Tirzah's Piano Playing

A little over a year ago, Tirzah started taking piano lessons from a fantastic piano teacher named Julie. One thing I've realized from homeschooling is that it helps to have my children learn from other adults, too, and not just all from Mama and Daddy. Every Wednesday Tirzah has lessons, and starting on Thursday, she and I spend time together practicing her new songs for the week. Once she gets the hang of them, she practices them on her own while I provide a listening ear. Tirzah loves to play the piano and has even started playing the offertory for church about twice a month!  

Because I'm often asked how I manage to spend time with Tirzah while she practices the piano or how she gets the practice time in that she needs every week, I thought I'd share just one piece of advice--never underestimate the value of ten minutes.

For instance, we start school at 8:30. However, if Tirzah is done with her breakfast before Hardy and before school starts, I'll set the timer and tell her she has ten minutes to practice the piano. At this stage, that's enough time for her to run through her finger exercises and a song. Though ten minutes may sound small, when added up at the end of the week, those ten minutes are how we got her songs accomplished. I want to encourage you that if there's something you want to do but are feeling crunched with time, just try giving it ten minutes a day--and you may be amazed how those minutes add up. 

 

 Tirzah playing "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee."