This is my first summer as a mom. Spring break was a small taste of how disciplined I need to be to be productive at home when there’s people just hanging out. 

I want to make time to be present with my family. I also don’t want to let my dreams die until school starts in September and feel so behind and defeated. I wanted to share the ways I’m squeezing in time to play.

1. Playing first thing in the morning with my cup of tea. There’s something slow and settling to making music first thing in the morning. It sets the tone for a relaxing, happy day.
2. Sneaking in 10 minutes while the kiddos are eating breakfast.
3. Use the first few minutes of outside play time as a chance to play. 

The tricks that work for you will depend on the age of the humans in your home. If you have older kids, innvolve them by asking them to set a timer for 15 minutes. Let them know that they can’t ask you anything or bug you during this time. Make sure they have everything they need, make sure they have something to do, and focus on practicing. 

Another option is to involve your kids in practice time:

1. Have them choose a song and then all sing along.
2. Put them on another instrument like pots and pans for drums  (or real instruments) and play together.
3. Turn up the original track and play alone while they dance around. 

Your practice time during the summer shouldn’t look perfect!

Your goal is just to play as many days as you can…5 minutes counts. This will keep your fingers from getting rusty. And when school starts again you’ll be 3 steps ahead and ready to learn something new. This is your chance to think outside the box when it comes to practice time:

• Use family time, birthday parties and friday nights as an excuse to play for everyone to sing karaoke. 

1. Add playing to your devotion time. Singing and playing is worship and it creates a rich connection to the presence of God. 
2. Use family nights as a time to sing and play your favorite worship songs together.

What I want you to remember is that you want to try to touch your keyboard as many days as possible. Through the summer,think of ways to make it as easy as possible. It’s impossible to do it wrong. I’d love to hear what creative ways you’re playing this summer.