It's funny how often your children can surprise you. Sita started piano last year, and she really enjoyed it. They had a student recital and she was so brave, struggling to get through "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". She has always been the imaginative, creative, artistic one, singing along with all her favorite songs, painting and drawing everyday. I have tons of her beautiful work tucked away, starting at about age three with her amazing marker work of mosaics.
Sean on the other hand, has never been particularly interested in expressing his imaginative or creative side. I remember distinctly when he was about four years old, I had bought him some Pokemon action figures (he was a big fan of Pokemon, and we had a lot of media in our home at the time to support this interest!) He opened them up and stated "Mom, you know I don't like the pretend stuff!" How true, his play was never the imaginative play I remembered in my own childhood.
But he has other talents. He has always been a builder. From infancy, he loved his wooden blocks, progressing to the Legos, then these wonderful magnetic sticks and balls, to blanket fort building. Last summer he was on a blanket fort building frenzy and for days had an entire floor of our three-story town-home covered in a fort. He used every last blanket, sheet, towel and couch/chair cushion we had in our house. He kept improving and perfecting it, and inviting his friends to come over and judge which version was the best.
He is also a cook and baker, and likes to experiment with his own recipes and combinations (some good, some not so good!) He enjoys getting up early and making me a Seanelet (Sean omelet) as we affectionately call it.
At our local Waldorf homeschool co-op, the children were playing recorders. Sean was really good at it, but hated it. I could see how easy learning music came to him, so I decided to sign him up for music lessons. I gave him a choice of instrument - his first choice naturally was the drums. Not an option in our town-home (I took pity on our neighbors). Piano was more practical. And so we started piano lessons last summer.
He made sure to inform me at every opportunity how much he did NOT want to be taking piano lessons. But he is a really good piano player. He learns very quickly. He has great long fingers. And he plays - every day. A lot. Once he learns a new song as directed by his instructor, he will keep working with it, experimenting, playing it in new ways. "Mom, listen to this, which way do you like it better?" He will play the song in different keys, he will play it faster, slower, he will change parts of it. He will record himself playing and then play with himself in a different key.
We have conversations about the music. What is the mood and how does it change when you change the tempo or the keys? What imagery does the music invoke? I never had music in my childhood. No one in my family played or sang. I wanted to learn, but never had anyone to push me, or to show me by example. I am so pleased that Sean fills our home with his beautiful music. I watch in awe as baby Alina sits at the bench and moves her toddler fingers over the keys gently, just like her big brother.
Family and friends come over and he will play for them. He will stand on the other side of the piano and play the songs backwards (how he does this, I have no idea!) We started with a really cheap tabletop keyboard that someone gave us, the kind you buy at Toys R Us. But we decided to invest in a better electronic piano. For him. And I could see it made him feel special.
He still complains about his lessons, in fact he "hates" them. And if I let him, he would stop taking lessons. But I am going to make the mom decision to keep him in lessons. I see the joy he receives, and I see the new creativity and self-confidence it gives him. Even if he stops lessons in a year or two, he will carry his knowledge, skills and abilities into adulthood. Maybe some day he will decide to come back to it on his own.
For the time being, I am grateful for the sound of his music.
But he has other talents. He has always been a builder. From infancy, he loved his wooden blocks, progressing to the Legos, then these wonderful magnetic sticks and balls, to blanket fort building. Last summer he was on a blanket fort building frenzy and for days had an entire floor of our three-story town-home covered in a fort. He used every last blanket, sheet, towel and couch/chair cushion we had in our house. He kept improving and perfecting it, and inviting his friends to come over and judge which version was the best.
He is also a cook and baker, and likes to experiment with his own recipes and combinations (some good, some not so good!) He enjoys getting up early and making me a Seanelet (Sean omelet) as we affectionately call it.
At our local Waldorf homeschool co-op, the children were playing recorders. Sean was really good at it, but hated it. I could see how easy learning music came to him, so I decided to sign him up for music lessons. I gave him a choice of instrument - his first choice naturally was the drums. Not an option in our town-home (I took pity on our neighbors). Piano was more practical. And so we started piano lessons last summer.
He made sure to inform me at every opportunity how much he did NOT want to be taking piano lessons. But he is a really good piano player. He learns very quickly. He has great long fingers. And he plays - every day. A lot. Once he learns a new song as directed by his instructor, he will keep working with it, experimenting, playing it in new ways. "Mom, listen to this, which way do you like it better?" He will play the song in different keys, he will play it faster, slower, he will change parts of it. He will record himself playing and then play with himself in a different key.
We have conversations about the music. What is the mood and how does it change when you change the tempo or the keys? What imagery does the music invoke? I never had music in my childhood. No one in my family played or sang. I wanted to learn, but never had anyone to push me, or to show me by example. I am so pleased that Sean fills our home with his beautiful music. I watch in awe as baby Alina sits at the bench and moves her toddler fingers over the keys gently, just like her big brother.
Family and friends come over and he will play for them. He will stand on the other side of the piano and play the songs backwards (how he does this, I have no idea!) We started with a really cheap tabletop keyboard that someone gave us, the kind you buy at Toys R Us. But we decided to invest in a better electronic piano. For him. And I could see it made him feel special.
He still complains about his lessons, in fact he "hates" them. And if I let him, he would stop taking lessons. But I am going to make the mom decision to keep him in lessons. I see the joy he receives, and I see the new creativity and self-confidence it gives him. Even if he stops lessons in a year or two, he will carry his knowledge, skills and abilities into adulthood. Maybe some day he will decide to come back to it on his own.
For the time being, I am grateful for the sound of his music.
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