Parent Meeting 2025

With many new faces in our studio this year, I wanted to start off our school year with a heartfelt conversation with parents.

I may be the teacher in this studio, but I am also a flute and piano parent myself. All four of my children have started (and three continue currently) their musical journey with mom as their piano or flute teacher <insert audible collective sigh from three Richards children😮‍💨> I know first-hand what a challenge it can be to wrangle all our children's activities while making dinner and reminding them to do their homework...and practice the piano.

How can this be done in a positive, affirming way? How can parents guide and shape the overall experience their child has in music lessons? How hands-on should they be? How much practice should they expect? Is it possible to be a supportive music lesson parent without the inevitable burnout and frustration that lead some to throw in the towel and conclude their child "just isn't cut out for music lessons?"

So often, I have great ideas and tools available to help guide and encourage parents and students through the 167 hours between our in-studio lessons, yet I fail to share them because we simply don't see each other often enough or run out of time!

I aim to change that this year, both with the "seasoned" music lesson parents who've been to this rodeo before, as well as all the newbies.

To kick off our Fall semester, I invited parents to join me for a virtual meeting to discuss all. the. things. In case you missed it, here is the replay and a quick recap of the main takeaways.

👉 PARENT MEETING REPLAY

• You are not alone! I am a (very haphazard, often inconsistent, and certainly very forgetful) piano and flute parent too! But I am a stubborn soldier in the trenches with you, and I know we can help each other win the little battles that are worth fighting, so we can have the final victory in giving our child a musical skill and outlet. <wow, that was a lot of war analogy😳>

• Come IN to lessons to observe and chat with me! (first three months for new families, and a monthly check-in for others)

• Your primary job is to be an Encourage profusely, be an involved Practice Partner, and model Positivity. Easy-peasy.

• Yes, your child does need to actually practice between lessons.
  

• My approach to no-practice will always be to have fun and learn something in our lesson anyway, and to encourage practice during the coming week.
  

• Have a Family Meeting and make a practice plan together!
  

• Is your child's practice area warm and inviting without being isolating?

• Tips for the primary Practice Partner, to structure and fill up practice time meaningfully

• RULE OF THUMB: If we did it in the lesson, do it at home (LOTS of times 😉)

• What to practice and how much of it to expect.

• Use Tech!

  • PA Player App (iOS) or tracks at cloud.pianoadventures.com

  • BlockiFlute.com → Accompaniments

Thanks for sticking with me to the end, 🫵🏻 now go practice with your little maestro!