Month: January 2019

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Today’s episode focuses entirely on the weekly mission of getting clarity of our intention and vision.

Monthly Focus: CLARITY

Previous episodes introduced the new feature on the podcast: the monthly focus or theme and a weekly mission with some suggested questions to guide listeners.

The focus or theme I chose for the month of January is: Clarity. In previous episodes I talked about the importance of clear space for  clarity of thinking, and I suggested weekly missions that helped us to gain clarity  of our calendars and schedules, our physical spaces, and our habits and routines.

Today’s weekly mission is the focus of this episode, and that is to gain clarity about our intention and vision. Here are some questions to help you find clarity in this area:

(1) Who are you? What do you stand for?

(2) What will your life look like in some future time (10 years, 5 years, 1 year)?

(3) Will you be in the same location?

(4) Will you be doing the same work or something different?

(5) Will the same people be in your life? Will their roles, influence, or presence be different?

I mentioned the similarities I found with Stephen Covey’s habit number 2: Begin with the end in mind:

What I am Reading

I am still reading (or listening) to several books at a time. Here are the books I’m working with now:

You know that I will be podcasting about the lessons I have learned from each of these books, so if you are interested in reading alongside me, click on these books.

I am a big fan of Audible. I have used this service for years and I enjoy the process of deciding which books will be worthy of my time and attention. If you are interested in this service, click here for a free book:

I just finished listening to The Truths We Hold  by Kamala Harris, before her recent announcement of running for President of the United States. I enjoyed getting a peek behind the curtain of the criminal and social justice system of one of the largest states in the US, as well as a description of how things work within our political system currently.

I am currently listening to:

I am fascinated to hear her stories about her life as a young child and to learn how her life unfolded from those beginnings to the public stage of history that she and her husband currently occupy.

How to Encourage the Teach Suzuki Blog and Podcast

Contact Me

I really enjoy hearing from my readers and listeners. If you have a question, a comment, a suggestion, or an idea for future articles and podcast episodes, please consider contacting me. You can find me by email (paula@teachsuzuki,com) or find me on Facebook (Teach Suzuki).

Leave a Review

Many listeners ask how they can support the podcast. If you are a fan of the podcast, you can help to support it by leaving a rating and review. Here is how to review the podcast:

1. Launch Apple’s Podcast app.
2. Tap the “search” tab, enter “Teach Suzuki,” tap the blue Search button, and you will pull up the podcast.
3. Tap on the album art for the podcast.
4. Scroll down to the “write a review” link, and leave a rating and a review.
5. That is how easy it is!

Buy The Twinkle Project

You can also support the blog and podcast by making a purchase of The Twinkle Project, which is my book to help teachers and parents of young violin beginners. This book takes teachers and parents through all of the steps to teach a complete violin beginner all the way through the “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” variations and begin the next steps to learn “Lightly Row.” Included in the book are many forms and checklists to guide teachers and parents through the progression of steps to learn this important initial stage to play the violin.

The Twinkle Project

Episode 54, The Twinkle Project

If you have questions or answers or you would like to comment or leave me a voice mail, you can do so at (512) 537-6356. If you would like to send me an email, you may do so at paula@teachsuzuki.com. I welcome comments and questions about this episode and am interested in hearing about the perspective of other parents and teachers.

You may find more information and useful articles on my blog at: Teach Suzuki Blog.

Until next time,

Happy Practicing!

—– Paula —–

© 2019 by Paula E. Bird

Join the Teach Suzuki Community!

If you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here to donate.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This episode takes a look at 7 focus questions that will improve our ability to teach or coach. I discuss the book, The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier. This book suggests 7 focused questions that will open up conversations to lead toward personal development. As a teacher, I find these questions useful to engage my students in a thinking process that will guide them to personal development success as a student and contributing member of society later.

Monthly Focus: CLARITY

Previous episodes introduced the new feature on the podcast: the monthly focus or theme and a weekly mission with some suggested questions to guide listeners.

The focus or theme I chose for the month of January is: Clarity. In last week’s episode I talked about the importance of clear space for  clarity of thinking. I promised to offer weekly missions to help listeners discover clarity. The past weeks’ missions focused on clarity in our calendars and clarity in our personal spaces.

Weekly Mission: Personal Habits

This week’s mission is to seek clarity about our personal habits. By becoming clearer about our personal drives, routines, compulsions, and physical space, we will be able to create more space for mindfulness and focus.

Here are some questions to help us find this clarity:

(1) Do I have little drives, compulsions, or routines that I do daily? Start by noticing these things and making a list of them to examine in more depth later.

(2) Do I complain about things that I do or that happen routinely to me? Take a closer look at these things and decide whether they are the product of some habit or addiction that you have.

(3) Are there any new habits or routines that would be better replacements for old habits and compulsions that I no longer want to continue?

Develop a plan to tackle one thing at a time in the lists of unproductive habits or routines to gain personal clarity about the things that you do without thinking.

Other Useful Resources

Here are two other resources related to this episode:

Asking the Right Questions (podcast episode 15)

by Michael Bungay Stanier

This book has many great resources (podcast interviews and videos) and was interesting and quick to read. I bought this book so that I could mark it up and really dissect the information.

What I am Reading

I am still reading (or listening) to several books at a time. Here are the books I’m working with now:

You know that I will be podcasting about the lessons I have learned from each of these books, so if you are interested in reading alongside me, click on these books.

I am a big fan of Audible. I have used this service for years and I enjoy the process of deciding which books will be worthy of my time and attention. If you are interested in this service, click here for a free book:

I just finished listening to The Man on the Mountaintop by Susan Trott, which was an audible original. Excellent and uplifting! Many lessons to observe from this!

I am currently listening to:

This book is really interesting! If you want an insider’s look behind the curtain of our judicial and social policy system, this book is the one for you. Senator Harris narrates, and her stories are compelling and informative. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to understand how things really work in our judicial system today. Very entertaining book to listen to!

How to Encourage the Teach Suzuki Blog and Podcast

Contact Me

I really enjoy hearing from my readers and listeners. If you have a question, a comment, a suggestion, or an idea for future articles and podcast episodes, please consider contacting me. You can find me by email (paula@teachsuzuki,com) or find me on Facebook (Teach Suzuki).

Leave a Review

Many listeners ask how they can support the podcast. If you are a fan of the podcast, you can help to support it by leaving a rating and review. Here is how to review the podcast:

1. Launch Apple’s Podcast app.
2. Tap the “search” tab, enter “Teach Suzuki,” tap the blue Search button, and you will pull up the podcast.
3. Tap on the album art for the podcast.
4. Scroll down to the “write a review” link, and leave a rating and a review.
5. That is how easy it is!

Buy The Twinkle Project

You can also support the blog and podcast by making a purchase of The Twinkle Project, which is my book to help teachers and parents of young violin beginners. This book takes teachers and parents through all of the steps to teach a complete violin beginner all the way through the “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” variations and begin the next steps to learn “Lightly Row.” Included in the book are many forms and checklists to guide teachers and parents through the progression of steps to learn this important initial stage to play the violin.

The Twinkle Project

Episode 54, The Twinkle Project

If you have questions or answers or you would like to comment or leave me a voice mail, you can do so at (512) 537-6356. If you would like to send me an email, you may do so at paula@teachsuzuki.com. I welcome comments and questions about this episode and am interested in hearing about the perspective of other parents and teachers.

You may find more information and useful articles on my blog at: Teach Suzuki Blog.

Until next time,

Happy Practicing!

—– Paula —–

© 2019 by Paula E. Bird

Join the Teach Suzuki Community!

If you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here to donate.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Today’s episode discusses a Suzuki Triangle goal setting tool that brings an interesting perspective to the Suzuki Triangle relationship of the parent, student, and teacher. This tool brings the goals of each person in the Suzuki Triangle relationship together and creates or reveals the story of this relationship. In this episode, I share my excitement of the results of using this tool.

Monthly Focus: CLARITY

Last week’s episode introduced a new feature on the podcast: the monthly focus or theme and a weekly mission with some suggested questions to guide listeners.

The focus or theme I chose for the month of January is: Clarity. In last week’s episode I talked about the importance of clear space for  clarity of thinking. I promised to offer weekly missions to help listeners discover clarity. Last week’s mission focused on clarity in our calendars.

Weekly Mission: Physical spaces

This week’s mission is to seek clarity about your physical spaces. By creating more clear physical space, we will be able to find and follow our trail easier with less distractions.

Here are some questions to help you find this clarity:

(1) What is my purpose in this space?

(2) Are there things in this space that will further my purpose or will the distract me from my purpose and get in the way?

(3) Are there things here that need to be returned to their proper homes, or do I need to find or create new homes for them?

(4) Can I declutter or simplify the things that occupy this space?

(5) Can I make a list of small tasks that I can perform when I find a minute here and there?

What I am Reading

Last week I finished reading two of the three books I started. I am adding two new books:

I will not be reading any fiction books this week until I have finished the above volumes and the third book from last week. I chose the above books because we can always learn and improve our habits, and because as teachers and parents it is important that we understand how children learn.

How to Encourage the Teach Suzuki Blog and Podcast

Contact Me

I really enjoy hearing from my readers and listeners. If you have a question, a comment, a suggestion, or an idea for future articles and podcast episodes, please consider contacting me. You can find me by email (paula@teachsuzuki,com) or find me on Facebook (Teach Suzuki).

Leave a Review

Many listeners ask how they can support the podcast. If you are a fan of the podcast, you can help to support it by leaving a rating and review. Here is how to review the podcast:

1. Launch Apple’s Podcast app.
2. Tap the “search” tab, enter “Teach Suzuki,” tap the blue Search button, and you will pull up the podcast.
3. Tap on the album art for the podcast.
4. Scroll down to the “write a review” link, and leave a rating and a review.
5. That is how easy it is!

Buy The Twinkle Project

You can also support the blog and podcast by making a purchase of The Twinkle Project, which is my book to help teachers and parents of young violin beginners. This book takes teachers and parents through all of the steps to teach a complete violin beginner all the way through the “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” variations and begin the next steps to learn “Lightly Row.” Included in the book are many forms and checklists to guide teachers and parents through the progression of steps to learn this important initial stage to play the violin.

The Twinkle Project

Episode 54, The Twinkle Project

If you have questions or answers or you would like to comment or leave me a voice mail, you can do so at (512) 537-6356. If you would like to send me an email, you may do so at paula@teachsuzuki.com. I welcome comments and questions about this episode and am interested in hearing about the perspective of other parents and teachers.

You may find more information and useful articles on my blog at: Teach Suzuki Blog.

Until next time,

Happy Practicing!

—– Paula —–

© 2019 by Paula E. Bird

Join the Teach Suzuki Community!

If you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here to donate.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Today’s episode sets out a simple three-step plan that leads to success on the Suzuki music journey. These three steps are simple to remember and follow: P-L-S.

P – Practice

L – Listen

S – Support

Monthly Focus: CLARITY

Today’s episode introduces a new feature on the podcast: the monthly focus or theme and a weekly mission with some suggested questions to guide listeners.

January’s monthly focus is: Clarity. The episode talks about the importance of clear space, which I believe will lead to clarity of thinking regarding creative ideas and effective tools, whether we are teachers or parents. Since “clarity” can mean different things to many people, I will offer weekly missions to help listeners discover how clarity can fit into my listeners’ lives.

Weekly Mission: Calendar

This week’s mission is to seek clarity about your calendar. Here are some questions to help you find this clarity:

Do you have your dates set for the semester?

Do you have your studio recital or other calendar events and dates set up and scheduled?

What are your plans for the summer break? Have you registered for music camp or Suzuki institute?

Do you have any instrument maintenance chores to take care of, like getting a different instrument size, rehairing the bow, replacing supplies, or getting new strings?

What I am Reading

I am currently reading two books:

The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future by Ryder Carroll, who developed the method of bullet journaling (bulletjournal.com). I find that using a bullet journaling helps to bring me a great deal of clarity to my schedule, my priorities, my planning, and my life experience. I highly recommend this book and the many bullet journal tools available. I currently use these tools:

 

 

 

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More and Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier. As a teacher, I am always reading books and material that will provide me with useful tools to improve my role as a teacher. This book offers some useful tips about asking questions, which will ultimately lead to success.

 

 

 

The episode mentioned other episodes that touched on similar topics:

Episode 3: Are You Listening?

Episode 4: Top 10 Things a Suzuki Parent Should Know

Episode 80: Parent Chronicles — Sunny Mother & Powerful Child

How to Add More Listening to Your Day (blog article)

Studio Focus: More Listening! (blog article)

Listening Magic (blog article)

Music Listening Resource List (blog article)

How to Encourage the Teach Suzuki Blog and Podcast

Contact Me

I really enjoy hearing from my readers and listeners. If you have a question, a comment, a suggestion, or an idea for future articles and podcast episodes, please consider contacting me. You can find me by email (paula@teachsuzuki,com) or find me on Facebook (Teach Suzuki).

Leave a Review

Many listeners ask how they can support the podcast. If you are a fan of the podcast, you can help to support it by leaving a rating and review. Here is how to review the podcast:

1. Launch Apple’s Podcast app.
2. Tap the “search” tab, enter “Teach Suzuki,” tap the blue Search button, and you will pull up the podcast.
3. Tap on the album art for the podcast.
4. Scroll down to the “write a review” link, and leave a rating and a review.
5. That is how easy it is!

Buy The Twinkle Project

You can also support the blog and podcast by making a purchase of The Twinkle Project, which is my book to help teachers and parents of young violin beginners. This book takes teachers and parents through all of the steps to teach a complete violin beginner all the way through the “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” variations and begin the next steps to learn “Lightly Row.” Included in the book are many forms and checklists to guide teachers and parents through the progression of steps to learn this important initial stage to play the violin.

The Twinkle Project

Episode 54, The Twinkle Project

If you have questions or answers or you would like to comment or leave me a voice mail, you can do so at (512) 537-6356. If you would like to send me an email, you may do so at paula@teachsuzuki.com. I welcome comments and questions about this episode and am interested in hearing about the perspective of other parents and teachers.

You may find more information and useful articles on my blog at: Teach Suzuki Blog.

Until next time,

Happy Practicing!

—– Paula —–

© 2019 by Paula E. Bird

Join the Teach Suzuki Community!

If you would like to make a donation to support the Teach Suzuki Podcast and the blog, click here to donate.