Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Symphony!

Well, it has been a while since I've updated... there wasn't much happening this summer, and a lot of my stuff is going on the Maple Hill Academy blog....

Echo has started the Suzuki lessons officially now, and is doing well. Delta has just changed violin size, so is learning to adjust to a heavier instrument, as well as changing where his fingers go.

But, here is the cool news....

Delta, along with many of the Book 1 students, has been asked to play here as an "opening act" (so to speak) before the symphony. They have various groups of youth play before each symphony, and the Suzuki program is invited (I believe once a year). So I find this really exciting!

We also get 2 tickets to the symphony afterwards, so he and I will get to watch that. We are considering on whether or not to buy tickets for the whole family.

Had to share!

Monday, July 20, 2009

200 Practices

Wow, Delta and Echo have practiced 200 days in a row now!

A few were pretty inventive (ever have to do a violin practice in a car... with no violins? - we sang fingerings, and named violin/bow parts....)

Most have been good, solid practices.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Flying

Ok, I just re-installed our MS Flight Simulator on the computer, and went for a "flight". Wow, that was fun. I sure miss flying - but I don't remember flight simulator being as much fun as it was tonight.

Oh, on the suzuki side - we just had our 200th consecutive day of practice! WooHoo!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Gratuitus Practicing

I never really thought this day would come - and certainly not with him at the age of 5.

I woke up this morning to the sound of...... Delta practicing the violin entirely on his own. I even heard him practice his scale.

Who would have thought?

When I mentioned it this morning, he just said that he wanted to play the violin.


Thursday, July 2, 2009

Memories of Learning to Ride a Bike

Ok, I admit it. This is a shameless entry whose topic has been selected soley because I want to win a Balance Bike for one of my kids from http://www.5minutesformom.com/. However, it is a good topic, so I don't mind.

I am going to admit right now that my memories from childhood are a big fog - So I'm not sure that I totally remember my first bike ride - but here is what I do remember.

I remember that I first learned to ride on a hand-me down bike from my sister that was a little too big for me. I think I was around 6 - I'm not sure. My dad didn't think too much of training wheels (although my sister apparently had had them - I know this from another story. Don't know if my brothers ever had them or not.) So - I remember my dad running behind me a lot. I do remember falling a fair bit - although I did get good enough to manage. I remember having to start by a curb, and having to get close enough to a curb as I stopped.

When I was around 7, my school had a bike event of some sort after school - I think they checked your bikes out, and tested you on being able to manuver on the bike: going straight, going through cones, going on a circle. I think you got some sort of little prize if you did it all well - maybe a bike license plate or something - the main thing I remember was being very embarrassed and dissappointed. I don't remember what the problem was, whether I didn't do well with the steering etc - or maybe I wasn't even allowed to participate at all because the bike was the wrong size. I didn't ride my bike at all for a long time after that.

Another bit that I remember, but I'm not sure exactly if this was before or after the memories above - is not riding a bike when my friends all were. I had a very large trike, so I sometimes rode that with my friends for a while.....

Over-all, with all that, I started to hate bikes.

Around the time I was almost 9, my mom (my parents were seperated by then) bought me a bike that actually fit me. (my sisters was still too big - I'm wondering how huge it must have been?) It was used, and a boy's bike - but with it being the right size, I could ride it well. I was quite a tom-boy, so it being a blue boy's bike didn't bother me, and to me it was much better than my sister's old bike that I had refused to ride for so long. At that point, I remember riding around the neighbourhood a lot, and the freedom that a bike gave me.

Anyway - Delta, who is almost 6 now has a two wheeled bike. It was a used girl's bike that we have painted blue (it was pink). It does have training wheels still, but he does enjoy it. Echo is 3 and has a tricycle that she likes. It has a push handle so I can push it.... although she can pedal it depending where we are. (At a program we go to they have other trikes that she can pedal very well; I'm not sure why she has such a hard time with ours.) Foxtrot, of course, is only 1 - so she doesn't have anything yet.

I hope you enjoyed the memories!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Used Curriculum Sale

Locally there was a Used Curriculum Sale.

For about $8, I found a German program with songs, and a few books that will be used, like "Watership Down", and "The Yearling"

It always feels good when I find some resources I need inexpensively!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Yankee has arrived!


My granddaughter (online name is Yankee) was born this morning around 10:00, weighing 6lbs, 10 oz. Mother and child are doing fine.