Piano/Voice Lessons

Claire began piano/voice lessons today.  She will receive weekly instruction from the same piano teacher I had when I was a child--Lynneil Murray.  I don't know who was more excited about going, she or I? 

She'll be using John Thompson's Teaching Little Fingers To Play.  It has a whole new look, different artwork, but most of the songs inside are the same as I remember, (it was my first piano book, too!).

 

 She also has a theory book and flash cards.  To celebrate, I bought her a beautiful new pink backpack in which to carry it all.

Piano Lessons



Claire's first keyboard



I took piano lessons for nearly 10 years when I was a child.  When it came time for Claire to begin learning music, it seemed only natural that I should be her instructor.  After all, I'm teaching her reading, math, history, art, science, geography, literature, etc.  Piano shouldn't be any different?

Well, it WAS different.  Yes, I could teach her how to play notes, but I began to realize that for some people, music is much more than just playing the correct notes.  That is all it has ever been, (and probably will ever be), for me.  I don't have a deep love for music.  I decided that I wanted her to learn more than just the notes.

I discovered that the musician who gave me lessons still teaches only 1 mile away and at a very affordable cost.  She is the exact type of teacher I wanted.  She has music in her heart.  When she plays or even just talks about music, it simply pours out.  My lessons were inevitably tedious, means to an end.  

I don't know that a person can be taught to love something like music?  I believe, to a certain extent, that it is a gift bestowed at birth.  However, I do think it is possible to squelch that gift.  I recognized early that I was dangerously capable of doing just that. 

 It is hard to tell whether music is more than just a grouping of notes for Claire.  If I had to guess, I would say that at this point, she sees learning to play piano as simply a handy thing to add to her "list of things I can do."  However, if there is some deeply buried musical gift, Mrs. Murray is certain to dig it up.

Little Girl On The Prairie

One of our assigned reading for Literature is The Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  So far, we've read Little House In The Big Woods, Farmer Boy, and we just finished Little House On The Prairie.  As expected, Claire is enamored with Laura Ingalls.

 Grandma and Granddad found this bonnet at an Amish village store on their recent trip to the East coast.  What a perfect gift!

Making Hay

Claire and Cody ride on top as Clay adds another bale

I was thrilled when the children were invited to participate in putting away hay for the winter.  Our pony was fed mostly by Granddad's hay last year, and will again have him to thank for her meals this winter.  I feel it is important for the children to understand the work that is involved.  They aren't big enough to be helpers yet, but they enjoyed being observers.

Bringing home the next load

Clay worked hard to earn our share.  The hay crops around here seem to have done really well this year.

 I was unable to participate because I was working, but the pictures remind me of childhood summers: driving the open cabbed tractor, watching the baler "poop" out the bales, struggling to roll the big bales onto the elevator to send up to the top of the barn.  I'm so glad that my children were able to share the experience.

Harvest time

Bike Riding

Claire is really into riding bikes.  We biked to town yesterday, her first time to ride on the highway.  She did well, especially considering it was 4-o-clock in the afternoon and 105 degrees.  We went straight to the Shell station and bought pop and ice cream!

Today, we went to Highland Park in Guthrie and rode the trails there.  We were only able to ride for about 45 minutes, but we had fun.  The trails are curvy and pretty steep in some places.  She handles it all beautifully on her tiny one speed.  I have to switch gears like crazy just to keep up with her.

Cody is beginning to enjoy riding more also.  He still uses training wheels, but they don't slow him down much.  He rode the trails with Clay.  Clay would grab Cody's helmet like a bowling ball to help him up the hills.  I wish I could have taken a picture as it was hilarious.

Charlemagne

I wasn't sure whether to label this as history or art because it is both. 

We are currently reading about Charlemagne in our history of the early church.

 He is also coming up soon in Synge's Discovery of New Worlds. 

This is a painting done by this term's artist; Albrecht Durer.

Fishing

We decided to go fishing this morning before it became too hot.  We stopped by the bait shop, picked out some nice fresh worms and headed east to Grandad's lake.

The fish must have been hungry because they were really biting.  Claire caught the first fish within about 2 min. of our arrival.  She caught 8 more after that!

Cody caught two.

Clay didn't even get a chance to bait his own hook.  He was too busy taking fish off of Claire's!

Licorice wanted to catch a fish, too.  She jumped in and proudly retrieved our bobbers several times before she finally was hooked and decided it wasn't a good idea.

Grandad joined us just when the fish were beginning to go elsewhere.  He decided it would be a good time to clear out some brush.  Clay helped him hook that nasty underwater tree that is always giving our lines fits to the come-along, and slowly, but surely, they heaved that thing out of the lake, never to steal another hook again.

By noon, we were hot, tired, and out of bait.  Bye, bye lake!  Bye fish.  See you soon!