The other day I was doing math with my son and noticed that my daughter was practicing violin outside. The weather was nice and sunny, but I wanted to know why she chose to be outside: just for some vitamin D? Or was there anything else?
Playing violin outside
Well, it turns out that she felt completely unmotivated to practice her violin. She knew she had to do it while I did math with her brother. That is our routine. And then we switch. I do math with her while her brother practices his violin.
As she pondered her lack of motivation, she looked out the window and thought, “Hey, if I go outside, it will feel like something different and special. It will not just be boring violin practice. I will feel like I am spending time in nature. And I will sneak in violin practice.”
So that is why I saw her out on the patio, playing the violin. Pretty neat. I was proud of her for learning to motivate herself to do something when she did not feel like it.
This violin teacher told me once that taking violin lessons is not just about learning how to play the instrument: it is about character, not procrastinating, time management, and learning to do things when we do not feel like it – among other things.
