Westley 4+

This is a great app to keep track of my kid’s cello practices. She presses a big button and a stopwatch starts counting up. The interface is minimal and doesn’t distract from the real work of practicing- for example, you can’t click to other tabs once the timer starts. The magic is as soon as the timer starts counting she feels compelled to start practicing, reducing the dilly dallying that happens a lot with 6yos. That alone is a WIN for me. When she stops the clock she earns game-like badges and stars, which are sometimes surprising and funny. She can also see who else linked in her teacher’s studio has practiced that day. It’s a little bit of social pressure but nothing overly competitive. I like being able to show her the effort she’s put in over a long period and we can discuss the power the consistent practice.

We love this app. Been using it 2 months, and my 5 year old is definitely more motivated to practice! He loves seeing his progress through the badges and stars he earns. It’s helpful for me as a parent to see our practice patterns through the calendar view and also using the timer helps us have a solid idea of how long he can focus during a practice. He loves pushing the button to start/end the timer, and likes seeing who else in his studio has practiced that day. Overall, we are both more motivated to practice since using this app!

My son loves using this app for practice. He adores the dog and likes that he can see how much time he has practiced. The stars and badges definitely help motivate him and help him feel accomplished. I love the streaks as they help me nudge him to keep going. Definitely a useful tool for motivating practice and keeping track of it.