Monday I had a double class at Child of God due to scheduling concerns. In fact, it will be that way every Monday–I’ll have a class of 1st through 4th graders. I probably could have come up with something better to do, but since I was sick over the weekend (and into the week, argghh!) I went the lazy route. I told the kids they had to play Twinkle and French Folk Song for me and if they succeeded they would get a pencil. The class was full of cacophony of the kids frantically practicing! However, I was able to accomplish two goals: hearing each child alone for assessment purposes and making sure each child knew Twinkle and French Folk Song. So it worked pretty well, though I felt guilty and cheap 😉
And here I am going into Wednesday without a super clear idea of what to do in tomorrow’s classes…really I want to play a bunch, play as many pieces together as we can and also work on posture (NO droopy violins, stand up straight.) Hmmm…I suppose that’s as clear of an idea as I need…let’s see how it goes! Perhaps I’ll play piano tomorrow instead of violin to give the kids variety and hold their attention longer.
I got my kids this summer to have better posture by giving them this punishment when they were caught with droopy violins:
The first time they’re caught they have to stand up and hold their violins high over their head for one minute. The second time they’re caught, they have to do it for two minutes. The third time, three minutes, etc.
It worked great. The kids started policing themselves and turning each other in.
Good luck with the double class!