Dear Friends, Teachers and Followers,
This is a busy time of the year. Year-end parties and recitals add pressure and stress but are always worth the effort. Performing is a great skill to learn when young and attending parties and eating good food together makes for great memories.
It seems like, when building up to the Christmas season, practicing gets put on the back burner. During this time I like to offer a practice incentive contest where children keep track of their practicing minutes and I put a penny into a World Vision fund for every minute of their practice. The incentive program usually last for five weeks. The winning class gets to choose an item from the World Vision catalogue that corresponds to how many minutes they have practiced. The chosen gift then goes to a needy child or family.
This year I offered the incentive on a smaller scale and decided to let each class choose which gift they would like to give. When shown the choices the children immediately chose what THEY would like. It was very individual but as their conversation continued, they collectively decided to choose something they thought the recipient could use and would be the most valuable to the family. Interestingly, most classes thought a gift of fruit trees was the most important gift to give.
I was impressed that my students, when given a little time, began to think of the needs of other people rather than their own. Their compassion for others was very touching in this Christmas season.
I wish you every happiness this Christmas and thank-you for being our customer. We look forward to continuing our relationship in the coming year.
All the best to you and your family,
Lois Dicknoether
Solo Time Music Games
(If you didn't print the Christmas resources yet, they will still be up for a while)
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