rzberrymom
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Posts posted by rzberrymom
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My DD's spelling didn't improve until I got really serious about WWE. Once she started doing copywork and dictation everyday, the spelling really started to fall into place (that was about a year after we had completely finished OPGTR)
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We are doing something similar by using the green dolciani (new edition) prealgebra and Alcumus for dd8 with Singapore Standards. She does a little Alcumus every day. Singapore is 3-4 days/ week and PreA is 1-2. We do math an hour a day. She usually completes 3 exercises in Singapore or 1 lesson in Dolciani + some IP each day.
There are amble samples for JA online, you could give it a try- you don't have anything to lose.
Your day sounds like a much more interesting math day than ours! I'm excited to try all this stuff by the AoPS people--someone posted this wonderful talk, and it really persuaded me to slow things down and spend way more time each day on tackling the word problems: http://mathprize.atfoundation.org/archive/2009/Rusczyk_Problem_Solving_Presentation_at_Math_Prize_for_Girls_2009.pdf
I'll have to check out Alcumus too. Gosh, I'm so thankful for these forums!
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I don't know.
But I am thinking of one day doing Jousting Armadilos. But considering we are just start Singapore 4A now and Beast Academy 4A now is not the time.
I decided to backtrack a bit and give Beast Academy a try, before moving her on from Singapore 5. I checked out the samples, and I liked the problems a lot better than the Singapore CWP. If it's too repetitive, I'll save it for my little one.
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When we were dealing with a move, a friend encouraged us to find the best yard/natural spaces because homeschooling means these spaces become your laboratory. I am so glad I listened to her. :)
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Ok, I'll definitely ask her what the songs are teaching her in terms of musicality.Sometimes the "simple"pieces are deceptive...it sounds like your dd's technique is very well developed, and it's my hunch that your teacher is working to develop the musicality beyond that technical skill. If she's assigning 5 pieces a week and 3 of them are the types that your dd enjoys more (more challenging) and two of them are easier then the teacher is not really out to get her or trying to hold her back.
As far as the repeating of the easier ones, I'm guessing that those are not the songs that your dd spends the majority of those hours of practice working on. Your dd does not see the point of them and spends her time on the pieces she enjoys more. Speaking from experience, both as a former student who did the same thing and as a current teacher who sees her students still trying that.
I'd encourage you to stick with your dd's teacher. Focus on the abilities your child has already developed. It sounds as though she is very, very advanced for one so young. This obviously is partly due to your dd's hard work, but it also takes a teacher that knows what she is doing to guide your student this far. Trust the process, even when you don't understand it. This teacher did not get to 30 years and oodles of happy students in her profession without understanding different types of students and different levels of motivation.
One other thing to think about is that piano lessons have opportunity to develop much more in your daughter than piano proficiency. Use these simple songs that are not so fun to encourage your dd in perseverance, in working just as hard on things that are not fun as things that are.
If you are still uncomfortable, try to talk to your dd's teacher when your dd is not present. She may feel hesitant to tell you certain things in front of your dd for fear of discouraging her. For example, (not saying at all that this was the problem, but I will use the example of technique). If your dd's teacher said that her technique needed strengthening, would your dd get home and cry because all these hours of practice were not producing the perfection she demanded of herself? Sometimes...often... highly motivated students are like that! Rather than sending your dd into 3 hours of frenzied, determined practice every day, the teacher may intuitively know that your dd would be best served by reminders that she's doing great and moving in the right direction, while giving these simple pieces to begin to work on any weaknesses. The types of students that I personally do not hesitate to tell the parents that something needs work, with the student present, are the students who either a) do not practice as I have told them to, or b) spend lots of time playing things in the way they deem best, while refusing to address the rhythm or technical, or whatever issues that I've pointed out for several months. In other words, they are the students who are not progressing because they are refusing to do what I've asked them to do. It does not sound at all to me like your dd is in that camp!!
Great job, Mama, on raising such a hard working and determined young lady! She will go places some day-likely in music, but also in other areas, because of her strength of character.
The thing is, the songs are not slightly easier--they're the kind of song she would have done a year ago. I'm trying really hard to have faith in this process, but I guess I can see where my DD is coming from in being discouraged by that. She definitely doesn't spend the majority of her time on them, but it still does take a decent amount of time to slog through them and then maintain the quality until lesson day comes around. The kid has definitely figured out perseverance already, but I think even I would have trouble going along with these assignments.
But, I will try harder to trust the process!
Yes, I usually talk to the teacher when my DD is not present. The funny thing is that my DD prefers to get some negative feedback from the teacher but can't get it from her--she senses that the teacher's constant praise is fake--she has told me repeatedly that she would prefer to hear when a song is not good, so that when she is praised for a song she knows that it REALLY is good. Perhaps it's the age, where kids start picking up on adults being less than forthcoming. Point is, you're definitely right that the only way I can get the full story from the teacher is when we're away from my DD.
Thank you for giving me stuff to think about--I won't dump the teacher. :) In any case, I probably shouldn't teach my DD to jump ship the minute things get a little tricky with a teacher!
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Any chance she is trying to perfect her tone and phrasing? I am running out of excuses. :)
What are her credentials? If your daughter is so motivated, look for the best!
She was recommended by some folks that do the ABRSM testing here, she's had oodles of students for 30 years here, and she's really popular. Maybe I should have found out more!
My DDs take on it at dinner tonight is that because she's been doing it a certain way for 30 years, she's determined to keep doing it that way even when my DD asks her to not make her slow down. Writing this out, maybe I do need to find someone else.
I'll ask her about tone and phrasing this week too. Thanks!!
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It could just be the age.
My DD learned to read at 6 and would kind of grudgingly do whatever language arts work I gave her. But her LOOOOOVE of reading only took off at 8 1/2--it felt like one day she was complaining about assigned reading time, and the next day she wouldn't come out of her room because the 400 page novel was too good. It just clicked.
I would just keep doing the good stuff you're doing--lots of read-aloud time snuggled up together (so she can follow along), plenty of books on tape, etc. As long as there aren't distractions that are more exciting (lots of tv time, video games, etc.), it will happen in time. :)
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That's great. Sometimes it's harder to keep good hand position with difficult pieces for kids because they simply haven't played enough years to have the muscles built up. I have seen funny things happen with my son's hands with fast Kabalevsky etudes, so that's why I was wondering which pieces she was working on. Based on what you said so far, this doesn't seem to be an issue.
I don't see any other reason to hold a kid back.
Ah, got it. The fastest thing she's had to do is an Etude by Louis Kohler--she learned it in a day, didn't complain about her hands at all, and the teacher let her move on after 1 week with that one. It's weird--it's the really simple things out of a Leonard Piano Solos book that she'll make her repeat for several weeks, while the Etude seems to satisfy the teacher and she gets to move on. My DD is kind of convinced the woman is out to get her. lol
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I would do anything to encourage that! As a violin teacher I give anything to teach this student! Isn't that what we want to develop in our musicians? :-)
I know, right?? And to me, this is also what is so great about homeschooling! I'm trying so hard to not let the teacher chase the joy away. I've thought about taking a 6 month or year-long break from lessons, just to let her play and play and play joyfully! (and maybe look for a teacher that "gets it" in the meantime)
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My DD used it when she first started formal math--she liked that if she showed she had mastery of something, it let her move on and only slowed her down if she wasn't getting a concept. She was able to move quickly through the first several years and get to the proper level, while still covering all the necessary basics.
I wasn't all that thrilled about a little kid being on the computer, so I switched her to Singapore once she got to her true level. Singapore and EPGY felt so similar to me that it felt repetitive to do both. To accelerate Singapore, I preferred to add IP, CWP, MEP, Life of Fred, etc.
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The big concern is to make sure muscles/strength is developing alongside. I have seen kids break fingers or not have proper hand positioning playing difficult pieces. Under that scenario, I would slow a child down and work on sculpting the hands well before moving on. Sometimes it's hard to do both (difficult pieces and nuance) at the same time.
Her teacher has told her that her hand positioning (in the igloo shape) is perfect, and she's mentioned a couple times how relieved she is that my DD is doing it properly and wouldn't need to break any bad habits. Is that where the muscle/strength comes in?
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I do see one concern with going too fast, and that is that the repertoire needs to be picked appropriately for the child's hand size at the time. Pianists are at risk for repetitive motion injuries, and stretching too much, too early, can make that more likely, so maybe the teacher is trying to give your DD some "rest weeks" with less strenuous repertoire on the physical side, since she is practicing for what would normally be quite long periods for a child her age. I would expect the teacher to verbalize that to you, though. It is also possible that the teacher is picking some of the simpler repertoire to focus on musicality or other skills that are less technical in nature. Again, though, that should be clearly stated as to WHY this is the choice for your daughter-what the goal for each piece is.
I don't necessarily see a red-flag in what your DD's teacher is doing. I do think that she needs to explain WHY she's making these choices and actively involve your DD in the process. If she can't do that, you need to look elsewhere. Most teachers rarely if ever see an independently motivated child and therefore don't realize that a young child can really be THAT driven-and some adults are almost scared by drive and determination in a child. You may want to look, if you have a college nearby, for a faculty member simply because music majors ARE those independently motivated kids, grown up, and therefore they're used to teaching the self-motivated student (and also to teaching adults who are going to demand an explanation as to WHY an unusually easy piece is being picked).
Ok, this is definitely what I needed to hear. I'll press her more about whether it's a hand size issue. I kind of think it's not--she's only working on ABRSM Syllabus level 3 songs (she's just now having to move her hands to another spot in the middle of the song).
I did think about the technical skills issue. Her igloo shape hands have been perfect according to the teacher, and her fingering has been good. I've been wracking my brain to figure out what these songs could be teaching her--I haven't been able to see it at all, but I'm no expert. lol
This morning, I talked with my DD about how she probably needs to talk with her teacher this coming week about how discouraging this is for her. It hasn't been working for me to try to convey it, as she gave her 5 new songs this week and two were very simple (and my kiddo is mad).
I kind of think you hit the nail on the head about not realizing a kid can be self-motivated. And in that way, maybe it really will help for my DD to assert herself.
I hate to have to get another teacher (she's 5 minutes from my house, she's very gentle and my DD really likes her otherwise). But I like the idea of checking with the local colleges if we can't get this figured out.
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I used to live there--nearly everyone I knew had at least one wage earner commuting off the island. The commute from the south (Tacoma) end is the much easier crossing--it goes right into Tacoma with a quick crossing. And the south end is cheaper because the jobs are much more plentiful in Seattle, making the the north end more expensive. Vashon is very do-able to a Tacoma job.the thing about living somewhere you have to use the ferry - you end up spending everything you saved on housing on commuting. vashon is nice, but I sure wouldn't want to live there unless i never needed to go anywhere.
I'm not sure I'd want to teach in the Tacoma schools though. :(
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Oh good, a gentle way to start sounds great!
(And it helps that it's from the Arbor School--we live not far from them, and my DD has been BEGGING me to let her try to get in there. This is the next best thing!)
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My DD (almost 9) is obsessed with piano and plays for 60-90 minutes on most days. She just devours everything her teacher gives her and gets a huge thrill with each new song.
Her teacher insists on slowing her down though, and my DD finds it really discouraging--she'll give her some big, difficult song that is so inspiring for my DD, and then the next week she'll give her something very simplistic and embarrassingly simple for my DD. My kiddo will grudgingly plod through it, and then she'll often be asked to repeat it for a few more weeks.
I asked the teacher about it, and she says she's concerned about rushing through things. I asked her if there were concerns about technique or something else that would warrant the slow down, but that wasn't it.
Thing is, my kid doesn't see it as rushing--she just wants to play all the time, and so she naturally goes through things quickly. I thought it could be that this woman hasn't dealt with many homeschoolers, and so maybe she's not used to kids with time on their hands. lol
So, for those with experience with piano, would there be a good reason to slow a kid down? Is there something I'm missing?
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My good friends live in Tacoma near the University of Puget Sound (North Tacoma), and it's very safe and quiet--to me, it feels like a small town near the university. It seems very affordable to me, for a university area. If you don't mind a ferry ride, Vashon Island is across the water and the coolest place ever!
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My DD likes to have it quiet when she's practicing the piano, so I would put it where your kiddos can get some solitude when they need it.
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Xposted over at the Accelerated Learner board, but I'm new to this and think this forum may have made more sense...
Singapore has worked really well for my kiddo. She's about 3/4 of the way through 5A, and we use IP, CWP, MEP and even some Life of Fred thrown in to make sure we're covering everything.
But, she's bored by Singapore 5. She flies through the work, and we're really just kind of going through the motions at this point. She does understand that she has to cover all this stuff and is not resisting, but she's been begging me to start on pre-A. She'll say things like "these word problems are making me do a little algebra...I know I'm doing it mom...come on, let me start algebra..."
So, would Jousting Armadillos be ok to start before she finishes Singapore 5? And then she could finish 5 more slowly while she starts on JA. Or would we quickly get into trouble because she hasn't covered certain things yet?
She loooooves Penrose the Mathematical Cat, and from what I've seen of the sample problems, Jousting Armadillos seems to have the same feel to it. But, would there be something better than JA to do with a kid like this? Thank you thank you!
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Singapore has worked really well for my almost 9-year old. She's about 3/4 of the way through 5A, and we use IP, CWP, MEP and even some Life of Fred thrown in to make sure we're covering everything.
But, she's bored by Singapore 5. She flies through the work, and we're really just kind of going through the motions at this point. She does understand that she has to cover all this stuff and is not resisting, but she's been begging me to start on pre-A. She'll say things like "these word problems are making me do a little algebra...I know I'm doing it mom...come on, let me start algebra..."
So, would Jousting Armadillos be ok to start before she finishes Singapore 5? And then she could finish 5 more slowly while she starts on JA. Or would we quickly get into trouble because she hasn't covered certain things yet?
She loooooves Penrose the Mathematical Cat, and from what I've seen of the sample problems, Jousting Armadillos seems to have the same feel to it. But, would there be something better than JA to do with a kid like this? Thank you thank you!
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Do you have a Kindle or other reader? I normally don't read to my kids with one, but it is one way to get German books cheaply. Amazon has decently priced ebooks: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_3?rh=n%3A133140011%2Cn%3A%21133141011%2Cn%3A154606011%2Cp_20%3AGerman%2Cn%3A155009011&bbn=154606011&ie=UTF8&qid=1389035483&rnid=154606011This is really interesting! I'd never considered this, but I definitely will! It's just hard because we have access to so many more English books than German (e.g., library, where you don't have to *buy* every single one!) that I'm not sure we'd have much variety in our reading if I only read German books.
I got some ebooks for free through Project Gutenberg too. Often libraries have ebooks in other languages too.
Does there happen to be a German Saturday School anywhere near you? They have good lending libraries, but the teachers and other parents have also let my daughter borrow books.
And I got some cheap books from a thread someone posted a few weeks ago. ABC Kinderladen has books marked 50% off right now, and shipping was really cheap since it could go Media Mail. http://www.abckinderladen.com/
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Any other input from parents who've radically accelerated their children in math? How do you keep up with the purchasing of curriculum?:(
I started out my daughter on Stanford EPGY for this reason--I had spent a ton on different curriculums, but then found out the early stuff was too easy for her and it went to waste. The EPGY interface is really out-of-date, but it was fantastic that it accelerates if the kid gets the concept and slows down if they need more help (that made math feel much less tedious for her). And once she sped through the eqivalent of 3 years of EPGY, it was a super easy transition to Singapore (they seemed very similar to me).
Only downside is that I wasn't thrilled with a little kid being on the computer for math. So, we also played with Penrose, math wizardry books, etc.
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If it were me, I would skip the translating if possible. My hubby used to translate English books to German all the time, until my daughter finally complained that it made learning to read in German harder for her since she couldn't follow along. She was young at the time, and I didn't even realize that she was following along! Even though he's not interested in reading it yet, could it be that he's attempting to follow along and isn't seeing the words that match up with the German? Just another thought. :)
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and also this one having a sale
http://www.abckinderladen.com/ that has quite a lot of children's books
Thanks so much for the link!!!
Does your homeschool Group allow 4 year olds with out older siblings?
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
This is rampant where I am too. Over the years, it became so discouraging to my kiddo to watch one after another of her homeschooled friends head off to public kindergarten and 1st grade that we asked for no one under 6 years old in our science co-op.