Spring has been slow to get here but today I believe it has arrived! The sunshine is beautiful and I can’t wait to the flowers to start to grow. To help things along a bit my students and I have been doing a bit of planting. Two weeks ago my Monday and Tuesday students planted bean seeds and today Thursday’s students will do the same.

Each student has set their own goal that is to be accomplished before the bean sprouts a leaf. Warning for Monday’s students: the seed is starting to sprout!

Here are 3 ways you can help your student reach their goal:

#1: Find out what it is!

This one seems pretty obvious but it can be an easy step to skip over. I bet your student would love to share what goal(s) they have set for themselves. Also try to find out why they chose that particular goal. What is their motivation?

#2: Create a plan

It’s easy to take for granted that students will know what they need to do to reach their goals. Ask some questions to help them establish a game plan or a task list. Checklists can work well, as does setting smaller goals that can be reached sooner and will help lead to the larger goal.

#3: Check in

Stop by the piano while your student is practicing and ask what they are working on. Have them demonstrate what they think has improved the most. Then have them show you something they are struggling with. See if the two of you can come up with ideas to tackle this challenge. If it has both of you stumped make a note for me and we can work on it at our next lesson.

And last but not least: Celebrate all of the achievements, it took a lot of hard work to get there!