New Practicing Record!

Oh our little Emma. I didn't know there was such a thing as a kid who LIKES to practice their instrument. I swear she has never complained once about practicing.

Way back last January Emma had this one week where she practiced all seven days of the week, including the day of her lesson. She was so thrilled when she brought her practice chart to her next lesson and got rave reviews from her teacher, The Becky. She decided to do it again the next week. And the next. And then decided to go for 50 days in a row. That went by faster than we thought it would, and soon she was racing ahead in her repertoire. I couldn't stop her from deciding to practice for a solid 100 days. Wow. Amazing.

I think it was Romney who put the idea in Emma's head that she could double that with no problem. And you know what, Emma totally did. She practiced every single day for 200 straight days, all the way from the end of January through August. It was amazing. On vacation, on her birthday, on the last day of school. No stopping!

And then....The Becky let Emma know that she now had permission to take a break. That's the thing about streaks. The longer they go the more stressful they get and the more nerve-racking it feels to miss a day. That's also my little Emma - she takes after her mom and can be kind of susceptible to anxiety. Honestly, that first day of not practicing was a little hard for her but she really did breathe a big sigh of relief.

We are so so proud of her and the way she has really soared ahead. She's now just about done with book 2 in her Suzuki method. She loves playing the violin and that's really the most important part. Music makes life sparkle.

It is important to note also that both Chase and Romney are in a very great music spot as well. Chase, as I noted in the Jam Bands post, is really loving the guitar and practices all the time just because he enjoys playing. Romney took a long break from the cello but started up again with a new teacher in
April. She really needed that break - it taught her how much she does love playing the cello. She's such a better practicer now too and is really making breakthroughs in her musicality. I'm so proud of all of them.