[daniele_ut]

It's the bane of my existence, so I handed it over to my cellist husband!:innocent:

Okay, so that isn't terribly helpful to you! DS 7 and taking Suzuki violin. He has 30 minute lessons, but usually only ends up practicing for 20 minutes in one session. He gets up, eats breakfast, gets dressed for school and then they practice. DH made him a checklist so that he remembers all the things he's supposed to practice and it helps DS to feel involved and as though he is accomplishing something to check items off the list each day. We also have a 100 days of practice chart for him to check off each day. DH gave him a small reward after so many practice days in a row. I think it was a small Lego Hero Factory toy. That's one thing that really motivates DS right now.

I would definitely not have them practicing together. Each child needs your focus and if they are commenting on one another in a derogatory manner it isn't productive for either one of them. DD was taking lessons too for a while, but we've given her a break until she asks for them again. When they were both practicing it had to separately or nothing got accomplished. DD is usually eating breakfast while DS practices, so she knows she has to stay out of his way.

All that said, I HATE that they practice in the morning. I'm usually trying to catch some last precious minutes of sleep after several baby wakings in the middle of the night and the practicing invariably wakes me and then the baby. DH just isn't home early enough in the evenings to do it regularly and relying on me to do the practicing with him means it likely won't happen daily.

[MelissaTC]

M's piano teacher pays him in composer bucks (her reward system) when he completes his weekly chart. He gets straight bucks for doing more theory work ( he hates theory) and trying challenging songs. There are lots of cool prizes to purchase with compose bucks so he saves up.

[ahisma]

DS started Suzuki violin this year. We try to isolate, but often DS2 (3 1/2 yo) watches...but he has to be quiet and not distract if he is going to watch, otherwise he has to leave.

We try to make it fun. We made dice (wooden cubes from Jo-Anns) with the different rhythms, so he rolls that to see which one to do next. He also rolls a die to see how many repetitions. We have him play in silly places - like 12 repetitions of taka taka stop stop in the kitchen, 17 repetitions of Mississippi watermelon in the bathroom, 22 repetitions of strawberry triplets on the back porch.

Sometimes he takes the violin to a neighbors (BIL, or a good friend...not random neighbors!) house to play something, or to MIL's. His karate teacher knows that he plays and asks him about practice, requests that he bring it in to play a rhythm, etc. Sunday nights (Monday lessons) he gives a "concert" to the family. He makes tickets and sells them for a nickel, dresses up (in a funny kid way), takes a bow, etc.

Sometimes there are still tears...but not that often.

[speo]

DS1 does piano. We don't do Suzuki method so I realize things are different. He practices after school and after he does his homework. We find it works better to get it out of the way and not leave until later. Then he can freely play after. We were having him practice 15 minutes, but that was difficult. What if he didn't practice for 5 min of that and just sat there? What if he only played one song over and over and no scales and that took 15 min? It created too much confrontation. We now have the teacher list how many times she wants him to do each thing. This has worked so much better!

If DS2 is in the area he has too be playing quietly and not interacting with DS1. If he is bothersome, he will get a timeout and be moved from the room.

[94bruin]

We do piano, too. I really try to have DD1 practice when DD2 is sleeping. On weekends, it'll be during nap time. On weekdays, i'll usually have DD1 stay up a bit later to read and practice at bedtime.

Our lessons are currently on Saturdays. During the weekends, I'll have her practice more. I really don't look at the clock. I go by my own judgement if she's accomplished enough during the practice. Some days it's 30-40 mins; other days (esp weeknights) it'll be 10 mins.

I really remember hating practicing the violin when I was growing up. So far, DD1 loves it. We'll see how long it continues.

[Sillygirl]

Two things have really helped with J, 7 1/2, who's been doing violin since he was six.

1) On school days, violin happens right when he gets home. On weekends, it's right after lunch. Make it a fixed part of the routine and it cuts way down on arguments.
2) His teacher sets him specific tasks to complete for practice, rather than a time limit. We do this too - go over a difficult passage at least five times, until there's improvement. I think this teaches him what practice is for and gets him involved in monitoring his own progress. When we were requiring a certain length of time, there was lots of dawdling and watching the clock. We encourage him to practice until he feels he's achieved something. I'm not sure you can do that right off the bat, but it's something I wish we'd shifted to earlier.