I begin teaching students at age 3, and require parents to come to lessons of children age 10 and younger to take notes and participate in lessons. Since I only have 30-60 minutes a week with your child, you become the teacher for the rest of the week! Taking notes at each lesson is essential to success! It will make daily practice much easier for you and your child, and will prepare your child for the next week's lesson. I will give specific instructions of what and how to practice. Older students will also have a practice sheet for recording assignments.
Parents of my pre-twinkle students share the lesson time with their child for the first month or two of lessons as I teach correct bow hold, violin hold, and establish good practice patterns. This ensures that the observing parent will become an effective at-home teacher and feel confident helping during daily practice. With very young children, we will spend the first few weeks-months learning correct posture and position on a "practice violin," which I will provide. I also strongly encourage parents of young children to bring their child to observe another child's lessons for a few weeks before beginning private lessons to see examples of positive lesson behavior and become familiar with me and my studio.
Lesson length will depend on the age and attention span of your child.
