Videos for the grandparents! (And other long-distance friends and family who can put up with the shaky video quality because they love our kids, LOL.)
Arden plays "The Entertainer" at warp speed:
Tobin plays "The Pink Panther" theme song:
Charis plays "Minuet in G" on the violin while Arden accompanies her on the piano:
Charis plays "The Midnight Fire Alarm" on the piano (a bit faster than it should be because of nerves, but she kept it together pretty well!):
Showing posts with label Piano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Piano. Show all posts
July 16, 2013
April 15, 2011
Piano Recital
We have recently entered a new phase of parenthood--attending kids' events! We tried purposefully for years to avoid putting our kids on sports teams or getting too heavily involved in activities that don't include all (or at least multiple!) children, but after we settled into life here in Ohio, it was obvious that the time had come for us to provide opportunities for the kids to further their talents and interests. I don't see anything wrong with first graders playing soccer, doing gymnastics, or whatnot--I enjoyed going to my little brother's soccer games! But given the size of our family, it has never been an option, really. Time and money limitations again and again dictated that we just needed to be patient and wait for the things that God would lay on our kids' hearts to pursue.
Thankfully, the doors opened for music lessons to be a part of our lives when we met Mrs. D, a sweet lady who comes to our house to give the lessons! Charis began in September 2009, and Tobin started his lessons in March 2011. Both of them had their first piano recital last weekend, and it was such a blessing to see them perform along with many of Mrs. D's other students (many of whom are also homeschooled). Another blessing was having my parents here to attend the recital with us. Who knows how many of my own piano performances they sat through over the years! It was neat to be on the other side of things. I kind of feel like a grown-up. :-)
Tobin performed before Charis did, and he sat down and began playing so quickly Ted didn't have a chance to get any video. So you'll have to be content with a photo of him at the piano until I can capture him on video here at home--and, given his love for attention, I'm sure he'll be happy to oblige! Then you can listen to Charis playing her song. I haven't really observed her playing in a long while--just listened while working in the kitchen, mostly. I'm very pleased with her technique!
Thankfully, the doors opened for music lessons to be a part of our lives when we met Mrs. D, a sweet lady who comes to our house to give the lessons! Charis began in September 2009, and Tobin started his lessons in March 2011. Both of them had their first piano recital last weekend, and it was such a blessing to see them perform along with many of Mrs. D's other students (many of whom are also homeschooled). Another blessing was having my parents here to attend the recital with us. Who knows how many of my own piano performances they sat through over the years! It was neat to be on the other side of things. I kind of feel like a grown-up. :-)
Tobin performed before Charis did, and he sat down and began playing so quickly Ted didn't have a chance to get any video. So you'll have to be content with a photo of him at the piano until I can capture him on video here at home--and, given his love for attention, I'm sure he'll be happy to oblige! Then you can listen to Charis playing her song. I haven't really observed her playing in a long while--just listened while working in the kitchen, mostly. I'm very pleased with her technique!
September 10, 2009
Piano Girl
Three years ago I tried teaching Charis piano lessons. She was eager to play but not so thrilled about the actual learning process. I decided I valued my sanity and our relationship more than being her piano teacher, so we shelved her books and the attempt. We could wait.
Now that I'm playing piano again myself (with one of the worship teams at church), I decided it was time to try again. I had seen a recommendation for a piano teacher posted on our homeschool loop, so I gave her a call and learned that she was willing to come to our house. Charis was fairly agreeable when I asked her if she wanted to take lessons, so we scheduled Thursday mornings for our time slot.
Mrs. D arrived a bit late, having had some difficulty finding our house, but otherwise all went well. She's elderly and reminds me a lot of my own grandmother, rather short and very sweet. I hustled Kenna and the boys outside, having decreed that they would have a half hour of "PE" (or something) so we could give Charis and her teacher some peace. Lucan and Kenna tried out our "new" sit-n-stand stroller that I bought for $5 (woohoo--thank you, God!) and walked around the neighborhood while the boys rode bikes and scooters. I was hoping and praying that all was going well with the lesson--Charis had a look on her face when she met Mrs. D that made me a bit nervous...not quite her "bad attitude" look, but something that showed she wasn't as excited as she had maybe thought she would be.
Well, by the time we came back inside, Charis was happily plunking away at the piano and listening carefully to her teacher's instructions. Though she is to practice only about 10-15 minutes on school days for now, I believe she has spent close to three hours playing the piano today! She even dug out the dreaded pink piano books I had bought to use for her lessons years ago. I had told Mrs. D that perhaps she should bring something different, as those books had caused Charis to balk at the thought of trying lessons again. So we do have a couple of other books, but I was pleased to see that Charis's thirst for learning songs was strong enough to conquer her distaste for the other materials that we already had on hand.
It just goes to prove that when a child is ready to learn a skill, it is SO much easier and comes much more quickly when you do it at his or her own pace rather than trying to force him or her to do something simply because it is at "grade level." One more reason we love homeschooling!
Now that I'm playing piano again myself (with one of the worship teams at church), I decided it was time to try again. I had seen a recommendation for a piano teacher posted on our homeschool loop, so I gave her a call and learned that she was willing to come to our house. Charis was fairly agreeable when I asked her if she wanted to take lessons, so we scheduled Thursday mornings for our time slot.
Mrs. D arrived a bit late, having had some difficulty finding our house, but otherwise all went well. She's elderly and reminds me a lot of my own grandmother, rather short and very sweet. I hustled Kenna and the boys outside, having decreed that they would have a half hour of "PE" (or something) so we could give Charis and her teacher some peace. Lucan and Kenna tried out our "new" sit-n-stand stroller that I bought for $5 (woohoo--thank you, God!) and walked around the neighborhood while the boys rode bikes and scooters. I was hoping and praying that all was going well with the lesson--Charis had a look on her face when she met Mrs. D that made me a bit nervous...not quite her "bad attitude" look, but something that showed she wasn't as excited as she had maybe thought she would be.
Well, by the time we came back inside, Charis was happily plunking away at the piano and listening carefully to her teacher's instructions. Though she is to practice only about 10-15 minutes on school days for now, I believe she has spent close to three hours playing the piano today! She even dug out the dreaded pink piano books I had bought to use for her lessons years ago. I had told Mrs. D that perhaps she should bring something different, as those books had caused Charis to balk at the thought of trying lessons again. So we do have a couple of other books, but I was pleased to see that Charis's thirst for learning songs was strong enough to conquer her distaste for the other materials that we already had on hand.
It just goes to prove that when a child is ready to learn a skill, it is SO much easier and comes much more quickly when you do it at his or her own pace rather than trying to force him or her to do something simply because it is at "grade level." One more reason we love homeschooling!
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