DS has been taking piano lessons for about 9 months with taking about 6 weeks off during the
summer. Sometimes getting
him to practice is a chore. I decided in the beginning that I wouldn’t make him sit for 30 minutes and practice every day. I told him he had to play each song he was learning 3 times which usually lasted about 10 minutes and I let him have days off too. My fear is that he’ll burn out (like I did) if I force him to sit there for a lengthy time. I want him to learn music, but at the same time I know that at 8 years old boys are different and can’t always sit for lengthy times. He may complain about having to practice, but when I remind him that Victoria, the teen that teaches him, is coming the next day he always cheers. Yesterday they started the next book in his lessons. It was “so hard…” according to him. Not because of anything he learned, but because the song was 8 bars long instead of the 2 or 3 he had been playing in the previous book. But imagine my delight when I suddenly heard him practicing this morning. He was supposed to be getting his shoes on and brushing his teeth. So I took a deep breath, grabbed my camera and snuck a photo. I just couldn’t resist. That one moment has made me smile the rest of the day.