The Walker Family Band Summer Fiddle Camp

Last summer we tried an experiment. Instead of going to a Suzuki Institute or a local music camp, we packed up our violins, tin whistles, guitar, cello and ukulele, and headed to the mountains of North Carolina for a week of fiddling fun with Scott Walker and his family fiddle camp. I had no idea what to expect. I had never been to the camp before and I didn't know anyone who had gone. But I did know that what I wanted for my children was to experience some freedom and joy in music, and to kick back and relax with their strings.

First Night Jam Session

I met Scott Walker and his brother Landon at a Suzuki Workshop where he was teaching cello master classes and fiddle group classes. His immediate connection with both my kids impressed me -- his gleefulness, his sense of fun, and his ability to work with Benny immediately and effectively, and charm the socks off Sadie -- I was impressed. During the faculty concert, Scott and Landon played a song together that is without a doubt one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've heard played on the cello. When I found that Scott had written the song, I knew that I had to get my kids more time with these people, so I began to look into their summer camp.

We've been a Suzuki family since Benny was 3. When Sadie was born she began attending his lessons in the baby sling, and by the age of two she had a foam-a-lin under her chin. The best thing about Suzuki, for us, has been the teachers: their willingness to accept children as individuals, their patience and faith in their method, and their positive, forward energy. But after 8 years of toil along the Suzuki path to enlightenment (and Benny's path has not been without thorns and potholes) I felt like we needed to step outside the program, and try something new.

Advanced Fiddle Class

The Walker Family Band Summer Fiddle Camp was without a doubt the best week my kids had all year. The teachers were fantastic. The other families were welcoming and fun. The other kids were music-obsessed, violin-addicted, foot-stomping fiddle-fanatics. It was amazing.

The camp is held at the Blowing Rock Conference Center, which is a resort way up on a hill at the end of a road. It's on a lovely green campus with lots of room for the kids to roam around, and there's nothing else out there. They eat in the cafeteria, they play outside on the grounds, all the classes are in one of the main or adjoining buildings, you sleep in your room in the main building, and everything you need is right there. There's no need to use your car for the whole week if you don't want to.

When I arrived I was concerned my kids would find friends, would be able to get to their classes, would be able to adjust to all the new people, etc. Let me tell you. On the first day, my little 7 year old got herself to her first class, and made a friend by the end of her second class. By the end of the day Benny had his own room key and was getting himself around the campus like a pro. He was telling *me* where stuff was located. They got themselves to their meals, got themselves to their classes -- the self-sufficiency of all the kids at the camp was amazing. I had so much time to chill out that this time *I* am going to take classes!

The culture of the camp is obviously very music positive, but it shows up not just in the activities and the official mission, but in all of the people too. There's a gang of teenagers -- they're all walking around with instruments in their hands, and when they clump up, they're playing fiddle tunes. To "be cool" you better be able to play Devil's Dream real fast -- these are the teenagers I want my kids exposed to! There was such an inclusive, warm, family feel to the whole thing -- moms helping other moms' kids all over the place. It reminded me a lot of our homeschooling community at home, and unsurprisingly a lot of the kids are homeschooled.

There's a pool:

Silly girls playing in the pool during an off hour. 

You can make new friends:

Phoebe and Sadie wrote to each other throughout the year.

A trio that formed for the talent show: Flute, violin, and cello. 

There are lots of red haired boys who know "Red Haired Boy":

During the talent show performance.

And I haven't even mentioned the bonfire, the awesome pottery teacher who fires all the pieces in a spectacular fashion on the last day, the kayak river trip, the yoga, the nature walks, the song-writing class, the kitchen sink parade, the talent show, and more! 

Look, if you're a Suzuki parent, and you're worried, I get you. You may look at the web site and wonder, "Where will my kid fit in? He's in book 4 -- is that intermediate or advanced? Will he have to read music? Will I be able to sit in the classes? Will they let his bow hand go to heck? What if he doesn't get along with the teacher?" The culture of the place is a little different, for us hard-charging classical academic types. 

But I'm telling you: Don't worry. These are good people. All of them. Their sole purpose for the week is having a good time -- with the kids, with their instruments, with you. You can juggle the classes around if you need to. You can sit in. You can hang out. You can pick up a drum and join in. Your child will learn an ENORMOUS amount. Not just repertoire, or new bowing techniques, or how to play a new instrument like the mandolin or whistle, but also how to really participate, how to join in without fear, how to step out with confidence, how to enjoy his instrument, how to really "play" the violin instead of "work" on it. 

The Walker Family Band Summer Fiddle Camp was a great investment in my kids' growth as people and their love of music. They have been talking about it all winter, and they cannot WAIT to go back this year. 

Go to this web site: Summer Fiddle Camp.

Look at all the documents and follow the directions. 

If you get confused, call. They will help you figure it out. 

If you're still confused, go. When you arrive, you will begin to understand. Maybe this photo will help. My 7 year old daughter, with her ukulele, perfectly happy and comfortable jamming with these experienced pros, who welcomed her with respect and good humor, and helped her fit right in. When I saw this happening, I knew I was in a good place. 

Robbie Wells, Landon Walker, Scott Manring, and Sadie.

If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them from my experience. Here is a slideshow of all the rest of my pictures from 2011! I hope to see you at camp in 2012! 

Suzuki Violins and Cellos in an Outreach Concert

On Sunday we went to Suffolk, VA for a pair of outreach concerts with Mrs. Morton's studio. The kids played beautifully in a country church and then in a retirement home. Thank you to the church ladies who made us lunch, and to Mrs. Morton for putting together such a lovely program!

Sadie got to play along for two songs. The first was Minuet 2 from Suzuki Book 1:



Then Lully Gavotte from Suzuki Book 2:



Benny and his buddy Stephen share a stand in their youth orchestra, and also share a cello teacher. Here are the "Bad Boys of Cello" with their teacher, performing Minuet in G by Beethoven as a trio:



"The Prayer" in ensemble, a song made popular by Celine Dion:



And finally, "Hot Canary," a crazy-to-play but super fun violin lark:



A great way for the kids and me to spend a Sunday. :)

How to Get Your Child to Practice the Violin Without Sugar

A reader of this blog asked me if I had any more good practicing tips, having found my doll concert post helpful in getting her five-year-old to practice. So here is another idea which can be adapted in many situations to make practicing more fun. And here's another picture of my baby playing the violin:

The general principle here is to make the practice a physical journey that the child can visualize and experience kinesthetically. Here are several ways to do that:

1. Create practice cards with location on them. Place them around the house (or outside!) with each card giving the next location. So hand the child a card that says "Bathroom, standing on the toilet." They go to the bathroom, climb on the toilet, and play their first song. There they find a card that says "In the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room." They go there, play their next song, and there they find a card that says "Hall closet." Or whatever. If Mom is traipsing along behind to help with position and pitch, you can't go wrong. After a few times of playing this, let the child be in charge of placing the cards before practice begins. You could even let the child make the cards, place the cards, and *you* be the one who has to find the next card and listen to a piece at each location.

2. If you have, like we have, a bunch of little toy houses and buildings, set up a little journey for a favorite toy or doll. The castle, the pirate ship, the beauty salon, Barbie's house, the treehouse... whatever you have for little destinations. Say, "Now, this Polly Pocket has to go to all of these places today and at each place she's going to hear a different piece of music. When she gets back to the beginning, practice is over." At each destination, the child plays another piece of her practice, and along the way, Polly Pocket can run into all kinds of problems: becoming extremely hungry, getting tired and wanting to give up, being chased by bears, being hounded by Paparazzi, etc. When Polly Pocket gets home, the practice is over: no exceptions! Polly is exhausted. If you need a more tangible variation, have Polly Pocket deliver marbles at each location, or pick up marbles from each destination.

3. A simple, portable version of this involves a little toy frog or bee and a piece of paper, and some tiny stickers. Draw ten (or however many) lily pads (or flowers), with the names of the songs on them... you can have multiple "Minuet 1" lily pads if that one needs to be repeated. When the frog has visited a lily pad, the child can put a sticker on it or color part of it in. There should be seven stickers on each lily pad (or seven petals of the flower colored in) at the end of the week, then the child can turn in the whole thing for a reward. Moving the frog around the paper lets them keep track of their progress and gives them a sense of what's coming up.

I'm sure you can think of lots of other variations on this theme, using the idea that a violin practice can be mobile, visible, tangible, and progress can be marked in space. Be as goofy as possible, and don't worry about "Well, this is working now, but what about next week?" Next week, if you need to, you'll think of something else. Maybe that thing will involve sugar. But most likely, once your child gets accustomed to practicing "with joy" because you're turning yourself inside out to make it fun, you won't need all the bells and whistles to get a good practice. Everything goes in cycles, I have found. If you get yourself through a rough patch by pulling out all the stops with fun games and adventures, you'll find yourself on the other side with a happier child and a new attitude.

Fiddle Fever Summer Camp 2009

This year Benny and I tried something completely different, the Fiddle Fever camp hosted by the Academy of Music. The camp is taught by local music star Carol Thomas Downing, director of the Virginia Children's Chorus, Suzuki teacher, and fiddler!

Because of Benny's tendency to be an active participant, his constant need to express himself verbally and also by bow-jousting and playing his instrument out of turn, and because I too have really loved fiddling, in my day, I decided to be a student of the camp also.

It was a fantastic experience! Carol Downing is an incredibly gifted teacher -- fun, inspiring, and creative. She had a whole room full of children, aged 7 to 17 (and then me, age 107), some of whom could barely read a note of sheet music and some of whom were accomplished violinists, all on the same page, at the same tempo, with the same twinkle in their eyes. I was impressed and then amazed, watching her technique.

Benny had a fantastic time, constantly busy, happy with his instrument, and really learning not only new songs but new techniques and ornaments, a whole new feeling of playing the violin. For this child who has been working hard on Suzuki repertoire for many years, the fiddling tunes were a delightful break. No less beautiful, but more whimsical, more emotional, more fun! And he could go as fast as he wanted, in practice, I told him. This made it easier for him to tone it down during the performances.

I highly recommend Carol Thomas Downing's Fiddle Fever Camp. We will definitely be there next year -- maybe we'll see you too!

Here are a few pictures from our final performance at Conklin's Irish Rover, an Irish pub in Virginia Beach that hosts live Irish music every first and third Sunday. For more pictures and video, check out my Flickr set for our summer violin camps. The fiddle tunes/pictures are the first nine entries.

Morrison's Jig:



Fiddlers, youngest in front, including Amy Ferebee on guitar:



Other guest musicians included Martha Giles on hammer dulcimer player and singer Marsha Wallace:



The experience was great for Benny and for me too. We have been playing our fiddle tunes all summer, and I'm even working on polishing my tin whistle skills again. A good reminder that having fun with music is the best motivator, as we approach Suzuki Book 6 and all the hours of scales and arpeggios that implies.

Suzuki Summer Camp 2009

I have no superlatives left for the Suzuki teachers at the Academy of Music. Over the years I have ranted and raved about their greatness to the point that I must sound like a broken record, both to them and to the people I'm informing about them. I will tell you this, though: In a world where summer camp has become another way to warehouse your children so you can work, and parents expect very little for the money they pay to get someone to take their kids off their hands for another week of summer "vacation," the Suzuki summer camp at the Academy of Music is a gem. Children learn. A lot. Children experience new things, grow as musicians, have enriching experiences, expand their musical horizons, and come away inspired and informed. Okay, there, apparently I had more to say!

Here are some pictures and a video. More pictures and videos are in my Flickr gallery.

Sadie in her performance on the final day:



Sadie and good buddy Miranda:



The kids learned a cool dance to Musette:



Here's a way even the littlest ones can play along with the Bach Double. This was very cool for Sadie for sure, because she has heard Benny play this a lot. Now she can play a little of it:



Thank you, thank you, as always, Mrs. Ford, Mrs. Morton, Mrs. Van Gomple, and the lady who's been teaching both my kids for the last six months and doing such a fabulous job, Mrs. Stevens! Yay for all of you -- you gave my child a fun and meaningful week and I'm very grateful.

Silly Suzuki: Silly Words to Allegretto

Allegretto can be hard to learn because the sections are so similar and share elements. These words reinforce the ABCB form of the song, which is why the "sticks in my hair" part is repeated, and they are meant to be sung by the teacher and the student, with the teacher singing the part in italics.

Can I play Allegretto with beans in my nose?
Would there be any argument, do you suppose?
Can I play Allegretto with sticks in my hair?
Do you think that my teacher would care?

I don't care what you put in your hair or your nose
Just as long as you know where your fourth finger goes!

Can I play Allegretto with sticks in my hair?
Do you think that my teacher would care?

Silly Suzuki: Silly Words for Go Tell Aunt Rhody

Princess Go Tell Aunt Rhody:

Go tell Aunt Rhody I'm a princess now
Go show her all my shoes and pretty clothes
Tell her I like to play the violin
Tell her I like to play the flute
Go tell Aunt Rhody I'm a princess now
Go show her all my shoes and pretty clothes.



Plant Cell Go Tell Aunt Rhody:

Go tell Aunt Rhody I'm a chloroplast
Go show her all my stacks of thylakoids
Tell her I'm green because of chlorophyll
Tell her I make light into food
Go tell Aunt Rhody how I make the food
Carbon Dioxide, water and the sun.



For those who are keeping score at home: When I'm done posting these, I will make a printer-friendly songbook as a PDF. Until then, you'll just have to cut and paste the words into notebook if you want to print.

Singing Suzuki: Silly Words for Lightly Row

Lightly Row Princess:
Princess says, "Play with me!
At the castle come and see!
We'll ride ponies in the woods
And give them sugar if they're good.
Diamond is my favorite one
Hop on up and have some fun
When we're tired maybe we can
Have some chocolate cake for tea!"



Lightly Row Plant Cell Parts:
Plant cell wall, nucleus
Endoplasmic Reticulum
Vacuoles give shape to cells
And these are all the organelles
Chloroplasts turn light to food
then the mitochondria
Change the food to energy so
Plants can grow up big like me!

Not Very Suzuki At All: Confession of a Burned Out Violin Mom

The Suzuki method is a triangle: the student, the parent, the teacher. For six years of Suzuki I have been an active part of this triangle with Benny and his teachers. I practice with my child, I play my violin along with him, I sit there alert and engaged at the lessons, I drive to group, I take him to workshops, camps, etc. I have put endless hours into this child's music education.

Two weeks ago, I decided I had had enough.

Picture a horse hitched to a stagecoach. The horse's agenda is to go as fast as possible. Never mind the safety of the passengers, the integrity of the coach itself, the driving conditions, the possible turns in the road. Then there's a driver. Her sole purpose is hauling on the reins. That's all she does, just pull back on the reins, with varying levels of frustration and patience, frustration and patience, yank yank yank. Occasionally the driver brings the horse to a halt, climbs down off the coach, and has a heart to heart talk with the horse. She explains all the logical reasons why this breakneck pace is not healthy or conducive to personal growth. During this conversation, the horse nods its head sagely, meanwhile tapping its hoof distractedly. When the stage driver gets back up on the coach again, the horse takes off at the exact same speed as before. Yank, yank, yank.

Horse = Benny. Stage driver = me.

Benny is in book 5. He is playing the third movement of the Vivaldi concerto in G minor. He cannot play this song, he cannot successfully pass this song, by ripping through it at maximum speed again and again. Repetitions at this speed do nothing to help him execute the song. What he needs to do is to slow down to a speed where he can play it absolutely correctly and in tune, and do a thousand repetitions. A thousand? Really? Yes. Suzuki would say, a thousand, in a slow tempo. This trains your hand and brain to correctly do the physical act of playing the song. Then when you take it up to speed, your reflexes take over. If you play it fast, you do not learn to play it right. You learn to play it messy. This is a tough piece, the toughest so far. It's not one he can just talent his way through.

So I said to his teacher, I can't do this anymore, it's so frustrating, I'm in this adversarial situation with my child, it's bleeding into other parts of our day, and I can't do this with joy, I can't approach practice with happiness, when I know that I'm going to fight with him the whole time.

His teacher, bless her heart, told me to take a break, let him practice on his own. That was two weeks ago. So, Benny has been practicing on his own. He is trying. He really is. He has in his mind what mature, independent practicing sounds like. He calls it "self-responsible." If he makes a mistake, he stops, dramatically fixes it, and then goes on. There's a lot of checking intonation with open strings. However, I know that what he's actually doing is teaching himself to play it wrong, and then fix it. You don't learn to play correctly by playing incorrectly and then fixing it, because then when you get to your lesson or in a performance situation, and you can't fix your mistakes, you're just left with the mistakes. Plus you're training your hand to play the wrong note by doing it over and over, regardless of whether you're fixing it or not! Not very Suzuki.

So, here we are. Lesson is tomorrow. He's not being very Suzuki and neither am I. I honestly don't know what the solution is. We can use a metronome, but that involves me standing there enforcing the metronome, measure by measure. Me as enforcer is the dynamic I'm trying to get away from. On the one hand, I want him to learn to practice on his own! When I was nine, I was doing it. On the other hand, I think maybe he isn't capable of practicing on his own yet, and what I'm doing by "taking a break" is just making things worse and being selfish.

I am overthinking it. I am complicating matters. But I just can't get my head around it -- I need help! And may I just say that it doesn't help that Sadie is so easy to practice. Oh yes, the Sadie/teacher/me triangle is fully functional. And maybe that's part of the problem too!

More Suzuki posts: Suzuki violin.

Bach Festival 2008: Suzuki Violin Performance

Benny played with other students from the Academy of Music and Suzuki students from around Hampton Roads, at the Bach Festival, hosted by the Chrysler Museum. Here are a few pictures and videos. It was incredibly wonderful for Benny to have a chance to play with older children, and he really rose to the occasion. Definitely best ever effort at listening, following, and getting into step with the other kids. Seeing him play the Bach Double was very moving for me. I was very proud of him. He has worked very hard, and he also has a beautiful talent. And I love him.

A beautiful setting:



Serious artists:



Focus:



And Bach:

Goodbye Suzuki Book 4

Benny graduated Suzuki Book 4 at the Judy Blank Suzuki Violin Workshop. It was exciting. After he missed his official graduation recital because he was violently ill, it was a relief to be able to put on a suit coat and perform a couple of pieces to an audience, and be a certified, bonafide graduate.

Here he is doing one of his pieces:



So that's the end of Book 4. We're done with the unaccompanied Gavotte in Book 5 now, and polishing the 2nd movement of the Vivaldi in A minor, so now we've just started working on the first page of the G minor. Exciting.

I just want to take this time to unabashedly show off my children's violin position. They are awesome (which means, of course that their teachers are awesome).

Sadie participated in the workshop also. In her master class, we were congratulated on her awesome position, and Judy Blank just encouraged her to use more bow and produce more sound, and she gave us some games to play to help with that. She played Go Tell Aunt Rhody in her master class, and she's now learning May Song. Benny's master class was all about fingering and bowing stuff in the Bach Double -- different ways to practice hard passages. Neither got corrected on position, and I was so completely proud of them for being such cute little snickersnacks. I mean such fine musicians.

Here's Sadie's position:



I mean have you ever seen such a lovely bow hand on a four-year-old?

Here's Benny's:



His bow hand has come a long way, and his vibrato is now really amazing. He's matured so much as a musician in the last year -- I'm floored by him. There are many ways in which Benny is not the most mature 8 year old on the planet. However, being able to pull off that schmaltzy middle section in the third Seitz is something I have never been able to do convincingly, and he does it beautifully.

One more picture from the workshop, on the night of the potluck dinner. Yes, this is how I get results from my four-year-old! Artificial colors and flavors!



So here he is. Eight years old and on to Book 5. Suzuki forever!

"Am I a Violinist Now?"

Little Sadie played in her first concert. Her first time playing in front of people who aren't other moms and dads and kids in our tight-knit Suzuki community. She and Benny played with the STAHR group in the lobby at Chrysler Hall, a warm-up act for the Virginia Symphony and Jennifer Koh. It was AWESOME!

First, let's talk about Sadie. She had total calm, total poise, complete concentration on her instrument. She put her fingers down in the right spot, kept her bow hold exactly perfect, and when she got behind a little bit she caught up without showing distraction or worry on her face. Amazing aplomb, this girl has. I was so proud I could have exploded. Here she is warming up:



Then let's talk about Benny. The last time Benny played with STAHR at Chysler Hall, he engaged in a lot of bow-jousting and eventually lay down on the floor luxuriously and kicked his feet in the air to the rhythm of the other kids' playing. Not a good performance. Last night he was focusing on the word "unison." Syncing up with other kids does not come easy for Benny -- he has to work very hard to be an ensemble player. Last night he did his very best yet -- seeing his bow going up and down in concert with all the other children really made me swell with joy. Here he is:



Sorry the pictures are so bad -- all I had was my phone for pictures and video, as I seem to have lost my camera, along with my mind.

Anyway, I stood and cried all the way through it, just so proud of my tiny little girl and my smart big boy, both doing their very best in their own way. They just astonished me. It was a true delight.

Yesterday's schedule:

9:30 Leave for canvassing with Ahno.
10:00 Canvassing launch
1:00 Pick up kids from home.
2:00 Finish canvassing.
2:30 Drop off packet to organizers.
3:00 Grocery shopping to get food for pot luck.
3:30 Shoe shopping -- Benny's dress shoes were too small.
4:00 Home and pop focaccia in oven.
4:15 Arrive late at STAHR rehearsal and drop off children.
4:20 Home to get focaccia and concert clothes and whatnot.
4:40 Back at violin school, set out food, watch rehearsal.
5:00 Pot-luck dinner with Suzuki family including guests from Harrisonberg violin program.
6:00 Change clothes, change children's clothes, head to Chrysler Hall.
6:45 Arrive Chrysler Hall early, wander about, knit.
7:00 Tuning and warm-up.
7:30 Performance.
8:00 Go into concert hall to see the Virginia Symphony and Jennifer Koh performint Saint Saens' Symphonie Fantastique.

When I settled into my seat at the end of the day, I was exhausted, but in my mind were the voices of my children. On the way down the stairs from the dress circle after their set was over, I was raving about how proud I was of Benny and he said, "Mom, did it blow your heart?" Yes. And Sadie, looking up at me with glowing eyes, so revved up, so electrified by the performance, said this: "Mom, am I a violinist now?"

One more video. The tiny blob right in front of the teacher is Sadie Grace. Benny is behind the piano. I know the video is low quality but doesn't it sound beautiful?

Suzuki Summer Camp

Maybe someday we'll be brave enough to attempt a Suzuki Institute with both the children, but for now there's the Academy of Music's Suzuki Camp. This year Sadie was able to go too:



She was, in fact, the tiniest one:



She was very excited to get her camp t-shirt and even submitted to the indignity of wearing PANTS in order to match the rest of the kids and wear her t-shirt today for the final show.

The teachers are very patient with Benny's behavior. With Sadie, they don't have to work so hard. For every Netzer that drives you insane but flies through the material, there's another Netzer that delights you with her model behavior but moves through the material at an apathetic pace. Something for everyone. Do you want to struggle with getting the kid to play or getting the kid to stop playing?

Summer camp is over for this year. We did Hurrah Players, Princess Dance Camp, Young Chef's Academy, and Suzuki Violin Camp. It's been a long few weeks for these homeschooled children who aren't accustomed to dealing with so many other people, so much structure. It was a learning experience for all of us.

Stockley Gardens Arts Festival

Since Benny was 4 we have been participating in the Suzuki performances at the Stockley Gardens Arts Festival. For one reason and another, we took a two year break from these biannual concerts until last Saturday, when Sadie and Benny played their violins with the rest of the STAHR students in the bright hot Virginia sun.

Sadie wore her special Tuka-Tuka-Stop-Stop t-shirt which I had made specially for her. She loathed it so totally that I had to allow her to wear it over a tutu to get it on her at all. Whatever, it was worth it:



Here's Benny's end of the stage:



Sadie got to play Twinkle as a solo:



And Benny got to play the Bach Double with Mrs. Morton, Pilar, and Monty:



A great experience for them. We loved all of it. Eventually I will get the videos up to YouTube from this show and the recital.

Of course there was also the butterfly face paint and the watermelon ice:



Everything counts in large amounts!

Benny and the Bach Double

I will not downplay the significance of this video for me as a parent. It is supremely satisfying for me to play this song with him. It makes me burst with pride and love. Here's Benny on Violin 2 and me on Violin 1. This video was taken over a month ago -- by this time he has all but learned the Violin 1 part. It's in Book 5 so he hasn't technically been given it as a piece yet, but he's picked most of it up by ear.

Boy, Ballerina, Boston Terrier

The Suzuki method is about learning to deal with distractions.

A Bowling Breakthrough

We had three very Benny moments today.

1. Today at Homeschool Bowling League, which I march myself to by the elbow every week because Benny loves it so much, he bowled a STRIKE. A real strike, straight down the middle of the lane, not using the bumpers to ricochet the ball! It was a glorious moment. He turned around, pumped his fist in the air, and shouted: "GOAL COMPLETED." Not "Yes!" or "Yeah!" or "Strike!" or whatever the other children typically say, but "GOAL COMPLETED." On the way to the van he told me he was going to cross this off his list of goals. The existence of a goal list was news to me, and I asked him what else is on it. The answer: "Bowl a double strike." HAHAHA. Lofty!

2. We were driving through downtown Norfolk and we saw, moored by the Spirit of Norfolk, a really big, cool, tall ship that was clearly from some Scandinavian country, or maybe the Netherlands, or... something? I couldn't remember what the flag was supposed to be from. I asked Benny if he knew, and he thought it might be Norway, but I knew it wasn't Norway. So, anyway, I whipped out the cell phone and tossed it to Benny so we could blog it and then ask Dan. He's pointing the phone out the window, and I'm sitting at a red light saying, "Take the picture! Take the picture!" and he's saying "Where, where?" and pointing the camera all over the place. Now, keep in mind we have just been discussing this flag that we were BOTH looking at and guessing the origin of, and now he can't even find the SHIP to take a picture of it? I said, "Benny, the BIG SHIP that's RIGHT OVER THERE." And he said, "Oh, it was behind that tree." Click. Green light. Move on.

3. Later, it is group violin class. The children are playing a piece (Waltz from Book 2 for those of you Suzukians out there) that requires some swaying and movement -- a piece you're supposed to feel. And Mrs. Stevens said for them to be more "emotional." One of the older girls objected to the use of the word "emotional" because in common usage it is synonymous with crying. So Mrs. Stevens asked them to come up with a better word and then turned to Benny and said, "Benny, do you know another word for emotional?" and Benny said, "What do you mean by emotional?" He delivered the word "emotional" as if it were a word in some strange foreign tongue from a forgotten era. Now, Benny is actually very emotional, and very in touch with his emotions. He sometimes even now recognizes that other people might be having emotions too! But it just seemed like such a hilariously typical hyperlexic response, I had to guffaw. What do you mean by this... emotional? *cackle*

Tomorrow is all about packing for Disney World. Must not forget mouse ears.

The End of the October Violin Practice Challenge!

Tomorrow is the last day to practice your violin and color in pumpkins! Because tomorrow is....



HALLOWEEN.

Here's a picture of Sadie before her violin lesson today, to go along with the picture of Sadie's pumpkin plan, above. Drawn by Sadie, faithfully and dutifully carved by me.



So -- did you color in all your pumpkins? I have to admit that we here at our house did not! I don't know whether it was the Boston trip or Halloween fever, but we did not faithfully keep track of our practices, even though the chart was right on the fridge, so I'm not really sure whether we practiced enough times to get them all colored in, and I'm not going to guess. My feeling is that Benny has more than enough, and Sadie has about half. So, instead of counting, on November 1, I'm going to give them each a certificate that says "MANY MANY" in the space for the number of practices, and call it a month. Honest, oh that's me. Lame, but honest.

I hope that you have been more virtuous at keeping track than I have! I want to give away this medallion to some marvelous child who has spent October sawing madly away on the violin! If you finished the challenge, please send me a message with a link to your blog, and a picture of your child (not necessary, but I'd like to post it!) My address is jackets at rpsd.com.

A little video from Sadie's lesson! Mrs. Ford was having the girls answer back and forth with their violins:

How to Get Your Three-Year-Old to Practice the Violin with Joy

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.

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Interested in more Little Blue Ideas? Try the Idea Box for homeschooling ideas and more.

Suzuki Violin Workshop with Judy Blank

Last weekend, Benny and Sadie attended a workshop with Judy Blank, a fabulous Suzuki expert from Ann Arbor, MI. The workshop included group classes, violin-related art classes, play-ins, and a master class with Mrs. Blank. It was a great experience for them, and also very interesting for me.

Watching the master classes was pretty incredible -- Mrs. Blank was like a doctor -- listening to each child play one song, diagnosing some certain issue, and giving the child a small, specific change that they could make in just a few minutes to improve their playing. Of course, all of this had to happen while using the most positive language, never making the child feel criticized or like there was something wrong. It was amazing how she accomplished this in such a short time with each child -- every one of them made a noticeable improvement. Truly a gift.

Here are some videos and pictures from the weekend:

Sadie was the smallest in her group and also the only girl! Sadie's group class with Mrs. Morton:



Mrs. Morton's early book one class doing Perpetual Motion:



At the first Play-in, playing Allegro like mosquitoes and elephants:



Benny and Mrs. Blank playing the first Seitz in Suzuki Book 4. Mrs. Blank had lots of silly stories to go along with the music, to help the kids understand the phrasing. We particularly enjoyed the one for Gavotte in G Minor which was all about the death of multiple goldfish.



More videos on my YouTube Channel.

Here's Sadie in her art class:



Benny and Sean hanging out between classes:



Sadie's group class:



Benny standing up for Seitz at the final play-in:



Benny and Mrs. Blank:



More photos on my Flickr.

We were very grateful for the experience. It made for a very interesting weekend. I think all the kids had a great time and will be looking forward to next year.