Nine Hours...

Nine hours....the amount of time Haley had a fiddle in her hand yesterday. Three hours...the amount of time she spent in the car driving from one thing to another. Doesn't leave much time for anything else in a day.

Yesterday was a very music-filled day. Haley woke and practiced her orchestra music and fiddle in the morning (at least 1 hour). We drove to a rehearsal for a couple gigs she and Dylan are doing with some other musicians, this is one...the Celtic Celebration (yeah, I know she was 9 when they hired her for it but has since had a birthday). The rehearsal went fairly quickly (1.5 hours) and they figured out some sets to play together then worked out an outline for the different events.

We then drove home where she logged in another 2.5 hours practicing classical violin. We had a couple hours down time so she and I baked some chocolate chip squares to take with us that evening and killed a few zombies....Dylan wouldn't play with me as he was too busy lying around so I recruited Haley. Ha!

We then got back into the car and drove to a wonderful house party in Philly. The tiny little home in the city was filled almost to overflowing with people playing Irish music together and those listening to it being played. I don't know that I have ever seen so many different instruments in such a small space. Haley's uillean pipe playing friend, Keagan, was there though he was uillean pipe-less as his pipes are trapped in Maine in the snow storm waiting to come home with a new set of drones so he had his tin whistle with him. There was good food, instrumental music, singing, and story telling. I think it is amazing that my child gets to be a part of such a long tradition of music and fun.

We were at the party from 6pm until we dragged Haley out at 11pm though I only counted 4 hours of that in my total above since we ate when we first arrived. Haley didn't want to leave. She kept saying, "One more set!" Yeah, folks, we force her to play her violin all the time! Truth is...she forces us to stay out late to listen to her play her fiddle. ("Haley can we please leave now. Mommy and Daddy are tired." Ha!)

That photo at the beginning of this post was taken at the Dublin Ohio Celtic Festival back in August 2012 by Andi Wolfe (website). She took some great photos of the John Whelan Band while they performed. I needed a publicity photo of Haley for a gig she has with John this coming August and I liked this one a lot.

                         Does anyone know what this is? (Hint...the answer is somewhere in this post.)

Dylan is taking a guitar class in school this semester. They offer Guitar 1 and Guitar 2. Newt had taken Guitar 1 as a freshman. I knew it would be mind-numbingly easy for Dylan so I got special permission from the teacher for him to just skip to Guitar 2. The nice thing is Dylan has been picking up his guitar much more to fool around on it since starting the class this week. He has been so busy first with football then with wrestling that he hasn't had much time to just play unless he has to practice with Haley for a gig. I hope he learns something from the class as well.

A Biological Reason for Early Music Lessons?

I wrote a post a while ago in response to a discussion on when to start a child in music lessons on the Well Trained Mind Boards. Many people on the boards were telling the original poster that it was good to wait until a child is older because they will be more mature and learn faster (though this has not been my experience at all). In that post I listed a number of reasons why I thought early music training was important as it pertained to my own child. I won't go back into all that because it is all right here.

Yesterday, this was posted in a Suzuki Chat yahoo group. It is from an article in New Science magazine and presents a biological reason for early music training.

"Good news for pushy parents. If you want your child to excel
musically, you now have better justification for starting their
lessons early. New evidence comes from brain scans of 36 highly
skilled musicians, split equally between those who started lessons
before and after the age of 7, but who had done a similar amount of
training and practice.

MRI scans revealed that the white matter in the corpus callosum - the
brain lesion that links the two hemispheres - had more extensive
wiring and connectivity in the early starters. The wiring of the
late starters was not that much different from that of non-musician
controls. This makes sense as the corpus callosum aids speed and
synchronisation in tasks involving both hands, such as playing
musical instruments (Journal of Neuroscience,DOI:
101523/neurosci.3578-12.2013).

Christopher Steele of the Max Planch Institute for Human Cognitive
and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, says this is the most
compelling evidence yet that younger-trained musicians have an
advantage because their training coincided with a key period of brain
development. At age 7 or 8, the corpus callosum is more receptive
than ever to the alterations in connectivity necessary to meet the
demands of learning an instrument."

The first sentence of this article, "Good news for pushy parents," is really annoying. It is a generalization and makes me question the intelligence of the article writer. Supposing that all parents who begin their child in musical training before 7 years old are "pushy" is presumptuous and completely incorrect. I know a good number of people who started younger children, sometimes reluctantly, on musical instruments based on their child's desire to play.

Anyway, the interesting thing about this report on the study was that those who started musical training after 7 years old had MRIs not much different from that of non-musician controls. So, after 7-8 years old, musical training does not cause changes to the corpus callosum...the area of the brain involved in speed and synchronization in tasks involving both hands?  Sounds like a bit of scientific proof for another benefit to early musical training.

Outside Classes....

One of the benefits to homeschooling is being able to change direction mid-year to take advantage of neat opportunities when they arise. Around Christmas, I received an email from a lady we know, Miss Kathy, asking if Haley would be available to play fiddle for a Civil War Ball in June. She explained that she teaches classes to homeschooling children and this coming semester would be teaching a class on the Civil War which would culminate in a Gala Exhibit Night and "Ball" in June. I asked her for more information about the class and it looked great so I signed Haley up.

So, we put the Ancients on hold until September and Haley will learn about the Civil War. Each student creates their own character who writes diary entries about different topics they discuss in class. There are lots of crafts to make up a lap book, songs to learn, and costumes for the upcoming ball. Haley said Miss Kathy's basement is completely decorated for the Civil War class. We will also take a trip to Gettysburg later in the spring.

Haley was so excited the first day of class that she came home asking to also join a writing class that meets in the morning so I also signed her up for that. They play games with words, write poetry, and stories. Haley and two other (a little bit older) girls are taking both classes together. I pack a lunch for her to eat in between and Miss Kathy has tea parties for the girls after lunch.

Live Music....

I don't think I ever attended a live musical event when I was a growing up except for an occasional church event like a handbell choir at Christmas (one of my favorite memories) or a concert I was singing in at church or a school....so let me rephrase, I never attended a professional live musical event that I can remember.

I try to take my kids to live events as often as possible especially Haley because she has the most interest in that sort of thing...Irish musician concerts from house concerts to the Kimmel Center, classical concerts with soloists or orchestras, musicals and shows like Riverdance.

There is something about live Irish music that is so much better than music on a CD. I don't know exactly what it is maybe the spontaneity off the music at times rather than the polished mix of a CD or the banter among the musicians or sounds of the instruments in person rather than through a car stereo.

Haley's fiddle teacher often plays with a wonderful group of musicians who call themselves Pr*de of NY. Each is talented in their own right but get them all together on one stage and it is magic. We laugh at their banter and get tears in our eyes from the beautiful airs Joanie plays on her flute...Haley says they sound like they should be played in the movie Titanic. Haley's teacher, Brian, often asks Haley on stage for a set with him during the show and she loves this. This concert, they played a set of fancy hornpipes together.

The venue for this concert was a Gaelic Football club in CT. They get a wonderful crowd who love the music. After the concert, they quickly move the chairs out of the way for a few "sets" (set dances). Haley's teacher was busy talking to relatives and acquaintances so Haley took his spot on stage to play for the dancers. It is pretty incredible watching your child laughing and playing with some of the best Irish musicians in the world.

Savoring the moments...Happy New Year

Newt being silly with Haley's boa and book light.

Our neighbors had a new baby Thanksgiving weekend and last week we were finally all healthy enough to go visit. I looked at that teeny, little, perfect baby and remembered when my babies were that little and I had their entire childhoods to look forward to. I wanted so badly to let our neighbors know to savor every moment with their little one. Time goes so quickly. When you are a new parent everyone with experience tells you that but it seems so cliche at the time.

The new year always makes me nostalgic especially this year when my oldest is driving, my middle has entered high school, and my baby is now a pre-teen. It seems like the older they get, the more quickly time passes. Often we are busy running here and there but I still try to savor moments with my kids and let them know daily how much I love them whether it is through hugs or words or little deeds like packing them a lunch or washing their favorite shirt so they can wear it or picking up something they will really enjoy but hadn't thought to ask for. We spent a lot of time together over the holidays and I enjoyed the being able to unwind together before we head back to the weekly schedule.

It is so easy to enjoy those big moments and we do have many of those in our lives...

-getting a driver's license
-winning wrestling matches
-watching sports events
-musical performances, especially those with the kids playing together
-travel to cool places

But there are those little, more every day moments as well and I try to reflect on those moments to ingrain them in my memory. We have photos of the kids growing up on the walls of our home...looking at those and remembering those children sometimes makes me sad...I miss those kids, the babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers they once were, yet at the same time I want to enjoy the here and now.

-I love having Haley home to school. (Sometimes, I wish her brothers were still home as well.) I feel so blessed. I have gotten to spend so much time with my kids by having them home. I know who they are and like spending time with them. I have been able to watch her learn everything.

-I am so blessed she asked to play violin when she was 2. Sometimes when I am busy, I look at a day and all I could accomplish if I didn't have to sit for hours with her but I love sitting with her while she practices because in that time, it is the only thing I have to do and we are partners in this thing that she loves so much. I know someday in the not too distant future, she will not want me sitting there...she already asks to practice sometimes on her own but will still come to show me something she's doing. I dread the day she practices and doesn't come to show me what she's done. Sure, I will get so much done when that day comes but I miss all that time with her.

-I love sitting in pubs watching her smile and laugh while she makes music with other musicians.

-I love our long car rides to lessons where she reads to me or we listen to music or sing at the top of our lungs together or make up silly stories or faces at each other. I love riding in the car with the boys...they often talk more openly with me in those times.

-I love sitting on the couch and sharing a book with Haley.

-I love snuggling with her while we watch a movie...soon I may have to be sitting on her lap for that to be comfortable. My boys will sometimes come snuggle in the loveseat with me or come lay with me before they go to bed. I love that they aren't too old or cool to snuggle.

-I love the many nights we have dinner together as a family. We eat dinner together probably at least 4 nights a week...during wrestling season it is more difficult.

-I love playing video games with my boys. I had to learn to play because it is something they enjoy and I love spending time with them. I love that they will sometimes put off friends wanting to play with them and spend that time with me.

-I love watching them all grow up and seeing the incredible adults they are becoming. I love watching all the changes in them as they get older. Sure, it isn't always wonderful...they sometimes have attitudes or do things I'd prefer they didn't but all in all, they are great kids.

I didn't make any New Year's resolutions this year because those tend to be made to be broken. Sure, I could eat healthier and lose a few pounds. I need to do more scrapbooking because I am more then two years behind and counting.  What I really want is to slow down and be more cognizant of those little moments. I want to take time to enjoy the kids every day. They are growing so quickly and I don't have that much more time before they will be all grown up and living their own lives. I don't want to miss a moment of it.

Cute Fingernail...

I know, I know....I said I was finished blogging for 2012 but I have to post this. Haley found the idea for this on Pinterest then painted it herself. It is too cute.

The End of 2012!!

Our Christmas this year was a little different than all the other Christmas' we've had since the kids were born. Our tradition of attending the Christmas Eve candlelight service remained the same. It has been one of my favorite things to do at Christmas since I was young. I love the way the church looks bathed in candlelight while everyone is singing. When I was young and in the choir at church, I used to love when all three choirs sang "Do You Hear What I Hear" together. I loved the way it sounded when everyone sang the last verse together. We go to a different church now and instead of choirs singing, the whole church congregation sings "Joy to the World." The service always puts me in the mood for the holiday. Haley played "O Holy Night" for the service this year. She sounded wonderful...such a lovely song.

Christmas Day was very low-key and relaxing. We got up when we woke up...I love that the kids are a little older and don't wake at dawn, though the dog did wake me at 6:30am. We got dressed, ate breakfast, then opened our presents. Then we spent the day enjoying each other. Some of the favorite gifts under the tree this year....

Newt's biggest gift was not under the tree but outside. He got repairs made to our old Honda which he has inherited. The car has sat for a few years except for the boys driving it around our driveways now and then so it needed a good going over. Plus we paid his car insurance.

Dylan was all clothing this year. Except I did find him a How to Build an Acoustic Guitar book and I think he spent most of the day looking at guitar-making kits on the internet.

Haley got a sewing machine for Christmas. Haley is "little miss crafty" so she cried when she opened it. She spent most of the day with it in the basement on the craft table, going through the kid's sewing book she got, and by the end of the day had sewn herself a little purse.

I brined a turkey and made Martha Stewart's sausage and cornbread stuffing recipe (delicious!!). We watched a movie together and went to bed early.

The day after Christmas is St. Steven's Day for the Irish in our lives. Every December 26th we attend a Wren Party in celebration. The story is that St. Stephen was hiding in a bush from the invaders and a little wren sang giving away his position so he was martyred. So, in Ireland, the local boys would kill a wren, make hats of straw, and go around singing at doorways asking for a bit of money to bury the dead wren. It was their version of trick or treat.

Our wren party does not involve injuring a small bird but people do make silly hats. There is music, story telling, dancing, treats for the kids, and a hat parade. It is a lot of fun!

Thursday, we got a call from John Whelan saying he'd be in NJ leading a session and could Haley come out and play. I don't think John realizes how long NJ actually is or that we live in the very bottom of it because the session was almost two hours away. We went anyway. It was at a cute little pub full of people. We met a few new musicians and saw a few we've met before.

Haley had a blast playing with John and she got his new CD for a Christmas present. She is now busy learning all the tunes on the CD...original compositions. Haley is joining John for a huge accordion festival in Quebec at the end of this coming August.

OK...I am signing out for 2012. We have an exciting 2013 to look forward to...some of it planned already and most of it we're taking as it comes.