PrIorItIes

Recently, I read from a post of Paige at Elemental Science about things she didn't predict as she conducted her work-at-home-mom life.  Number three on her countdown of things she wished she'd known was about remembering priorities. Well, around here, we all have differing priorities, but a few things unite us.  Music is very important here.  Reading is essential here, whether you listen on the text-to-voice kindle or read word-for-word from the screen/page.  Outside time with the lawn mower or gardening is a wonderful escape and exercise.  Lego time is, dare I say, "Holy" here.  There's a room dedicated to it, or mostly because the guest couch and sewing machine also live there.

The Mommy on the other hand continues to aim at doing the best she can with what she has. So many lessons I learned about life from My Grams who was born in 1914.  That was a tough time to be a little kid, especially one in rural Iowa amongst 8 brothers and sisters.  Their parents were first generation in the United States and the Old Folks still spoke lots of harsh Swedish over their heads. The Great War and the Depression were R-E-A-L to them and she shared so much of that with me as I was the only one of my siblings to go to get my bachelor's degree back then (since then my sister who came 20 years later has done the same as me).  I lived with My Grams in order to go to teacher's college.  And so much of that time is very evident in how I teach, guide, cook, clean, organize, drive, all of it. Waste not, want not, so don't even think you are going to get away with dawdling.

But mostly, TRAVEL IS ESSENTIAL AND NECESSARY.  It's how we think about all of our studies and church events and purchases and chores (frugal living-stewardship affords us to plan our errands to save fuel).  Band participation, science lessons each week (this can fall thru the cracks if spelling seems more important) and Bible study are those hills I'm willing to die on here at Paisley Classical Academy.  What would my kids say is the priority in their lives? Why is that what they classify as a priority? Take a minute to visit with them or a nature walk to discuss it.

The Hill I'd Die On - Music Study (Concert Pictures)

MUSIC STUDY - That Hill I'll Die On

In 5th grade, my mom picked the alto saxophone for me to play in the band.  She had always wanted to play, and this was the closest she was going to get.  My dad had played the trombone long enough in school, but never played it for us.  I continued to play the alto saxophone in the classroom along with piano lessons with neighbor lady even when I had to practice the upright piano in the coldest room of the house through junior high school.  Then my mom couldn't afford the piano lessons for my brothers and me, so we got to drop piano.  But, my junior high band director saw fit to change me during concert season to bassoon.  Yep, I have huge hands and am sturdy enough to haul that huge machine around.  I learned the base clef very well after a bit of practice at it on the piano.  I ended up getting a bassoon scholarship when I applied to a nearby state school for a major in music education.  There weren't that many of us and we were valuable enough to spend some scholarship money on us.  Besides that money, I'd have found it difficult to pay for college on my own. 

I'd also been employed to sing in school and church.  I was trained by a very capable man who, to this day, I'm grateful for because he arranged for me to audition for that scholarship at the state university and who constantly encouraged me to do more with music.  He was my vocal and choir teacher from 5th grade to graduation.  He is incredibly talented and I knew that if he said I could do anything, then I could probably do anything.  And there wasn't a struggle for me or my brothers to participate in band or choir.  I don't remember even facing a decision where I had to challenge my mom about it.  The piano lessons, yes, but those were expensive private lessons that she found difficult paying for while she was also paying for braces and other things.  Therefore, I'm THANK God for the opportunity to sing and perform various music even after graduating from high school.  I didn't finish with a degree in music education, but I did sing with a Christian choir and orchestra that traveled throughout the United States, thus allowing me to travel to more than 40 states.  And, I have an intense sense of rhythm and spatial awareness that comes from all those hours with music. 

So, when one of my friends asks if I will continue to support my kids playing in the home school band or singing at church, I tell them that it's too important and this music training needs to take precedence.  This needs to take enough precedence that I plan to choose this place to make my stand over other things like cleaning their rooms or doing their laundry.  Music training will help them to learn how to cooperate with others.  It will teach them to be determined to accomplish something. Music participation will improve their peripheral vision (useful in all of life while you have your sight and even after you loose your sight - you can feel what's going on around you). It will, if they sing in an ensemble, teach them to make pronouncing of sounds easy or even fun during language learning later (ever tried Arabic? There are some sounds in that I've learned from music training.)  According to the recording I heard from Mr. Pudewa at IEW, music strengthens both sides of the brain making math easier.  Music has taught me a great deal about cultures both where I sang and what music I sang.  Cultural familiarity with classical music might be helpful in some venue during their lifetimes.  I've met great friends because of music.  And finally, because I've thought and thought but reserve the right to come up with more reasons, music gives me and my kids an innate sense of rhythm for dancing, walking, running and more.  Rhythm is not to be undervalued.  Those that got it, got it. And those that ain't, well God loves them anyway.  And that's what I've got to say about it ;-) T-A-N-G-O

Marching Band Experience for G1

She Can Still Hear Herself (Band Happy)

Mid-year success in band attitudes (See right side picture of G2). Thankful that the broken clarinet was successfully take apart and mended by G3. That boy will never cease to surprise me.  G1 still thinks that percussion is the best place to be. Maybe he hopes to take over from Phil C someday...

 



I Can't Hear Myself !

G#2 was beside herself.  She could NOT hear herself in the band ensemble practices that took place last school year while playing the flute. So this year, I gave her the choice between the trumpet, trombone or alto saxophone that my mom still had from when my brothers and I were kids.  Miss Fussy herself chose the trumpet.  I had the whole machine worked over at the music store for a small fortune and promised a trumpet lesson if she learned 7 note fingerings.  This child has taken several years of piano lessons as well as attempting the flute last year.  I knew she could get those notes figured out. Then came the afternoon when she actually got the lesson to learn about how to hold the trumpet and sit up straight so her feet could touch the floor.  She also learned out to "buzz" the mouthpiece.  She is overjoyed to be able to play C, D, E, F and G now after her lesson.  I'm even willing to take her for more lessons after she works at maintaining the buzz and those notes for some time.  This is such an accomplishment for her!  She is in no way in favor of this band participation even though she loves the visit with other band kids every Thursday evening.  I'm thrilled that the trumpet from my 2nd brother's band years is living again in the hands of this little Miss G. 

Music Lessons

As home educated kids, these 3Gs can practice as much or as little as I will manage. The kids are in 3rd and 4th grade and play at imaginative efforts a great deal of the time, but must be managed to study and pursue wisdom. Two Gs study piano and the third, violin. However, the third received a guitar for Christmas. He is interested, more interested than he has been with the violin in the past year. It's a new stage of music learning. Music study, right along with Latin and art are essential subjects that I'm not afraid of anymore. Mostly, I'm not afraid, because the Daddy handles Latin and the piano teacher handles my "otter-ish" two quite well, and art is a step-by-step, pick-up-and-go process from the book I chose to invest in last fall.

But what would it be like here if they didn't study the mechanics of music, Latin and art? It's not just an excuse to get them active and thinking, it's a way of thinking that we hope they choose to process choices and discern in life. And, an outlet for creativity is essential here. One might think that the Daddy wasn't creative, but that would be incorrect based upon how he solves problems in his work. And, of course, I'm a bit on the far side of creative, which can be reigned in sufficiently based upon reality. Is it Einstein who said that imagination is more important than knowledge? Maybe he did, but based upon how the kids use their imagination to pursue wisdom, I think we're on the right track.

Mom, that's not Beethoven!

Group study is done and individual work commences.  No, that's John Lee Hooker singing "Ida Mae" my Dearies.  That's my own form of music therapy for the day folks. 

Spring is sprung!

I just saw bulbage sticking through the frigid wet ground yesterday on the way home from piano lessons! AND, my seedlings on the grow-light table are coming along too. Well, except for the red salvia and jalapenos. I started more jalapenos in different soil and set them in a warmer location. Not sure there is hope for the red salvia. I will start zinnia, zucchini, coleus, squash and green pepper soon too. I'm thrilled that the tomato, lettuce, impatience, basil, coriander, sage and alyssum seedlings are still growing. We may even be able to work on transplanting lettuce seedlings into clay pots too.



Speaking of piano lessons, G#3 began violin lessons from someone we know from new church. He did so well and liked the 1/4 sized violin much better than my full sized one. On the cultural note, I've not done history for a couple of weeks and don't miss it one little bit. We've worked through several Magic School Bus books on Earth Science AND we're working through the Zoology I book on flying things. The kids are looking forward to the scavenger list at the end of chapter one that helps us identify all kinds of insects and birds. The 3Gs enjoyed watching several library videos about flying dinosaurs too.

G#2 & G#3 finished Explode the Code 4 today and start the next book on Monday. We're in the final 10 lessons of First Language Lessons for both first and second grades. Spelling Workout B and C are in the final 10 lessons along with Handwriting for a Reason. G#1 will finish MUS Beta for 2nd grade and it'll be easy to move him on to whatever math we choose for 3rd grade. Things are busy and my favorite part of the year is almost here, Easter!

Tuesday with apple butter fixins

Firstly, email if you're interested in the kids' audio responses to the Turkish Cultural Fair a Navy Pier on Saturday. I'll send them to you. Secondly, Monday was a wonderful adventure in continuing to establish our routine. I snuck in a bike ride to check the weather as P.E. THis week they are listening to Beethoven in the background. We'll see if it sinks in as an awareness to the foundations of music. Each of the twins enjoyed helping me measure out the ingredients for zucchini-choc.chip-almond chocolate pudding/ german chocolate bundt cake/muffins. The letters c and d are much easier for them to write and the problem/ solution in Chicka Chicka Boom Boom story is brilliantly represented in their artwork.

Thirdly, Today is a wonderful experiment in preparing apple butter in the crock pot for canning this evening. George Washington is part of our lessons this week. I will continue to ask them why he is special. I just have to keep reminding myself that it wasn't an apple tree, but a cherry tree that he cut down. More important is the fact that the state of Washington is named for him and begins our travels across the nation's northern border states. Later today, we get to take turns studying the piano lesson book or writing words down from the Magic School bus dinosaur cd-rom. But for now, it's play time. Let's finish lunch and create some magnificent train track or tea party table.

I'll finish by also shining the spotlight on #1 child who put up with me in his classroom yesterday following up on my job to clean the desktops each Monday after school. He had some fun showing his siblings all the stuff in the classroom, enticing them. He also did a brilliant job last night carrying his part of the first soccer practice for our park district team. He is looking forward to the twins starting their soccer practice soon so that his brother doesn't spend so much time trying to play soccer on "his" field. Each day is a blessing, enjoy it with us :- )