UPDATE: Here's the link to the entire CNN video clip: Happy Hecklers
My mind is officially blown.
One of our home videos, "Sadie and the Heckler," which was posted on YouTube, was used in a CNN bit called Cheering and Jeering. This was an installment of a regular segment called Moost Unusual, reported by Jeanne Moos, during the CNN show called The Situation Room. Above is a picture of her posing next to a still on the TV. Below is the video itself.
My mind is officially blown.
One of our home videos, "Sadie and the Heckler," which was posted on YouTube, was used in a CNN bit called Cheering and Jeering. This was an installment of a regular segment called Moost Unusual, reported by Jeanne Moos, during the CNN show called The Situation Room. Above is a picture of her posing next to a still on the TV. Below is the video itself.
She became four yesterday at 12:30PM. How could she be four?
Here she is in the van after we picked up her birthday balloons:
She had a beautiful birthday, from picking out a cake to choosing balloons to a princess party with our closest family and friends, and the presents: princess, Barbie, pink, sparkle, lip gloss, ruffles, rosebuds, tulle, fashion, and stuff like that.
I love her so much. Yesterday I looked back at some of the pictures of her, from her old blog which covered my pregnancy and her first year. When I look at her from the side, from very close to her face, I can still see that little baby child with the round eye and the round perfet plastic cheeks. But her bone structure is changing, or becoming more obvious, and her legs are growing up like little stalks. She's saying "Cinderella" with four proper syllables, instead of saying, "Shinnawa." It's all changing, and the baby things are going away. Good things are coming, though. See?
Here she is in the van after we picked up her birthday balloons:
She had a beautiful birthday, from picking out a cake to choosing balloons to a princess party with our closest family and friends, and the presents: princess, Barbie, pink, sparkle, lip gloss, ruffles, rosebuds, tulle, fashion, and stuff like that.
I love her so much. Yesterday I looked back at some of the pictures of her, from her old blog which covered my pregnancy and her first year. When I look at her from the side, from very close to her face, I can still see that little baby child with the round eye and the round perfet plastic cheeks. But her bone structure is changing, or becoming more obvious, and her legs are growing up like little stalks. She's saying "Cinderella" with four proper syllables, instead of saying, "Shinnawa." It's all changing, and the baby things are going away. Good things are coming, though. See?
Labels: sadie
Long ago, in a unit study far away, we made "blank kids" that we decorated with labels for body parts, bones and organs. Here's my post about this anatomy lesson. While Benny labelled his, but Sadie befriended hers. We called her "Flat Sadie" and dressed her in Sadie's clothes. She sat around, waiting for someone merciful to give her some hair.
So, for a year, Flat Benny has been lounging around upstairs and flat Sadie has been bemoaning her baldness. This week I'm for some reason motivated to clear off some unfinished things on my sewing table, and one of those things is represented by a single ball of very pink yarn that Sadie picked out a few months ago for Flat Sadie's hair.
If you have sewed on doll hair, you know what a pain in the rhinoceros it is. If you haven't, may you never have to go through this kind of agony. Yarn by yarn, stitch by stitch, I forged the chains I wear, Ebeneezer. And then, it was half done, and Sadie said, in her tiny little high mousey voice, "But Mommy, I want Fwat Sadie to have haiw just like ME. With a ponytaiw!" So, she got a ponytail.
The baby's happy. Did I mention that she gave up her binky? Yeah, she could pretty much ask for ice cream at every meal and get it, this week.
So, for a year, Flat Benny has been lounging around upstairs and flat Sadie has been bemoaning her baldness. This week I'm for some reason motivated to clear off some unfinished things on my sewing table, and one of those things is represented by a single ball of very pink yarn that Sadie picked out a few months ago for Flat Sadie's hair.
If you have sewed on doll hair, you know what a pain in the rhinoceros it is. If you haven't, may you never have to go through this kind of agony. Yarn by yarn, stitch by stitch, I forged the chains I wear, Ebeneezer. And then, it was half done, and Sadie said, in her tiny little high mousey voice, "But Mommy, I want Fwat Sadie to have haiw just like ME. With a ponytaiw!" So, she got a ponytail.
The baby's happy. Did I mention that she gave up her binky? Yeah, she could pretty much ask for ice cream at every meal and get it, this week.
Sadie sang this song today. I've tried to imply the rhythm and inflection with the way I took the dictation, but... really there's no way to reproduce this:
PRINCESS
There she goes somewhere
She gets somewhere today
She gets to where she goes
Because she goes somewhere
She gets somewhere she goes
She’s just going where she goes
She gets to where she goes
Then she goes home and that is her home
Then then then THEN and then
That’s what she did
A MONSTER CAME
Now the monster growled and then it had to eat her up
Then she went fastly as she can!
AND THEN SHE STOPPED
And there was a puppy then the puppy growled and then bite her
And she had to run away from the dog
But there were friends
And I like the friends
They didn’t want to be friends
Then didn’t want to be frie-ends
They didn’t want to be frie-ends
FRIENDS FRIENDS FRIENDS
They were just going backwards
And then she turned around and run away
Until I was done to be
Life! She got to life! But she will be dead if she goes on somewhere
Then she really did run from that monster
She really did run from that monster!
And then she’s alive! She doesn’t need to be dead!
She doesn’t need to be alive! She doesn’t need to be dead!!! DOWN HERE!
She doesn’t need a girl, she already has a girl, all that she needs to be a girl.
That’s all she said.
Do-do-do-do-do-do
She didn’t need to be dead. She didn’t need to be dea-ead.
She didn’t need to be dead. She didn’t need to be dea-ead.
To be dead.
Before she goes somewhere to her family
Then her family says go back in the valley
Before she goes back in the valley
She sees a puppy, then she said to her mommy
I need my puppy. Until she goes somewhere
She needs to bring, she needs to bring it
Before she goes somewhere
The princess got dead. Gooooooot DEAD.
She got dead, just on her skirt, she needs to gone away
Now her brother was coming to save her
The prince!
Then she came to sing a song with the guitar
And then mother came to sing with the guitar
And Leroy to lick her. And then! She doesn’t need to gone.
Gone! She doesn’t need to gone!
And then the princess went bowling
Then her dress was so so so long
Then she grew up, and turned into another dog, and then POOF
And it licked Benny, and then Benny turned into a dog.
Then everyone was a dog! And that’s how it goes all the way all the way
Over.
PRINCESS
There she goes somewhere
She gets somewhere today
She gets to where she goes
Because she goes somewhere
She gets somewhere she goes
She’s just going where she goes
She gets to where she goes
Then she goes home and that is her home
Then then then THEN and then
That’s what she did
A MONSTER CAME
Now the monster growled and then it had to eat her up
Then she went fastly as she can!
AND THEN SHE STOPPED
And there was a puppy then the puppy growled and then bite her
And she had to run away from the dog
But there were friends
And I like the friends
They didn’t want to be friends
Then didn’t want to be frie-ends
They didn’t want to be frie-ends
FRIENDS FRIENDS FRIENDS
They were just going backwards
And then she turned around and run away
Until I was done to be
Life! She got to life! But she will be dead if she goes on somewhere
Then she really did run from that monster
She really did run from that monster!
And then she’s alive! She doesn’t need to be dead!
She doesn’t need to be alive! She doesn’t need to be dead!!! DOWN HERE!
She doesn’t need a girl, she already has a girl, all that she needs to be a girl.
That’s all she said.
Do-do-do-do-do-do
She didn’t need to be dead. She didn’t need to be dea-ead.
She didn’t need to be dead. She didn’t need to be dea-ead.
To be dead.
Before she goes somewhere to her family
Then her family says go back in the valley
Before she goes back in the valley
She sees a puppy, then she said to her mommy
I need my puppy. Until she goes somewhere
She needs to bring, she needs to bring it
Before she goes somewhere
The princess got dead. Gooooooot DEAD.
She got dead, just on her skirt, she needs to gone away
Now her brother was coming to save her
The prince!
Then she came to sing a song with the guitar
And then mother came to sing with the guitar
And Leroy to lick her. And then! She doesn’t need to gone.
Gone! She doesn’t need to gone!
And then the princess went bowling
Then her dress was so so so long
Then she grew up, and turned into another dog, and then POOF
And it licked Benny, and then Benny turned into a dog.
Then everyone was a dog! And that’s how it goes all the way all the way
Over.
How to Get Your Three-Year-Old to Practice the Violin with Joy
5 CommentsBy Lostcheerio on Monday, October 22, 2007 at 12:11 PM.
With JOY? Yes, and joy without sugar! Now usually, I just use candy to produce joy. One tiny M&M per accomplishment yields enough joy to get us through an average day's practice. BUT! Let's say you have a moral opposition to M&Ms.
Or your child has just eaten the frosting off three cupcakes and you think the addition of one more chocolate molecule would turn her into a giant squid. Here's a game to play with a violin practice that will make it fun and sugar-free.
1. Make your programs!
How many times do you want your child to repeat her assignment? In Sadie's case, we are working on the very first part of variation A, and I want her to go through it six times per practice. So we made six programs. The programs were each 1/3 of a sheet of paper, and they said TUKA TUKA STOP STOP in big letters. Of course, this is a good time to practice letters. You will also need a sheet of stickers, any size, for later.
2. Collect your audience!
Walk through the house, with a megaphone if you have one, calling, "Who wants to come to a violin show?" Collect whichever dolls/toys/animals are interested in the performance. Arrange them like an audience, and distribute the programs. Of course, your violin student will want to participate in all this, as is right and proper and educational.
3. Start the show!
Give the child a big introduction and let him/her take over. You be the audience. Maybe the dolls will heckle, and have to be subdued. Maybe the animals will have many questions about the parts of the violin. Maybe the action figures will shriek for more, more, more Twinkle Little Star.
4. Bring on the stickers!
Every time the child plays the song (in Sadie's case the first phrase of Twinkle, all the way through, with violin hand and bow hand working together) she gets a sticker to put on the program of one of toys. Beware -- all the toys will clamor for a sticker and demand a certain one, or a certain color, and be difficult. When every program has a sticker, the practice is over, EVEN IF THE CHILD WANTS TO DO MORE. Next time, you can pass out the programs again, and everyone can get another sticker. Until then, Buzz Lightyear and Barbie will just have to hum Twinkle to themselves.
There you have it! Today's method. Is it worth it, for forty-eight tuka-tuka-stop-stops? Absolutely. Dr. Suzuki recommended five minutes with JOY. How we bring about the joy is up to us. Watch this space for more diabolical violin practice manipulations!
Edit: Hey, I just found a very cool post on awesome gadgety violin tricks from my friend Karen.
Or your child has just eaten the frosting off three cupcakes and you think the addition of one more chocolate molecule would turn her into a giant squid. Here's a game to play with a violin practice that will make it fun and sugar-free.
1. Make your programs!
How many times do you want your child to repeat her assignment? In Sadie's case, we are working on the very first part of variation A, and I want her to go through it six times per practice. So we made six programs. The programs were each 1/3 of a sheet of paper, and they said TUKA TUKA STOP STOP in big letters. Of course, this is a good time to practice letters. You will also need a sheet of stickers, any size, for later.
2. Collect your audience!
Walk through the house, with a megaphone if you have one, calling, "Who wants to come to a violin show?" Collect whichever dolls/toys/animals are interested in the performance. Arrange them like an audience, and distribute the programs. Of course, your violin student will want to participate in all this, as is right and proper and educational.
3. Start the show!
Give the child a big introduction and let him/her take over. You be the audience. Maybe the dolls will heckle, and have to be subdued. Maybe the animals will have many questions about the parts of the violin. Maybe the action figures will shriek for more, more, more Twinkle Little Star.
4. Bring on the stickers!
Every time the child plays the song (in Sadie's case the first phrase of Twinkle, all the way through, with violin hand and bow hand working together) she gets a sticker to put on the program of one of toys. Beware -- all the toys will clamor for a sticker and demand a certain one, or a certain color, and be difficult. When every program has a sticker, the practice is over, EVEN IF THE CHILD WANTS TO DO MORE. Next time, you can pass out the programs again, and everyone can get another sticker. Until then, Buzz Lightyear and Barbie will just have to hum Twinkle to themselves.
There you have it! Today's method. Is it worth it, for forty-eight tuka-tuka-stop-stops? Absolutely. Dr. Suzuki recommended five minutes with JOY. How we bring about the joy is up to us. Watch this space for more diabolical violin practice manipulations!
Edit: Hey, I just found a very cool post on awesome gadgety violin tricks from my friend Karen.
***
Interested in more Little Blue Ideas? Try the Idea Box for homeschooling ideas and more.
Labels: how to, practice, sadie, suzuki, suzuki violin, violin
1.
Sadie and Benny were playing in the bathtub. Benny was pretending to give the bubbles voices and they were talking to her and playing with her. This all went along fine until she looked up at me suddenly, stricken with fear, and said:
"Mommy, do NOT put these bubbles down the DRAIN because they might DIE!"
So, we left them in the tub. I emptied it later.
2.
We were walking back to the van after six hour of hiking around Colonial Williamsburg absorbing historical information. I had no idea where I had left the van. So I said I was going to let the van find us, and I was clicking the keys to lock it so it would beep. Sadie, stomping along earnestly, said:
"Mommy, do NOT make the van find us because I will find the van all by myself I will show YOU where it is and THAT is the end of my tiny little story."
3.
Benny and Sadie were playing and Benny was fighting the evil Shawan, his imaginary nemesis, and Benny said that Sadie had to help him fight Shawan, or else he (Benny) would die! And Sadie said:
"Benny, you know, deep down in my heart, I will never let that happen!"
4.
This morning when Dan got back from his bike ride, we went to IHOP because the cleaning ladies were in the house and the children were uncleaning whatever they cleaned, the minute the cleaned it.
Sadie: I think we should go to Dairy Queen, because I'm really hungry for ice cream!
Me: Wow, really?
Sadie: And then I am also very, very hungry for fries.
Dan: So you want to stop at Dairy Queen and McDonald's, on our way to IHOP?
Sadie: YES!
Dan: That sounds like a lot of restaurants for a tiny little girl who doesn't eat anything.
Sadie: Yes, but I have a BIG GINORMOUS tummy!
Then we went to IHOP and she ate about 1/8th of a pancake. Silly girl.
Labels: conversations, sadie
Sadie was "reading" the Disneyfied version of Peter Pan with the Disneyfied illustrations. Everything she "reads" begins with the phrase, "Yesternight, AFTERNOON!" and then goes on into madness from there. So tonight Sadie was pondering the picture of Wendy, with her lovely brown hair.
Sadie: (sagging back hopelessly against the pillow) Mommy, I wish that I would have BWOWN hair!
Me: Sadie, your hair is the most beautiful color of all!
Sadie: And what about Benny's?
Me: Benny's is the same color as yours. You both have the very most beautiful hair ever.
Sadie: What about yours?
Me: Well, mine is brown.
Sadie: (sagging back hopelessly against the pillow once more) Oh NO! Now I'm sad for you, you don't have pwetty hair!
Me: It's okay, I have you and Benny to look at. I don't need pretty hair.
Sadie: (pause, clearly committed to dragging a tragedy out of the situation in some way) Mommy, *I* don't want to look at your bwown hair!
It's a good thing my husband still thinks I'm beautiful, bwown hair notwithstanding. And, may I point out, this is the first time my hair has been its natural color in over 15 years, and this is what happens! I horrify my three-year-old!
Sadie: (sagging back hopelessly against the pillow) Mommy, I wish that I would have BWOWN hair!
Me: Sadie, your hair is the most beautiful color of all!
Sadie: And what about Benny's?
Me: Benny's is the same color as yours. You both have the very most beautiful hair ever.
Sadie: What about yours?
Me: Well, mine is brown.
Sadie: (sagging back hopelessly against the pillow once more) Oh NO! Now I'm sad for you, you don't have pwetty hair!
Me: It's okay, I have you and Benny to look at. I don't need pretty hair.
Sadie: (pause, clearly committed to dragging a tragedy out of the situation in some way) Mommy, *I* don't want to look at your bwown hair!
It's a good thing my husband still thinks I'm beautiful, bwown hair notwithstanding. And, may I point out, this is the first time my hair has been its natural color in over 15 years, and this is what happens! I horrify my three-year-old!
Labels: conversations, sadie
As Sadie starts her preschool years, I'm figuring out how different her little girl brain really is from her brother's. Today Benny and Dan went off to see a movie together, to have "boy time," or as Benny correctly specifies, "male time." Sadie and I stayed home for girl time (yes, "female time," thank you Benny). We played Barbies. We painted our nails. First hot pink, then sparkles. It was fun, and, as it turned out, educational. As usual, I learned as much as she did.
For example, today while the boys were gone and I decided to get out the chunky big cuisenaire rods and have a nice fadoodle with them on the floor with Sadie. Might be nice to play math without Benny around to offer the answers and arrangements before Sadie can think of them.
I showed her the white block and said, "This is ONE, Sadie, this is ONE. Can you find the one that is two?"
And she found the red one. Marvelous. I showed her how two white ones line up on one red one, and then asked her to find the three. Could she find the three?
Instead she picked up the three pink/purple ones and said, "But I want these girl ones instead. I don't want the green one."
"Is the green one three, Sadie?"
"I just want these girl ones. They want to go for a ride in the Barbie car!"
"Sadie, can you find the three?"
After a few more times around the block, she was getting exasperated. "Mom, I don't want to LEARN these. I just want to PWAY them."
Okay, so the cuisenaire rods went for a ride in the Barbie car and the 8 rods were truculent and didn't want to put their seatbelts on and the 4 rods were girls, and then they all had a birthday part for one of the red ones. There's no fighting it. There is only joining it!
Here's another example: I've learned that Sadie is completely unmoved to practice writing letters with a marker and lined paper. But if the marker is Cinderella, and the paper is a dance floor, and the letters are dance moves, she is extremely motivated, especially if marker-Cinderella talks to her in a Disney princess voice and even more so if there is another prince marker whose dance moves she can copy. Are you getting me? Are you feeling me?
One more example: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Variation 1 was "Mississippi Hot Dog" when I was little. It was "Tuka Tuka Stop Stop" for Benny. For Sadie it's "Sparkle Glitter Princess." Are the dots all starting to connect here?
So here's how our nail-painting became our preschool lesson for the day:
1. Fine motor skills. Paint your nails. Paint Mommy's nails. Try to stay on the nail, but if you don't, celebrate the joy of life anyway.
2. Math. How many have you painted? How many are left? How many fingers does Mommy have? How many on each hand? How many together? If I have five here and you've painted three, how many more are there to paint?
3. Anatomy. Can dolphins wear nail polish? Can polar bears? How many toes does Leroy (the Boston Terrier) have? How many toes does Mommy have? How many toes does *everybody* have?
And here's what Sadie had to say:
"Mommy, I love pink. And I love sparkle."
"I know you do, baby. And I love you."
"I love you too. And I love Benny, and Daddy. I love all you guys."
"You're such a nice girl, Sadie."
"I know, Mommy."
As a bonus, I have a *very* interesting manicure to take to church tomorrow.
For example, today while the boys were gone and I decided to get out the chunky big cuisenaire rods and have a nice fadoodle with them on the floor with Sadie. Might be nice to play math without Benny around to offer the answers and arrangements before Sadie can think of them.
I showed her the white block and said, "This is ONE, Sadie, this is ONE. Can you find the one that is two?"
And she found the red one. Marvelous. I showed her how two white ones line up on one red one, and then asked her to find the three. Could she find the three?
Instead she picked up the three pink/purple ones and said, "But I want these girl ones instead. I don't want the green one."
"Is the green one three, Sadie?"
"I just want these girl ones. They want to go for a ride in the Barbie car!"
"Sadie, can you find the three?"
After a few more times around the block, she was getting exasperated. "Mom, I don't want to LEARN these. I just want to PWAY them."
Okay, so the cuisenaire rods went for a ride in the Barbie car and the 8 rods were truculent and didn't want to put their seatbelts on and the 4 rods were girls, and then they all had a birthday part for one of the red ones. There's no fighting it. There is only joining it!
Here's another example: I've learned that Sadie is completely unmoved to practice writing letters with a marker and lined paper. But if the marker is Cinderella, and the paper is a dance floor, and the letters are dance moves, she is extremely motivated, especially if marker-Cinderella talks to her in a Disney princess voice and even more so if there is another prince marker whose dance moves she can copy. Are you getting me? Are you feeling me?
One more example: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Variation 1 was "Mississippi Hot Dog" when I was little. It was "Tuka Tuka Stop Stop" for Benny. For Sadie it's "Sparkle Glitter Princess." Are the dots all starting to connect here?
So here's how our nail-painting became our preschool lesson for the day:
1. Fine motor skills. Paint your nails. Paint Mommy's nails. Try to stay on the nail, but if you don't, celebrate the joy of life anyway.
2. Math. How many have you painted? How many are left? How many fingers does Mommy have? How many on each hand? How many together? If I have five here and you've painted three, how many more are there to paint?
3. Anatomy. Can dolphins wear nail polish? Can polar bears? How many toes does Leroy (the Boston Terrier) have? How many toes does Mommy have? How many toes does *everybody* have?
And here's what Sadie had to say:
"Mommy, I love pink. And I love sparkle."
"I know you do, baby. And I love you."
"I love you too. And I love Benny, and Daddy. I love all you guys."
"You're such a nice girl, Sadie."
"I know, Mommy."
As a bonus, I have a *very* interesting manicure to take to church tomorrow.
Labels: homeschooling, parenting, sadie
I really want Sadie to give up her pacifier.
I want her to be able to talk clearly, I want her to comfort herself with her own good brain, I want her teeth to be straight.
What I don't care about is when nosy people look at us with squiggly eyes when we're out and about and she is slurping away on it. I actually don't care about that. If the only factor were public scorn, I would let her take it to college. I'd even buy her a new (sparkly!) one for the occasion. She's small for her age. She might be able to pull of a binky at age 17. But for some reason, as she approaches the age of 4, I feel some kind of natural reasoning yanking apart my steadfast denial, so that I have to address the fact: she is too old for a binky.
Last week, this was the bribe:
"You can't take your binky to princess camp."
This week, I'm trying rabbit, rats, and guinea pigs. We went to Animal Jungle, the best pet store on earth. She petted a rabbit, she held a guinea pig, she ogled a rat, and at the end of the experience, she was claiming boldly that she wanted to get rid of her binkies so she could have a rabbit.
"Sadie, if you can do without your binky for seven days, Mommy will bring you back to Animal Jungle and you can pick out whichever rabbit you want."
Deal. Sealed in cedar shavings.
However, after lunch, there was a reversal.
"Mommy, I weed my binky!"
"Sadie, don't you want to give your binkies to the Binky Fairy so she can bring you a rabbit?"
"No, I don't WANT a wabbit, I weed my BINKY!"
What could I do? I gave her the binky. The sparkly pink binky. Now what can I try next?
I want her to be able to talk clearly, I want her to comfort herself with her own good brain, I want her teeth to be straight.
What I don't care about is when nosy people look at us with squiggly eyes when we're out and about and she is slurping away on it. I actually don't care about that. If the only factor were public scorn, I would let her take it to college. I'd even buy her a new (sparkly!) one for the occasion. She's small for her age. She might be able to pull of a binky at age 17. But for some reason, as she approaches the age of 4, I feel some kind of natural reasoning yanking apart my steadfast denial, so that I have to address the fact: she is too old for a binky.
Last week, this was the bribe:
"You can't take your binky to princess camp."
This week, I'm trying rabbit, rats, and guinea pigs. We went to Animal Jungle, the best pet store on earth. She petted a rabbit, she held a guinea pig, she ogled a rat, and at the end of the experience, she was claiming boldly that she wanted to get rid of her binkies so she could have a rabbit.
"Sadie, if you can do without your binky for seven days, Mommy will bring you back to Animal Jungle and you can pick out whichever rabbit you want."
Deal. Sealed in cedar shavings.
However, after lunch, there was a reversal.
"Mommy, I weed my binky!"
"Sadie, don't you want to give your binkies to the Binky Fairy so she can bring you a rabbit?"
"No, I don't WANT a wabbit, I weed my BINKY!"
What could I do? I gave her the binky. The sparkly pink binky. Now what can I try next?
Sometimes pink is enough to make you happy forever.
Sadie had her ballet recital. It was, possibly, the best day of her life thus far. She richly, deeply enjoyed every minute of it. She was not afraid to be on the big stage at the Roper Theater. In fact, she was thrilled to be out there, and wanted to go back and do it all over again the minute it was finished.
Her ballet school, the Art of Dance Academy, performed a show based on The Wizard of Oz. There were great moments and not so great moments, as I'm sure is true with any performance involving exclusively children. Sometimes the screw-ups are the most entertaining part of the show, right? No one can remember the perfectly executed numbers, but everyone remembers when little Billy dragged little Sally by the hair into her position before spinning her in a pirouette.
Sadie was a munchkin, along with the rest of the girls in her little class. They all wore variations of floofy pink tutus, with floofy pink feathery headdress things on their heads. They were pretty amazingly cute. Here they are on stage, doing their munchkin thing:
One of the awesome parts of the show, for us, was that Benny got to go up on the stage with the magician that was entertaining the crowd between set changes. He was the volunteer assistant from the audience. It was his job, I think, to distract us while the magician was doing magiciany things that changed a dove into a dog. Benny was spectacular -- he danced, he pontificated, he was completely charming. And happy. He got to hold the dove and pet the dog, and when he was doing his wild crazy dance, everyone was screaming with laughter and cheering for him. It was hilarious. He has no self-consciousness, no uncertainy, no embarrassment. Sometimes, that's a hindrance, but sometimes it's awesome.
Sadie's bravery was incredible that day too, fearless little showboater that she was. She stayed backstage with the backstage moms, all through the show after her part, behaving herself on her own -- watching videos and coloring with her friends. And she was a beautiful little ballerina.
This is not the sport that I would have chosen for her -- I've mentioned before about my hesitations regarding ballet. But she loves it so much, how can I argue? She's meant to wear pink floof.
Sadie had her ballet recital. It was, possibly, the best day of her life thus far. She richly, deeply enjoyed every minute of it. She was not afraid to be on the big stage at the Roper Theater. In fact, she was thrilled to be out there, and wanted to go back and do it all over again the minute it was finished.
Her ballet school, the Art of Dance Academy, performed a show based on The Wizard of Oz. There were great moments and not so great moments, as I'm sure is true with any performance involving exclusively children. Sometimes the screw-ups are the most entertaining part of the show, right? No one can remember the perfectly executed numbers, but everyone remembers when little Billy dragged little Sally by the hair into her position before spinning her in a pirouette.
Sadie was a munchkin, along with the rest of the girls in her little class. They all wore variations of floofy pink tutus, with floofy pink feathery headdress things on their heads. They were pretty amazingly cute. Here they are on stage, doing their munchkin thing:
One of the awesome parts of the show, for us, was that Benny got to go up on the stage with the magician that was entertaining the crowd between set changes. He was the volunteer assistant from the audience. It was his job, I think, to distract us while the magician was doing magiciany things that changed a dove into a dog. Benny was spectacular -- he danced, he pontificated, he was completely charming. And happy. He got to hold the dove and pet the dog, and when he was doing his wild crazy dance, everyone was screaming with laughter and cheering for him. It was hilarious. He has no self-consciousness, no uncertainy, no embarrassment. Sometimes, that's a hindrance, but sometimes it's awesome.
Sadie's bravery was incredible that day too, fearless little showboater that she was. She stayed backstage with the backstage moms, all through the show after her part, behaving herself on her own -- watching videos and coloring with her friends. And she was a beautiful little ballerina.
This is not the sport that I would have chosen for her -- I've mentioned before about my hesitations regarding ballet. But she loves it so much, how can I argue? She's meant to wear pink floof.
The End of the Beginning: Prezuki Violin
0 CommentsBy Lostcheerio on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 5:43 PM.
Sadie's last Prezuki class is coming up. So after two semesters of baby violin education, what has she learned?
She's learned to sit in a circle, wait her turn, and separate from Mommy's lap to interact with her teacher independently.
She learned to give up teaching tools like puppets, instruments, and silk flowers, when that part of the lesson was over, even if she didn't want to put it away.
She learned to hold her "foam-a-lin" under her chin with proper position and walk around the room with it held firmly in place by the weight of her head, without using her hands.
She learned to hold her bow with her thumb bent and her pinky on top, her fingers relaxed, and bow rhythms on her shoulder.
She learned to play the drum in rhythm with a song, and how to sync up with the other kids in the class so that they all played the drum in unison.
She learned to thank her teacher for teaching her and her mother for bringing her to class.
She learned to sing on pitch and she learned the difference between high notes and low notes. She learned what an E string sounds like and what an A string sounds like and started learning to hear fifths.
She learned to distinguish between her different fingers on her violin hand, and did strengthening exercises with each one, to boost those fine motor skills.
She learned how to sing scales, with songs about bugs and pussy willows and other silliness. She learned about ascending and descending by climbing stairs with her teacher.
She learned to concentrate on her teacher's directions, and copy instructions. She was taught to focus in increasing intervals, gently and with patience.
She learned lots of fun songs and dances. She learned to look forward to violin class as an interesting time to play and learn.
She learned to respect her classmates and help them, work together with them to accomplish the teacher's directions. She learned to listen and respond.
She learned that music is fun!
When she starts her "real" violin lessons with her actual violin, she will know exactly what to expect and how to behave. What a wonderful experience Prezuki has been. Thank you Mrs. Ford for another excellent class!
She's learned to sit in a circle, wait her turn, and separate from Mommy's lap to interact with her teacher independently.
She learned to give up teaching tools like puppets, instruments, and silk flowers, when that part of the lesson was over, even if she didn't want to put it away.
She learned to hold her "foam-a-lin" under her chin with proper position and walk around the room with it held firmly in place by the weight of her head, without using her hands.
She learned to hold her bow with her thumb bent and her pinky on top, her fingers relaxed, and bow rhythms on her shoulder.
She learned to play the drum in rhythm with a song, and how to sync up with the other kids in the class so that they all played the drum in unison.
She learned to thank her teacher for teaching her and her mother for bringing her to class.
She learned to sing on pitch and she learned the difference between high notes and low notes. She learned what an E string sounds like and what an A string sounds like and started learning to hear fifths.
She learned to distinguish between her different fingers on her violin hand, and did strengthening exercises with each one, to boost those fine motor skills.
She learned how to sing scales, with songs about bugs and pussy willows and other silliness. She learned about ascending and descending by climbing stairs with her teacher.
She learned to concentrate on her teacher's directions, and copy instructions. She was taught to focus in increasing intervals, gently and with patience.
She learned lots of fun songs and dances. She learned to look forward to violin class as an interesting time to play and learn.
She learned to respect her classmates and help them, work together with them to accomplish the teacher's directions. She learned to listen and respond.
She learned that music is fun!
When she starts her "real" violin lessons with her actual violin, she will know exactly what to expect and how to behave. What a wonderful experience Prezuki has been. Thank you Mrs. Ford for another excellent class!
In the course of parenting a lively child who is richly engaged with the world around her, you find you have to sew things. Difficult things. Spandex things.
Sadie loves her leotards. She wants to wear one every day. When she's wearing some other vile outfit that doesn't qualify as a leotard, she says, with great pathos, "But MOMMY, now I not a ballewina!" Trying to convince her that being a ballewina starts in the heart and not in the closet is... not effective. She really thinks it starts in the closet.
When she first started ballet, I bought her one leotard. Insufficient! I bought a second leotard! Also insufficient! So I dragged my sorry carcass to Hancock fabrics and approached the aisle I'd never explored before -- the lycra and spandex aisle. The aisle of the lovely leotards. I told Sadie she could pick out her own leotard fabric, and she (predictably) chose the pink. I chose some other fabric too, kind of a mottled green/gold. Here's the one I made in my fabric:
Not appropriate for ballet (pink only!) but she wears it to gymnastics.
Here's the one I made from her fabric:
I actually made two of each fabric, both identical, so now she has six total, and she doesn't seem to run out as fast. Whew. Nice sewing, mom. But, let's be honest. Do you notice what both of these leotards (and by extension the others that I made) have in common? Little flowers at the neck? Yes, I explained that to myself by saying I intended to use those flowers, to make the pink leotard more like Kelly's leotard in "Barbie and the Nutcracker." In fact, I must admit, those flowers are there to hide the hideous gapping and puckering that happened when I was doing the neckline. And let's not even pretend that these leotards fit her. They are baggy in all the wrong places. Meaning all the places. As a leotard-ist, I have fallen short of the mark.
Now I have another chance to test my sewing skills. Ahno made Sadie this dress and bonnet to wear to Colonial Williamsburg:
Awesome, right? I was so in love with the overall effect, and Sadie was so charmed with it too, that I borrowed the pattern and vowed to do the same style in all pink for her Easter dress.
Here we are on Easter Eve! I am not Ahno. I cannot do this shearing and keep it straight. I cannot do this gathering and keep it even. Yet, having set my task before me, I cannot at this hour run to Nordstrom and buy something respectable. I have to persevere. I'm sitting here with the dress done (sort of), the apron in pieces and the hat only a dull throb in my head.
Tune in tomorrow to see if I managed it...
Sadie loves her leotards. She wants to wear one every day. When she's wearing some other vile outfit that doesn't qualify as a leotard, she says, with great pathos, "But MOMMY, now I not a ballewina!" Trying to convince her that being a ballewina starts in the heart and not in the closet is... not effective. She really thinks it starts in the closet.
When she first started ballet, I bought her one leotard. Insufficient! I bought a second leotard! Also insufficient! So I dragged my sorry carcass to Hancock fabrics and approached the aisle I'd never explored before -- the lycra and spandex aisle. The aisle of the lovely leotards. I told Sadie she could pick out her own leotard fabric, and she (predictably) chose the pink. I chose some other fabric too, kind of a mottled green/gold. Here's the one I made in my fabric:
Not appropriate for ballet (pink only!) but she wears it to gymnastics.
Here's the one I made from her fabric:
I actually made two of each fabric, both identical, so now she has six total, and she doesn't seem to run out as fast. Whew. Nice sewing, mom. But, let's be honest. Do you notice what both of these leotards (and by extension the others that I made) have in common? Little flowers at the neck? Yes, I explained that to myself by saying I intended to use those flowers, to make the pink leotard more like Kelly's leotard in "Barbie and the Nutcracker." In fact, I must admit, those flowers are there to hide the hideous gapping and puckering that happened when I was doing the neckline. And let's not even pretend that these leotards fit her. They are baggy in all the wrong places. Meaning all the places. As a leotard-ist, I have fallen short of the mark.
Now I have another chance to test my sewing skills. Ahno made Sadie this dress and bonnet to wear to Colonial Williamsburg:
Awesome, right? I was so in love with the overall effect, and Sadie was so charmed with it too, that I borrowed the pattern and vowed to do the same style in all pink for her Easter dress.
Here we are on Easter Eve! I am not Ahno. I cannot do this shearing and keep it straight. I cannot do this gathering and keep it even. Yet, having set my task before me, I cannot at this hour run to Nordstrom and buy something respectable. I have to persevere. I'm sitting here with the dress done (sort of), the apron in pieces and the hat only a dull throb in my head.
Tune in tomorrow to see if I managed it...
Yesterday we went to Angelico Violins. They recently moved from near ODU to this gorgeous new store in Chesapeake. If you haven't visited their new location, it's definitely something to look forward to! A whole new feeling in the place, and right on the water with a terrace and huge windows. Delightful!
SInce Sadie has been dragging Benny's violin around the house, Mrs. Ford and I agreed she might be able to have her own violin. Here she is getting fitted for her instrument:
She was delighted to get her very own violin!
We had to wait for a while as the lady there cleaned Benny's violin and changed the strings, but we were not at a loss for entertainment. While in the store, Benny and Sadie both had a blast jamming on the junior drum kits.
They are growing up. *sniff* Bring on Tuka Tuka Stop Stop! :D
SInce Sadie has been dragging Benny's violin around the house, Mrs. Ford and I agreed she might be able to have her own violin. Here she is getting fitted for her instrument:
She was delighted to get her very own violin!
We had to wait for a while as the lady there cleaned Benny's violin and changed the strings, but we were not at a loss for entertainment. While in the store, Benny and Sadie both had a blast jamming on the junior drum kits.
They are growing up. *sniff* Bring on Tuka Tuka Stop Stop! :D
What a deal. A tumbling class and a swimming class, back to back, for three and four year olds at the YMCA. Tuck, straddle, tuck, straddle. Pictures inside.
First they do gymnastics upstairs. For 45 minutes they jump, tumble, hang, somersault, pop around, and laugh.
Then they get their shoes on, pack up their things, and trundle downstairs.
Then they go down to the locker room, change into their swimming suits, pack their clothes into their backpack and put the backpacks in the basket, and then they swim! They get a 45 minute swimming lesson with two teachers, and they have a great time.
Happy girl. And for older siblings up to age 9, the YMCA has Kid Gym going on at the same time. Great morning for all the kids, while the moms go sweat on the machines! What a deal.
First they do gymnastics upstairs. For 45 minutes they jump, tumble, hang, somersault, pop around, and laugh.
Then they get their shoes on, pack up their things, and trundle downstairs.
Then they go down to the locker room, change into their swimming suits, pack their clothes into their backpack and put the backpacks in the basket, and then they swim! They get a 45 minute swimming lesson with two teachers, and they have a great time.
Happy girl. And for older siblings up to age 9, the YMCA has Kid Gym going on at the same time. Great morning for all the kids, while the moms go sweat on the machines! What a deal.
I will admit to certain prejudices concerning ballet. When I was a teenager, I had barn boots on my feet and horses on my mind. I neither understood nor appreciated the ballerina mindset. So now that I have this very pink, very glitter, very ballerina-obsessed girl child, can I swallow my preconceptions and put her in a leotard?
Sadie is three. She spent her Christmas vacation in Wisconsin doing this:
What's happening in this picture? That's Sadie, in the pink, and Sydney, her cousin, in the lavender. They're wearing their ballerina dress-up clothes, provided by Grammy, and they're dancing along with the videos of Sydney's mom (Sadie's Aunt Terri) doing her dance recitals when she was a teen. They did this for hours. Wearing gloriously impractical sparkly shoes and copying all the moves they saw the kids do on TV.
Since then, Sadie has spent so much time in her ballerina costume that the tulle actually wore off. For her birthday, she got several more princess/ballerina/dancing/fairy costumes, which are all her "ballerina clothes" and she wears them daily. Her favorite movies are "Barbie in The Twelve Dancing Prinesses" and "Barbie in The Nutcracker." Getting her out of her leotard produces a noise that makes you think she's being eviscerated.
Can I still argue that she doesn't really want to learn ballet?
In my mind, and I fully accept that I am ignorant and prejudiced, signing her up for ballet is as good as asking for her to be melancholy and body-obsessed. In my mind, and yes I remember that she is three and I am being neurotic, she takes ballet and she's off the road that leads her to be a senator, and astrophysicist, an admiral, a heart surgeon -- WHATEVER.
So, I went looking for a ballet school. Looking for a ballet school was like looking for a karate school. I wanted somewhere between serious and ridiculous. The ridiculous school is the one that turns out ballet students like McDonald's hamburgers. Where they only want to enroll students, collect fees, roll them through the recitals, and pass them on to more classes, even if their moves look like old ladies fighting off bees. Serious is where the children walk around looking like they're sucking in their stomachs, the teachers shriek, "What's wrong with you today!" and anyone whose hair comes out of her bun gets to scrub the bathroom.Okay, I'm exaggerating on both ends, maybe, but you get my point. I visited schools. I was uninfatuated.
Then I found Art of Dance Academy on the internet and learned that Miss Monique is the art director there. Miss Monique taught Benny's dance class when he was at Preschool for the Arts, over in Virginia Beach. I had a feeling that if I went and put Sadie in Miss Monique's hands, that nothing bad would happen to her. And after our school visit, I was convinced. The "Dance Discovery" class that Sadie has joined is so delightful! They do half ballet and half tap, and it is all very sweet, light, fun, positive, and dear.
I wanted a place where Sadie could put on "ballerina clothes" and prance around with other girls. Where she wouldn't be criticized but also wouldn't be ignored. I don't know whether she'll stick with ballet or whether this ballerina phase will be outgrown, but I do feel good taking her to the Art of Dance AcademyArt of Dance Academy -- after getting her first ballet shoes from Miss Monique, Sadie gave her a big hug and said, "We best friends." Nice! Sadie never hugs anyone but Dan. Here they are after Sadie's first class on Thursday -- I think it's a great connection!
Sadie is three. She spent her Christmas vacation in Wisconsin doing this:
What's happening in this picture? That's Sadie, in the pink, and Sydney, her cousin, in the lavender. They're wearing their ballerina dress-up clothes, provided by Grammy, and they're dancing along with the videos of Sydney's mom (Sadie's Aunt Terri) doing her dance recitals when she was a teen. They did this for hours. Wearing gloriously impractical sparkly shoes and copying all the moves they saw the kids do on TV.
Since then, Sadie has spent so much time in her ballerina costume that the tulle actually wore off. For her birthday, she got several more princess/ballerina/dancing/fairy costumes, which are all her "ballerina clothes" and she wears them daily. Her favorite movies are "Barbie in The Twelve Dancing Prinesses" and "Barbie in The Nutcracker." Getting her out of her leotard produces a noise that makes you think she's being eviscerated.
Can I still argue that she doesn't really want to learn ballet?
In my mind, and I fully accept that I am ignorant and prejudiced, signing her up for ballet is as good as asking for her to be melancholy and body-obsessed. In my mind, and yes I remember that she is three and I am being neurotic, she takes ballet and she's off the road that leads her to be a senator, and astrophysicist, an admiral, a heart surgeon -- WHATEVER.
So, I went looking for a ballet school. Looking for a ballet school was like looking for a karate school. I wanted somewhere between serious and ridiculous. The ridiculous school is the one that turns out ballet students like McDonald's hamburgers. Where they only want to enroll students, collect fees, roll them through the recitals, and pass them on to more classes, even if their moves look like old ladies fighting off bees. Serious is where the children walk around looking like they're sucking in their stomachs, the teachers shriek, "What's wrong with you today!" and anyone whose hair comes out of her bun gets to scrub the bathroom.Okay, I'm exaggerating on both ends, maybe, but you get my point. I visited schools. I was uninfatuated.
Then I found Art of Dance Academy on the internet and learned that Miss Monique is the art director there. Miss Monique taught Benny's dance class when he was at Preschool for the Arts, over in Virginia Beach. I had a feeling that if I went and put Sadie in Miss Monique's hands, that nothing bad would happen to her. And after our school visit, I was convinced. The "Dance Discovery" class that Sadie has joined is so delightful! They do half ballet and half tap, and it is all very sweet, light, fun, positive, and dear.
I wanted a place where Sadie could put on "ballerina clothes" and prance around with other girls. Where she wouldn't be criticized but also wouldn't be ignored. I don't know whether she'll stick with ballet or whether this ballerina phase will be outgrown, but I do feel good taking her to the Art of Dance AcademyArt of Dance Academy -- after getting her first ballet shoes from Miss Monique, Sadie gave her a big hug and said, "We best friends." Nice! Sadie never hugs anyone but Dan. Here they are after Sadie's first class on Thursday -- I think it's a great connection!
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