5 Things I’m Loving This Week–September 4, 2015

This post was originally posted on the Plucky Violin Teacher Blog on September 4, 2015 so links and resources may not be current.

This week has had a lot of ups and downs.  I’ve been pretty grumpy.  Sometimes I really struggle to stay positive.  I have had to be very intentional about choosing to be happy this week.  I didn’t want my bad mood to affect my lessons.  I really had to practice what I preached.

​And, you know, it worked. This week started off crummy, but as I put a fake smile on my face, it gradually became real. We really do have tremendous power over our reactions to our circumstances.
Here are five things I used this week to be a good wife, mother, and…of course, violin teacher.


1. My students. One of my students gave a beautiful senior recital on Wednesday. While she had never been much of a practicer, she was a wonderful, respectful and sweet student. She really shone at this performance and we played a lovely Bach Double together.
2. My Suzuki community. With my husband starting school and going down to half time at work, I have needed to fill my studio a little. The teachers in my area are so generous, and always willing to refer students when they are full. If you are not involved in the Suzuki community in your area, you just gotta. It’s a supportive and helpful environment. I can’t recommend it enough.
3. Ok, I gotta toot my own horn a little. I made this pretty pdf guide for all my new students’ parents. I thought it turned out pretty good. You are welcome to use it in your own studios for parent education if you would like.  Subscribe in the box below this blog post to download it.
4. One of my students is playing this piece in our recital in October, and she is just having so much fun with it. I think it is a great addition to late Suzuki Book 3. I can’t recommend Sassmanshaus’ Violin Recital Albums enough.


5. On Monday we took the kiddos to the zoo, and it was just so fun. Milo loved all the animals and we even saw a mama and baby elephant nursing. It was so darling. It has been fun to listen to Milo talk about all the animals ever since.
What do you do to get yourself out of a funk for your students? Do you struggle to be “on” all the time?