Mindfulness and Gratitude Practice for Music Lessons
Who doesn’t need a reminder to pause and be grateful?
Today I wanted to share a little routine I’ve started to use in the last year with my private music studio. I really believe it’s made a difference in how I approach my teaching week and I think it may benefit some teachers out there, too! It’s a simple little task to keep in the back of your mind while teaching that has big results.
Follow the brief directions below to try it out for yourself and see if it helps you recognize the good in your studio, too!
Materials:
· A Post It Note – Yes, that’s it.
Directions:
At the beginning of each week start a new Post It with the days of the week you are teaching.
Once your little note is ready, stick it somewhere you will see it every day you teach! For you that might be in your instrument case, with your teaching supplies, with your computer or with your music. For me the best place to see this note is in my planner.
At the end of each teaching day take a moment to look back at the day’s lessons and find a good thing about each student’s lesson time. Then jot down a note about the best lesson of the day! Best is something you define, it doesn’t have to be the most complicated piece of music, or most technically difficult. It can be about a student maturing and focusing better in lessons, it can be about how much progress they’ve made on their scale… This is unique to each and every student.
The key is don’t over think it. If there are two that had a great lesson, even better! Write both down.
Repeat throughout your teaching week!
At the end of your week, shoot the student or their parents an email or text reminding them about their accomplishment in this week’s lesson! This has been a great conversation starter with me and my students, gives us an extra time to touch base and take each other’s pulse on how things are going and helps let your students know how proud you are of them!
As you can see, it really doesn’t take but a couple moments of your time as you’re packing up at the end of your teaching day! But what you have at the end of the week is a list of successes for your music studio. It helps you recognize progress with individual students and gives you a sense of accomplishment. I know I appreciate the reminder that we are getting things done in lessons! I’ve been leaving these notes in my planner over time and love seeing the long term improvements as well.
A simple thank you to the student or their parents can be a great way to end the week, initiate a positive conversation with our studio families and generate some good will between everyone! I’ve really enjoyed having a chance to touch base with my students in this way and helps to expand this positivity practice beyond our own little bubble.
I hope you find this idea to be helpful for you and your studio! I’d love to see this practice spread to other music studios or classrooms. You can share it by tagging me @shawstrings on Instagram or Facebook.
Happy teaching!