Great Day...

I sort of resolved, but didn't really make a resolution because I don't believe in them, to try and blog more often. We had such a great day of homeschooling that I feel the need to describe it for posterity. LOL

I woke up at 7am to pack Newt's lunch and see him off to school. Then I returned to bed to snuggle Haley for a few minutes before getting her and Dylan up and moving. Dylan made them omelets and they ate while I showered.

Haley and Dylan then began working on schoolwork. They quickly worked through Wordly Wise, Reading Detective (Haley finished up her book today), and math with a little input here and there from me. I gave them their spelling lists then practiced violin with Haley. She worked through her review in the music/school room along with her new Dr. Beat metronome while I got dinner ready for the oven. Then I helped her practice her music reading and current pieces while Dylan practiced guitar and showed me the new song he has written. The kids then watched their SWI lesson (writing lesson) on DVD and outlined their story to be written tomorrow.

We ate a nice lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup then read through The Song of Roland for history discussing epics, epic heroes, and the different qualities epic heroes might be given in different societies. Just as we finished up, our guests arrived. The kids had a playdate with homeschooling friends for a couple hours while I had a nice visit with their mom. When their friends left, they each sat for their daily reading. Haley began Anne of Green Gables. She read the first chapter then she and I picked out 10 vocabulary words and I showed her how to use the dictionary which she did surprisingly well for the first attempt. We also looked up maps of Prince Edwards Island though we couldn't find Avonlea on any of them. Dylan finished up the book he'd been working on.

I finished up dinner while Dylan continued to read and Haley drew pictures. After dinner, I took Newt to wrestling. Haley practiced fiddle on her own using her videos of her teacher, Brian Conway. Dylan found a recipe and baked a delicious cake that we all just finished enjoying.

It was just one of those perfect kind of days!

New Year....

We have had a couple wonderful days at home. A rarity for us so I enjoy them immensely. Last night, the kids and I sat together and figured out how to play Catan together. Newt won. While we played Daddy made us all non-alcoholic pina coladas.

Today, I cleaned some areas of the house I hadn't really organized yet, straightened up a bit, practiced violin and fiddle with Haley, worked through a physics experiment kit on simple machines with Haley and Dylan (building the machines, figuring out mechanical advantage, then changing load distance and effort distance to see the change in MA), and watched the rest of Ann of Green Gables continued with Haley. We then made dinner, baked brownies, scrapbooked a bit, and watched a movie with the kids and their friend Zach who is spending the night.

It is nice to have the time to just spend at home occassionally.

I wanted to type out our plan for school with Haley and Dylan for the rest of the year just to get it all straight in my mind and keep a record for later....

Dylan:
Math-working through Saxon 87 (we had begun Algebra 1 the beginning of the year but he was having difficulty with it and since he plans to go to school next year, I wanted to sure up his basic math skills rather than have him do something he will repeat in 2 years for 8th grade).

Language Arts- I have determined that Dyl needs to work more on writing so we are going to follow the program outlined in "Guiding Readers and Writers" more closely, work on Student Writing Intensive, continue Spelling Power, Wordly Wise, and Reading Detective. Also continuing with MCT language arts for grammar, poetry, and vocabulary.

Rosetta Stone Spanish
History- Middle ages using SOTW 2, History Portfolio, and various readings
Physics- I am combining a number of curriculums for physics since I haven't found the perfect solution yet...RS4K, NOEO, Rainbow Science, and a variety of experiment kits for fun. I recently purchased a higher level text called Conceptual Physics that we may delve into.

Haley:
Math- Saxon 65 and beginning Hands On Equations for algebra skills.
All other subjects are the same as Dylan, just slightly different levels plus she is doing Rosetta Stone Gaelic.

I think that is everything. School is going very well with them this year. I find myself having a bit more time with Newt in school. He is enjoying school and wrestling season is beginning to get into full swing. Newt won his first tournament of the year, pinning both his opponents easily. Nice start to the season for him.

Music is going well for the kids. Newt put on his new drum heads from Christmas and has been working through his new drum books. Dylan is very interested in guitar repair and has been reading his books and watching his DVDs. He also loves Haley's new mandolin and has learned 6 tunes on it. He took guitar and mandolin to the session Wednesday night and played both.

Haley played in a session Monday night and another Wednesday night. She enjoys playing with other musicians and Wednesday night was the only fiddler. There were so many different instruments plus vocalists so it was an amazing session. Monday night was very nice as well because the instrumentalists were so experienced especially the banjo and accordian players. Some nights while watching the kids at sessions, I get such a warm feeling inside thinking about the memories the kids are building interacting and playing with other wonderful musicians. The experiences they have are just amazing!

Haley is working on polishing the 1st violin part of Bach Double with the other part. She has been working hard on getting the timing perfected...not getting faster as she plays. It has involved lots of work with her new Dr. Beat Metronome. As practice, she has been playing all her review pieces with the metronome to learn to "hear" it. I have to keep reminding her not to tap her toe along with it...fine for the fiddler Haley but looks a little funny on classical violinist Haley. LOL

We have an exciting year to look forward to. Haley was accepting into the SAA Orchestra of the Americas so will perform with them in Minneapolis in May. She has some exciting performances scheduled throughout the first part of this year with her fiddle and the next semester of Temple Prep orchestra begins at the end of the month. We are already looking at planning summer camps for Haley and Dylan as well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas...

Between moving, running the kids, and Christmas quickly approaching, life has been a bit full lately. Thanks to a huge snowstorm, however, everything has come to a complete standstill and we have had some time to enjoy the holidays. Couldn't go anywhere this weekend, so we were able to help Grammy bake cookies. School was cancelled two days this week already so we have gotten a lot of practice and homeschooling done.

The kids have had a number of performing opportunities this month. It has been really neat to see Haley and Dylan practice together and arrange their music together. They are playing so much better than last year. The improvement is dramatic. Dylan is more confident and playing a wider variety of chords. He is more creative in how he accompanies Haley. Haley has made dramatic improvements in her playing both classical and fiddle.

We found out a couple days age that Haley was selected for the Suzuki Youth Orchestra of the Americas in Minneapolis in May 2010. We had sent in an audition tape back in October. The tape was a little funny because she had played through the song, Vivaldi's Concerto in A Minor 3rd Mvmt, 4-5 times trying to play it at the slower tempo her teacher had suggested. Afterward, her teacher suggested that she play it through once at whatever tempo she chose. In the beginning of the tape, she is giggling from sheer joy at being "let loose." Then she plays the song so musically but she made a tiny error once then quickly recovered (shifted when she shouldn't have). Her teacher recommended sending in that recording which we did. I was a little worried that the mistake would keep her from being selected but it didn't.

So, Christmas is almost here. We are in our new home. We have three beautiful, talented kids. We have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas.

Parenting Responsibly...

Okay, I know it's been months since I have blogged. Life gets in the way sometimes. Our home of 15 years has sold this month and we have to be out of it by the end of this month...talk about stressful. Wouldn't be so bad if all we had to do was pack but with the kids' schooling and all their activities...ahhhh!!!

Newt is in school for the first time. He loves it and is adjusting fairly well. It took a couple weeks to get his classes situated which wasn't the best start to his schooling career but with a little help from Aunt Dale, things have improved.

Haley auditioned for Temple's Youth Classic Strings emsemble and was accepted into the 1st violins section. The director is very impressed with her playing ability.

So, we are packing and moving. We won't have to pay tuition for Newt's school anymore and Dylan is thinking he may want to try school next year. We downsized a bit on the new house but it is a neat place with 1.65 acres and a separate building that will become Daddy's "Man Cave."

I was talking to Haley's violin teacher about needing to keep our monthly payments the same so we can continue with the kids' activities. She understood our reasoning, since she has very musically gifted children. We know we spend nearly a mortgage payment on Haley's music every month but we also know how much she profits from our efforts and see that she has this amazing potential so the only way we can be responsible parents to her is to give her the opportunity to see where she can go with her "gift." Hence, downsizing.

Jessica's Wedding...

Once upon a time there was a beautiful little girl who walked down the aisle at my wedding with her little brother and sister as the flowers girls and ring bearer. That was 16 years ago this month and now that beautiful little girl is a beautiful woman who will be walking down the aisle as the bride in her own wedding. Time flies....

Tomorrow morning we will be making a quick trip to Boone, NC for Jessica's wedding.

Fiddle Camp...

Back in February when Haley noticed a website announcing Kevin Burke teaching at Swannanoa Gathering, I was picturing the Suzuki camps we have attended in years past with lots of young people in attendance.

The first day was a bit rough and hot...not enough signs telling us where to go, having to unpack our belongings in the heat, and a very long orientation which wouldn't have been so difficult for Haley except that she was dying to see Kevin Burke and his flight was delayed so he wasn't there yet.

Getting lost had its good points. We found a great swing for down times and learned our way around really well. I didn't schedule Haley for the first class period so she had time to play and practice her classical music in the morning. We found a lovely little spot under an arbor with privacy for the most part except for the occassional passerby. The camp was big...a lot of people and performers/teachers (famous in the Celtic music world) for every instrument. I think there were 7 fiddle teachers.

Haley had a fiddle technique class in the late morning that was a little below her level so she was bored. I had signed her up for that one thinking there would be more children in it. She made some more "adult" friends who sat with us at meals.

She absolutely loved her class with Kevin Burke. It was 2.5 hours with a half hour break in the middle. She waited for that class all day. Monday he taught them 2 songs...Kathy (Haley's fiddle teacher) had said he doesn't usually like to teach songs in his camp classes but thought he would because Haley was there. After class he gave Haley a book with the music for the songs on his CD that she loves and autographed it for her. Some of the other performers saw the article about her winning the Fleadh while performing in Philadelphia prior to the camp because the daughter of the banjo teacher said she had seen the article. She and Haley made friends and spent a lot of time together. Shaunagh was almost 12 years old and was wonderful with Haley.

There were no kids near Haley's age in any of her classes. All the kids near her age were in the children's program which was basically baby sitting while parents took classes. There were a few teens in her classes. It didn't bother Haley any. She talked with her adult friends and a number of them asked for her autograph saying she'll be famous someday and they can say they knew her when... She played in a slow jam session Monday afternoon and caused the usual stir. The guys leading that jam session asked her to start a couple tunes...saying "Only people wearing pink shoes can play this one." They kept watching her play and she happened to know all but one of the songs they played in the hour. Kevin lead the slow jam session Tuesday and we also attended on Wednesday because Haley's friend, Shanaugh's, mom was leading the session so Haley sat with Shanaugh and played.

There were great concerts given by half the teachers Monday night and the other half Wedneday. Both lasted from 7:30 until 10:30. Haley slept off and on through the second half on Monday night but woke completely up to see Kevin perform last. Wednesday night, she spent the first half of the concert seated with me. Right before intermission, they called up the scholarship winners. Haley and 6 "kids" in their late teens and early 20s (the scholarship was available to people under 23yo). Everyone awwwed when Haley went up with the others onto the stage. The guy announcing asked that they hold applause until the end of him reading the names and giving them certificates but when Haley was called up second to last everyone clapped and cheered anyway.

After the concert, Haley was determined to join Shanaugh at a late night session. She hadn't wanted to before last night because she was so tired. We found Shanaugh. Haley ate a hotdog with them...she hadn't liked dinner, then we all went over to an area to play a few tunes. There were tents set up all over for people to jam in (I think 5 tents) but we went to a place with a rock wall and steps to sit on. Haley, Kathleen, Shaunagh, and two concertina players (one of them Grainne who is also a wonderful harpist) began playing. Some of the other teachers joined them (a button accordian player and a bagpipe player) and people began to crowd around including a number of the other teachers who were not playing but just socializing. A large crowd gathered and people began taking photos and video on cell phones...of Haley. One guy who we'd eaten with at a meal, said that Haley was the star of Swannanoa Gathering. I think everyone at camp heard her play or heard about her playing.

Around 12:30 it began to sprinkle and since we weren't under a tent, Haley put her fiddle away and we decided to go (not even realizing how late it was until we got back to the room at almost 1am!!). As we were leaving Kevin Crawford from Lunasa and Martin Hayes stopped us to talk about Haley. Besides Kevin B., Martin Hayes was probably my favorite performer. Martin said that Haley was "the most astonishing young fiddle player (he's) even seen!"

Tuesday and Thursday nights there were dances. It was wonderful seeing the performers playing together as a ceili band. They seemed to enjoy each other's company which was nice to see. I always marvel at the friendliness of people in the Celtic music world. Haley did a duet with Shaunagh for the student showcase Friday night. It took some time for them to decide on a tune set because they had different tune repertoires but they did a good job together especially given that they only had 2 days to work on it together.

I enjoyed my time shuffling Haley to classes and reading outside her classes. It was really nice to have the time with nothing to do since my life at home is so scheduled. I didn't expect the reaction Haley's playing received. I expected there to be more kids. I always expect to go somewhere and find another child like Haley who enjoys playing music like she does. I actually wish for that to happen. All in all it was a great week.

Haley is really looking forward to seeing Shaunagh in Ireland when we go for the Fleadh next month. Tonight the kids are doing a fundraising concert for the trip. So many people have stepped forward to help us raise money. I am so grateful to them all and don't even have the words to express my appreciation. It is just amazing to me and another example of the wonderful people in the Irish music world.

A New Chapter...

Every so often, I feel as if we are opening a new chapter in Haley's musical life. Lately, we are turning those pages very quickly. Yesterday, Haley had her first lesson with Brian Conway. He heard Haley play at the Fleadh and asked if he could teach her. I found out that Kathy had him in mind for Haley at some point but couldn't figure out the logistics since he lives 2.5 hours away.

He told us that he wasn't taking on any new students and was allowing his student load to drop off by attrition but when he heard Haley play, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to teach her.

We had to drive in pouring rains which caused traffic and accidents making our 2.5 hour drive into a 3.5 hour drive. We were a half hour late for the lesson and Brian had a wedding to attend so was only able to teach her for about 45 min. In that 45 minutes he gave her so much information. He gave her exercises for practicing techniques, bowing specifics for jigs, went over a new tune with her, and played her 2 other reels to think about for Ireland. He doesn't know her yet...so will probably be a bit surprised when she has them learned by the time he sees her again.

If only we didn't live so far away. I feel that he has so much he can teach her and she will soak it all up like a sponge. Our summer is crazy busy with camps, weddings, and Ireland.