The two reactions to Concentration - Hyperactivity or falling asleep

[green]

I have generally found students respond in usually one of two ways to focusing and concentration - Hyperactivity or falling asleep. I would say the majority tend to yawn, but my question here is how to deal with Hyperactivity. I teach at students homes, and I have one 7 year old dutch girl who while usually gets a good 15-20 min of focused work by the end of the lesson, does waste most of the lesson in all sorts of talking, moving around, horsing around, joking around, etc...but then again I wish I could just flow with her a bit better, perhaps it not wasted time, does anyone have some good ideas for activities that might work for this type of situation? (I mean aside from becoming a disciplinarian, which, I find, while in someone else's home, is not my job, and it can suddenly make students not want to study anymore. I have had parents in the past tell me to lay down the law, and so when I did, they stopped lessons!).

[Bob]

Breaks.  Change of types of activity.

15-20 min of concentration for a seven year old?  That sounds pretty good/normal.

[green]

Yes, I'm looking for activity ideas.

[tillyfloss]

How long is her lesson & what level is she at?

[green]

hal leonard book 1B (blue) all in one, plus notespeller, 1 hour.

[Bob]

Shorter lessons, but more often.

Things more like general/elementary music -- movement, beat-focused. Singing, listening and responding, etc.

If they can handle paperwork, could be things like coloring in notes or something.  

Something more game-based and more fun over music or any piece of music.

[tillyfloss]

Yes- An hour is a long time for her at this level. The fact that you get a good 20 minutes out of her is probably a good indicator of how long a lesson time would be more suitable for her.
Having said that,  some children see their lesson time as ‘playtime’, and have no understanding of it lasting for a fixed time.  A clock (a 12 hour, old fashioned face with hands) sitting on the piano can be helpful.
If it has to be an hour, then yes-mix it up….a lot! My suggestions…Break away from concentrating on books from start to finish. She may have an activity book, but it’s still another book.

Begin with exercises to ‘warm up her fingers’. It can be as simple as wiggling/walking her fingers on two black keys but I’m assuming your 7 year old can manage a pentatonic scale.

Then:  ‘Copy Cat’. i.e. simple pattern work up and down the piano, with her copying you.

A simple improvisation on the black keys with you keeping  the pulse underneath.

Learning a simple tune/rhyme she knows, by rote.

You play songs. She has to spot the wrong note…Then she has to try to find and play the right note.

You play a simple melody. She sings it back.

Rhythm work: You clap a simple rhythm:  She claps it back.

I also have a box of rhythm and note cards printed out from the internet. The rhythms increase in complexity.  Start with one at a time. As they get the idea, children love sitting as many as possible on the piano and then going straight through without stopping. (I sometimes use a tambourine or little drum for this too…It makes a change).

Note reading cards and a stop watch: Make a card game of it. She has to ‘pick a card, any card’ (or group of cards) and find it/them on the piano as fast as possible. Can she beat you?

Flash cards with simple performance directions. Play rhythm cards/alphabet cards/note cards as f mf p mp staccato legato etc.

I also use little whiteboards and encourage them to 'compose' their own songs.  Once she’s written her songs down on the board she has to play them back. This may just be random note values plus alphabet letters. Or Notes on the stave if she can manage that.

Then…finally…to her tutor book where she has to put all that rhythm work, ear training and note reading together.

(Sorry – this is all a bit rushed. Hope it gives you some useful ideas though).
Good luck.

[keypeg]

I can't see either as being reactions to concentration.   They both seem to be non-concentration.  The reactions to concentration I can think of is:
- fast learning
- growing interest
- getting tired after a short time of strong concentration because of the mental energy involved

[green]

I meant something more like the 'resistance' to focusing, avoidance strategies, its strange because its not just kids that do that of course...I think we tend to more fall into focus/concentration, or what I would prefer to call absorption, I think I could find better ways of harnessing that 'resistance' flowing with her more to channel that flow into a more extroverted sort of activity perhaps. I guess though it is at times just bad manners and a knowing that she is aware of, being silly and clearly not really connecting with what it is we are there to do. I could probably have a few more 'fun' type of activities to tie into the more mind focus of fixing up pieces. I dont want to seem as though I am blaming her, or that she is a bad student, I'm sure I could be doing more to tailor to her own specific way of learning. Her younger sister (5 years old) is just the opposite, an introvert and generally quite focused with the right activities.

[keypeg]

Ok, gotcha.