The campaign is on its 2nd last weekend. Don and our volunteers continue pounding the pavement hard. There is a forum on Tuesday, and after that it will be less than a week to election day.
But here at home, today was a mom & Dexter day! We hung out and watched Yo-Gabba-Gabba. Played Ukulele. Took Dougal walking and went to the park. Played on slides. Read Where's Spot a bunch of times.
And I made a pecan pie for tomorrow's Thanksgiving dinner. The recipe was super easy and I'll report back on the delicious-factor after I've tried it tomorrow night. The pie crust recipe is from Mark Bittman and the pecan pie recipe from Pioneer Woman Cooks.
Leanne has also made a pumpkin pie for tomorrow so we'll have complimentary double pie action.
My baking never looks professional or anything, but it's always tasty and made with love.
Amidst these crazy times it's important to do "ordinary" things with my little D, even if it's not as glamourous as a day romping around the city. Contributions to the campaign come in all shapes and sizes. Some of us knock on doors and flyer. Others are masterminds behind the website, print, design, volunteer coordination, photography, and videography. Of all the important jobs that need to be done with the campaign, by far the most meaningful task for me is having quality normal time with the little man.
And baking pie for family and friends makes the bungalow smell good!
6 comments:
Happy Thanksgiving to you! I think you know my hubby is Canadian? So I feel a special connection :) Actually, I did think of you today. I did a really great bike event in a skirt for the first time! :) (well second time riding in a skirt, first time was to work).
I have a set up on Flickr of pics if you like.a
mmm pie.
I would have come by to hang but Dad was celebrating Ancestor's Day early since he'll be gone to HK when it comes around.
That pecan pie looks delicious! Interesting that Canada's Thanksgiving is so early. Is the Canadian story all about the pilgrims and Indians too?
I know you don't focus this blog on your work as a piano teacher but since I enjoy your views on life generally, I'd love to hear thoughts on inspiring children to play the piano, ideas for keeping practices enjoyable and avoiding the (occasional? inevitable?) clash of wills. Being the parent of a child in piano class is not all that easy and much of what I have read is simply not realistic, helpful, appropriate to their ages (in my case 7 years old) or implementable. I am talking here about parents of children who are not Mozart and do not think or hope their children are headed for Julliard but would like them to learn about music and give piano a good shot--ideally until they develop competence and maybe even joy in playing. Thanks in advance!
Tamara - Good for you on the bike-skirt riding! And yes, us Canadians are sort of rad.
Sable - Sorry the pie was mushy, but it was still yummy.
Dottie - Yup, same idea with Thanksgiving. Maybe it's because our harvest is sooner and it snow and gets cold so fast? I always thought American Thanksgiving was way too late and close to Christmas!
Hi Anon - I have been doing this for A LOT of years and have lots of experience with all sorts of kid-parent combos. There are variables to consider, like whether the child even like piano all that much, whether they like their teacher, and the habits you and the child have formed up to this point. There are the parents that can say the kid is going to practice a half hour, 5 times a week and the child has no problem just sitting there and "doing the time".
With other kids practicing becomes such a battle, and in these cases it takes the parent being extra resourceful to make practicing NOT feel like practicing. I tell these parents that frequency is way more important that duration. So if it's just 10 minutes, but almost every day? That frequency will reinforce a habit, and muscle memory, in a way that is far more effective in the long run.
This also means parents have to be very casual about it. Make them play their song 8-10 times (well, not "whatever" practicing) right after school before snacks, and maybe do another song 8-10 times before dinner, and another one after dinner. Then the focus isn't on the amount of time, it just becomes normal to play their song for a few minutes in and around other activities in the house. Scheduling a little practice session on a song in tandem with daily activities sort of reinforces that touching the piano and playing on a daily basis, is normal.
Now, it depends if your child is progressing. If there is no progress for a long period of time, the kid is probably going to have to step it up in order to see results. Moving along slowly isn't something that bothers me as a teacher, but if the kids shows up week after week with bags of excuses and isn't actually progressing at all? Over an extended period of time I'll likely recommend to a the parent that I'm not the right teacher. I'm not into babysitting during lessons, it's really exhausting!
But, I find that all my kids are pretty motivated, and if I have practice issues with one of them I usually just detail what and how I want something practiced in their homework book. Down to how many times with each hand and what I expect to be fixed by the next week. That way if it's not done, you can go back and discuss what ended up NOT happening. The kids might not feel guilty with their parents, but I do find that they feel guilty when I hold them accountable for insufficient effort on an ongoing basis.
And if it's really bad I'll just record them while they play, and afterwards I'll make them listen to themselves. It's a real eye-opener when they sit and listen to what they sound like... if it's a bad performance it's made extra bad on the replay. That way we can also play and pause and I have live examples of how something isn't working.
Overall it's a cooperative effort between the child, the parent, and the teacher. Once you learn to strike a good balance? It's great! But be warned, the kids will go through phases and you will likely have your patience tested over the years:)
Hope this was helpful!
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