Updating the Music Binders

Yesterday I updated the children's piano binders, making sure sheet music was organized behind the correct tabs and updating the children's daily practice lists. I don't know how other parents help (or don't) their children stay organized with music and I haven't carved out the time to find out what are probably their even better tactics, but this is what I do every month or two.

Each child has his or her own binder of sheet music, organized by tabs. I have a return address sticker pasted on each binder, having learned the lesson of leaving behind an unidentified white binder at our music teachers' home, which is full of hundreds of other white binders.

Tabs:

• Songs Being Learned
• Repertoire (songs the child already knows and should play once daily to retain)
• Recital (songs being perfected for the next recital)
• Federation (songs being perfected for the Federation competition)
• Technique (exercises)

Inspired by how Mary's violin teacher writes up extensive daily practice lists for her students, I began doing so for the children's piano practice. I decorate them with color, stickers, and encouraging love notes in hopes this has some positive effect on attitude.

Margaret is four-and-a-half so neither the teacher nor we have required practice from her, even though she takes a 15-minute lesson once weekly. However, she has shown increasing readiness and this week expressed that she also wants to earn ten minutes of video game time for daily music practice like her siblings do, so she is giving it a try now.