School is cancelled tomorrow, again. Is it the fifth time this year? I've lost count.
Anyway, I'm not here to complain about it. There are things I really enjoy about these kinds of "free" days, and I've been thinking about how this will all feel in 5 years when everything is different. Not that I have anything earth-shattering to share, it's just the general "kids growing, mom maturing" stuff that will happen, and we'll be different people in 5 years.
Alice has a fever of 103. She woke up with it. Motrin knocks it down to an even 100 degrees, but it keeps creeping back up at the 6-hour mark. She's complaining of headaches, earaches, jaw pain, chest pain when she coughs, and the usual congestion and runny nose. It's a hot one, this virus.
At least with school cancelled tomorrow (and probably Tuesday), she'll still maintain her perfect attendance record (which means infinitely more to me than it ever has to her). Mwah ha ha haaaaaa.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Friday, January 24, 2014
Update on the Update on Alice's Piano Lessons :)
Much, much better! I found several free music theory primers, a couple online games that use a midi keyboard, and a neat set of worksheets for Alice to practice the theory she's now learning from her teacher. I spoke to her current teacher about my concerns, and it turns out that her teacher didn't want to squelch Alice's enthusiasm for learning new pieces by working through theory and basic technique. She figured Alice was doing fine as long as she could keep progressing through the songs. She's happy to work with my concerns, though, and get more technical with Alice.
The absolute best thing to come out of all of this, though, is confidence. I've emphasized naming notes and counting out measures for 5 days and now she beams with pride when she can figure out the song and get her hands in the right position by herself. She finally sees how much it's like reading! The notes, the rests, and the position changes are all spelled out to her on the page and NOW she can finally make sense of it. She's thrilled! I'm thrilled! Woo hoo! I'm not opposed to Alice "graduating" to a new instructor in the future, but it looks like we're on the right track for now. Yay!
The absolute best thing to come out of all of this, though, is confidence. I've emphasized naming notes and counting out measures for 5 days and now she beams with pride when she can figure out the song and get her hands in the right position by herself. She finally sees how much it's like reading! The notes, the rests, and the position changes are all spelled out to her on the page and NOW she can finally make sense of it. She's thrilled! I'm thrilled! Woo hoo! I'm not opposed to Alice "graduating" to a new instructor in the future, but it looks like we're on the right track for now. Yay!
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Update on Alice's Piano Lessons
Alice has been taking piano lessons for 9 months. I've grown a little concerned lately that her loving, funny, and kind-hearted teacher has been too lenient on the theory side of things. I've never done this mother-of-a-piano-student thing before and I have no idea what to expect from a 6-year-old on the piano, so I decided to get a second opinion. I took Alice in for a free piano lesson at the Champaign School of Music. Did you know that they offer a free lesson?! We brought the books she was currently working in and the instructor just taught from those.
His approach was clearly more technical than Alice had ever heard. A couple times, he asked her to do something and she just stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language. Which he was, apparently, because she still couldn't tell a half note from a whole note. She was used to calling them "short" and "long" notes. He wasn't the warmest of teachers, but he was friendly and professional. He stopped her and corrected her appropriately. After 30 minutes with this man, Alice was finally playing the piece properly and able to perfectly sightread the rhythm of a new piece with relative ease. I was ecstatic!
I asked her what she thought about the experience and she said she didn't like it. She didn't ever want to go back.
*sigh* I wasn't entirely surprised at her assessment, since she's a relationship person and craves that loving, funny, kind-hearted type of interaction from everyone.
So, here's the sticky bit. I kind of feel like letting her lessons continue as they are would be fun in the short term, but harmful in the long term. At the same time, I'm debating how much I want to strong-arm the issue. Her practice sessions already involve plenty of tears, believe me. Gotta think about this a little more. I welcome your thoughts/input on the matter.
What do you remember from your childhood music instruction? What did you gain from it? Do you think it was worth it? Did your parents press the issue? How did you feel about that?
His approach was clearly more technical than Alice had ever heard. A couple times, he asked her to do something and she just stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language. Which he was, apparently, because she still couldn't tell a half note from a whole note. She was used to calling them "short" and "long" notes. He wasn't the warmest of teachers, but he was friendly and professional. He stopped her and corrected her appropriately. After 30 minutes with this man, Alice was finally playing the piece properly and able to perfectly sightread the rhythm of a new piece with relative ease. I was ecstatic!
I asked her what she thought about the experience and she said she didn't like it. She didn't ever want to go back.
*sigh* I wasn't entirely surprised at her assessment, since she's a relationship person and craves that loving, funny, kind-hearted type of interaction from everyone.
So, here's the sticky bit. I kind of feel like letting her lessons continue as they are would be fun in the short term, but harmful in the long term. At the same time, I'm debating how much I want to strong-arm the issue. Her practice sessions already involve plenty of tears, believe me. Gotta think about this a little more. I welcome your thoughts/input on the matter.
What do you remember from your childhood music instruction? What did you gain from it? Do you think it was worth it? Did your parents press the issue? How did you feel about that?
Robert's First Day as a "Sunbeam"
In our Sunday School, the 3-year-olds are in a class called "Sunbeams." It's the first step up from the toddler class, and Robert has been SO ready for it.
Last Sunday was Robert's first day as a Sunbeam. When Bobby and I came to pick him up at the end, he had a pair of scissors in one hand, a bottle of glue in the other, and a big grin on his face. The toddler class NEVER uses scissors or glue. On his first day as a Sunbeam, he got to do a craft. Wahoo!
Robert. Loves. Scissors.
Glue rocks his world, too.
One of his teachers said a little apologetically, "Robert did great today! Except, um, he didn't want to put anything in the right place." And then she handed me his craft:
I laughed out loud and just wanted to smother that silly boy in hugs and kisses, "Of course! That's my Buddy. I wouldn't expect anything different."
He saw his work and giggled again, "I did it silly, see?"
Why do I like this so much? Why do I want to share it on the blog? Perhaps because it is a perfect snapshot of Robert...who he is, not what he looks like, per se :) The intricate scissor work, the determination to do something exactly wrong, and the joy in getting people to say, "Huh?!" That's Robert. It's perfectly intentional, and it makes him SO happy. I love that he's finding funny, non-confrontational ways to express himself and do things his own way. His giggly delight in such a benign trick just makes me laugh.
I do wonder, however, how this will play out when he goes to kindergarten. Will he still be silly on serious assignments? Or will he learn to discern serious/focused activities from the lighter/freer ones. Will he be able to follow any assignment's instructions exactly?
Last Sunday was Robert's first day as a Sunbeam. When Bobby and I came to pick him up at the end, he had a pair of scissors in one hand, a bottle of glue in the other, and a big grin on his face. The toddler class NEVER uses scissors or glue. On his first day as a Sunbeam, he got to do a craft. Wahoo!
Robert. Loves. Scissors.
Glue rocks his world, too.
One of his teachers said a little apologetically, "Robert did great today! Except, um, he didn't want to put anything in the right place." And then she handed me his craft:
I laughed out loud and just wanted to smother that silly boy in hugs and kisses, "Of course! That's my Buddy. I wouldn't expect anything different."
He saw his work and giggled again, "I did it silly, see?"
Why do I like this so much? Why do I want to share it on the blog? Perhaps because it is a perfect snapshot of Robert...who he is, not what he looks like, per se :) The intricate scissor work, the determination to do something exactly wrong, and the joy in getting people to say, "Huh?!" That's Robert. It's perfectly intentional, and it makes him SO happy. I love that he's finding funny, non-confrontational ways to express himself and do things his own way. His giggly delight in such a benign trick just makes me laugh.
I do wonder, however, how this will play out when he goes to kindergarten. Will he still be silly on serious assignments? Or will he learn to discern serious/focused activities from the lighter/freer ones. Will he be able to follow any assignment's instructions exactly?
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Bobby's Sunday Summary
I haven't written in a while. We survived the massive snow storm and the polar vortex that followed mostly unscathed. Not too much new to report, besides that life is starting to return to our normal routine. With one big exception, Robert is now in primary. He is officially a Sunbeam and could not be happier about it. He was done with Nursery and did not want to go back any more. Today Alice took him to Primary. Susan checked in on him and at the beginning he was sitting in his row, but after a little bit he moved back to sit next to Alice. It is nice to know that even though he is an annoying little brother on purpose so much, he still loves and trusts Alice to help him.
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