This is a practice chart I made a long time ago, but have never used it until now. My girl's teacher decided to give it out to all her students to have a
SIX-WEEK PRACTICE CHALLENGE. Practice every single day (including the day of the lesson, Sundays, Fridays, Saturdays, Holidays, Birthdays, etc.) for six weeks. If you can do that - go for 100 days. If you accomplish that you could even try for 1 YEAR of practicing without missing a day. Our teacher puts a plaque on the wall for all the students who practice for 1 year (or more.) In her 30+ years of teaching, she has about 10-15 plaques on her wall. It is no easy task to practice without missing one day.
We decided to do the six-week challenge and we are on day 8. For my family, we usually don't practice on the day of the lesson. I don't have any qualms with practicing on Sunday, but sometimes I'm just too (ummm, busy isn't the word....lazy?) Fridays I teach from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. with only a few hours in the middle when the kids are in school. After teaching all day - I want my weekend so it's hard for me to practice with the kids that day. So, practicing every day is a challenge for my family, but we are up to it. After only 8 days here is what I've noticed!
1. We were prepared for the lesson. We did not have to be guilty or nervous about going to the lesson because we knew we did the best we could do.
2. Initiating practice was easier. Once in the routine, getting the violin ready and sitting down was just what we did. It hasn't been a battle. I have noticed that instead of saying, "It's time to practice now." I've changed it to, "We need to practice (before you go to school, before dinner, etc.) - when would you like to practice?" The kid's response was usually, "How about 10 minutes." This gave them the ability to choose and once that ten minutes was up..."It's time to practice." "Okay, mom."
3. Review is actually fun. We differ when we practice review. Sometimes at the beginning, sometimes at the end, sometimes scattered throughout the practice. But the pieces have been fun to play because they are easier. Practice more - playing gets easier.
4. We are learning faster. We struggled for months through Minuet 1 and Minuet 2 (when I was sick). Since the beginning of January, we've perfected Minuet 2 for the recital AND learned Minuet 3, Happy Farmer, and previews to Gossec Gavotte. We are really moving. My oldest daughter just started book 7!
5. She is playing more beautifully. We have been working a lot on tone. My youngest daughter has really struggled with having a deep beautiful tone. She likes to play skimming the strings with her bow. Her legato bows and sticky tone in her pieces has really improved.
Humph! It's amazing how playing gets easier when you practice! I'm so proud that my daughters have been up to the challenge. Let's just hope we can get all the way to six weeks!...100 days....maybe even a year!
My darling daughter, Caroline, has been wanting to play the violin since she could walk! This is one of my favorite pictures of her as a toddler climbing up on the piano to play one of the violins. She knew she wasn't supposed to do it! That's why she has a mischievous look on her face.
6. I have lots of these bead counters at my house and my kids and students use them a lot. This is great for all types of practice. This week we do a bow hold then flip a bead (the later I mark her chart). Maybe next week it will be the number of times she plays a little pretwinkle song. The goal constantly changes, but the bead counter is always a constant 10 TIMES! No quitting until you've done it 10 times.
7. Magic wands are a wonder with little kids. OK - they aren't magic, but I tell them they are. I first start off by practicing bow hold on a magic wand. This is a picture of the wand rubber-banded to the violin to help with playing straight on the highway. You can also use a pencil, but the wand is so much more FUN! I can even still hang up the violin with the wand on the violin.
Right at the front of the book, I put the calendar for the whole year through next August. I'm going to use this calendar to put her violin dates (since my calendar is full of our family's activities) so she can see for herself when she has lessons and group lessons. As a kindergartener this year she will be learning a lot about calendars. We will also put a sticker on each day that she practices so she'll have a visual of how much she practices
After the Book 1 review chart are a variety of other charts just for fun in case we want to use them. This is one reason I was debating whether or not to bind this or put it in a 3 ring binder. I know that we will want to use other charts throughout the year. But I liked the idea of a spiral-bound book because it will all stay together and it will be easy to fold back so it'll fit on my lap or my stand easier.
For a twinkler, flashcards are very versatile.
I love the feeling after a happy practice. We are able to go the full length of practice without having a melt-down I give my daughter a hug and ask if she likes playing the violin. She always says yes! Here is a chart to help have THREE weeks of happy practicing. This is great for someone who likes to draw. 
Some of my students are faithful at marking off their practice guide each week. Others, never look at one. I recently put a chart in the parent's hands to fill out if their child wanted to use it. My own 7yo is a half-and-half practice guide person. There are weeks when I will fill one out and use it meticulously. Other weeks I fill one out and it sits in the bag never to be seen again. Although my own daughter doesn't ALWAYS use a practice guide I still believe that it is the best way to practice most efficiently. Time is always an issue with practicing and rarely can we get everything done! But with a practice guide, we can equally practice everything each week - even if it is not daily. Of course, the new stuff is daily, but other things tend to slide when there isn't enough time.
