You can actually look at printed information and have it enter directly into mind without moving your lips or sounding out words in your head. If you have been sounding out words in your mind while you read, you will not be reading at your optimal level. From now on, consciously make effort to take in meaning from printed page without hearing words spoken in your mind. Another bad habit that slows down reading speed is going back and re-reading a line or phrase every time you think you may have missed a word. In many cases, going back to read line again does not really improve comprehension. Simply eliminating this one negative habit could double your reading speed!

Consciously practice making effort to keep on reading, refusing to back track, until it becomes second nature for you.

Most people when reading will sweep their eyes across each line of print from left to right. When they get to end of line at right, their eyes jump to beginning of next line at left. This is not always necessary, and it will slow you down. If you are reading columns that are not very wide, you may not need to sweep your eyes across every line from left to right. Practice looking at center of lines, and move your eyes down column of print. See if you can still take in meaning of entire line this way.

How can you tell if you still understand material when you increase your reading speed? How do you know if you are missing something important? Getting through an article faster is of little benefit if you don’t understand most of it, or if you miss some vital points.

Every time you finish an exercise to improve your reading speed, ask yourself, “What was article about? What were main points? What were supporting arguments presented?”

Write down what you understood and can remember. Then go back and read original more slowly and carefully. Check it against what you have remembered. Were you correct in your understanding of what article was about? Did you understand most of main points? Did you miss anything important?

Keep track of how your reading scores change over time. With practice you should be able to greatly improve your reading speed while maintaining a good level of comprehension.

Retraining your eyes and brain may require a committed effort on your part, but results will be worth it in terms of reading speed gained. Stay relaxed and confident while you practice.

With this fresh information tickling my brain, a commitment was made to keep violin practice time to mornings only. I even went so far as to skip practice if time ran away from us in morning. Better to skip it, then to put her through frustration. As my daughter gets older I’ve noticed a definite improvement in her ability to maintain a solid concentration level in afternoon hours.

Now, your child may not be a morning person. Perhaps their energy level is highest in early afternoon hours or early evening hours. What is important is that your are aware of time of day their concentration level is best. For younger children this time is usually in morning, but that is not always true. Not sure when they are at their best? Well, just observe them reading or writing or doing something that requires them to focus. Try different activities at different times of they day. You will definitely notice a difference in their ability to complete task. The same thing that may take them five minutes to complete when they are at their best, will become a task of frustration when they are at their lowest energy level of day.

Remember to have fun with your child, after all this business of being involved with your child’s music practice is supposed to be a wonderful and precious experience!