Aiden
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Posts posted by Aiden
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Email Yamaha Greece contact for teachers and price. They usually have staff that can speak English and most would have contacts of in-house or freelance instructors.
Pianos and Acoustic Musical Instruments Department:
Phone: 0030 210 6686206
e-Mail: nikos-k@nakas.gr
(Sales Manager: Mr. Nikos Karamalakis)​
Thank you very much for the tip! I will do that.
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The thing with piano and string instruments is that you can't tell quality from price tag for student or intermediate models. You need someone who can play to sound out the instrument and go by gut feel. The cheap violin I picked was as good as a more expensive student violin. Have you check whatever is your local equivalent of craigslist/garage sale for a violin from kids who have given up? My DS10 used a 1/2 size one when he was three. He was on the 99th percentile for height.
I haven't checked much of anything yet. We just moved to Greece a month ago--with no language training before we arrived, and us immediately beginning to homeschool, as well as get settled and figure out the basics like where to go for groceries--so I don't have much of a personal local network yet. I have no feel for what's available here, or even if there is an English-language equivalent of Craigslist.
This also only came up yesterday, so I'm still trying to determine how serious she is about it. I just didn't want to ask her a bunch of questions trying to find out if she's serious and end up getting her excited about learning the violin if the consensus was that it would be better to wait a few years. Now that it seems that starting early may be a good idea if she's really interested, I'll ask her a few more questions and, depending on her answers, start asking around to find out if there may be a teacher able and willing to teach one so young.
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It would help a lot if I could sew. Not just sew, really, but make or modify patterns. I'm plus size, and that size clothing isn't always readily available in the places I live, but very nice, inexpensive cloth often is. If only I could turn it into something well fitting and flattering ... or even just alter clothes I do buy off the rack that don't fit quite right.
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My dd started Suzuki violin at 4 and my son started Suzuki piano at 5. It has been GREAT for my kids. Both still play at 11 - my violinist and 15 (today!) - pianist. My oldest has finished Suzuki repertoire and is doing great with music. He also studies voice and guitar. And I cannot tell you what a boon to his voice study his piano background is. My youngest just started voice trailing her brother's lesson. The only reason the teacher would start her is her violin training. He said she works like a high schooler.
I also took 7 years of Suzuki violin growing up. I am NOT a musician, but that is one thing in my childhood I thought was great!
That said, I would not start with a kid who was resistant. Early childhood classes (like Kindermusik) were perfect lead ins to success with a Suzuki program.
Possibly more importantly, I would not start a young child with a PARENT who was resistant. If your 5 year old is begging to play and you don't want to be intimately involved with your child's musical education 5-7 days a week, I wouldn't start. Practice the early years is very much a team affair. If you start with a young kid, know it will be a long haul. Know that the first year is mostly about making a habit about getting to the instrument every day, even if only a few minutes. Know that kids aren't always self motivated, even about things they like. It's very much a marathon, not a sprint. If you are feeling indifferent or not excited about starting early, I would wait until 8-10. And even at that age, many kids need help with practice to be successful. Not every day will be fun. It's like learning reading, math, or anything. It's a process that takes a while. We've ended up treating it like school here.
I am concerned about this as well. I would love for her to play an instrument and to play it well. However, I have this bad habit of loving the idea of something, starting it, and then not following through well. We're still establishing a routine here, including a school routine--she's only a Ker, after all; it's not like we have any kind of well-oiled school routine--and even the basics like shopping can be a challenge while we're adjusting. And, on top of all that, we're coordinating to arrange for a speech evaluation because we're pretty sure she'll need speech therapy. I'm not sure I realistically could add another "every day" item to our list right now.
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My children started piano lessons at age 6.5 (first grade). Their current instructor teaches Suzuki method to younger children and a hybrid Suzuki-traditional method when she feels the child is ready to learn to read music. Most of her students are ages 5 through adult, although she does teach at least one 4 year old. She teaches younger students at a slower pace and requires more parental participation.
I think age 5 is a good age for Suzuki-style violin lessons (many children start younger). It is on the young side for traditional method. Could you take her for a trial lesson? The instructor should be able to help you locate a reasonably priced violin in the correct size.
A quick internet search tells me that I may not be able to find a Suzuki violin teacher here at all. I found one website of an association of Suzuki teachers in Europe, and it lists only one in Greece--for guitar (which she may also enjoy, but the violin is the one she's mentioned a few times). I assume not all Suzuki teachers are part of that association, though, so I'll have to ask around. I'm too new here to have a good network yet, but I'll start doing some research.
I'd love to take her for a trial lesson, or to some kids' event where she could try out a few different instruments and see if she likes any of them. I just asked her about it again, and she said that she does want to learn to play it, but she was a bit taken aback when I told her that it would take work and practice. She said "But you just hold a stick and rub it against the strings!" :lol: Maybe we'll have a few more conversations before I pursue anything too much ...
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My dd started Suzuki violin at age 3.5. I cannot say that is a good age for everyone but was great for dd. She still plays at 12 yo. I think there are advantages to early training and late training. Part is personality, of course. One huge advantage to starting young is that kids tend to not get bored with playing Twinkle for a full year. It is a lot harder to sell Twinkle to a 9yo. Dd also simply does not remember her life before playing violin. So, we have never had the practice battles lots of people struggle with. It is simply part of every day like meals, getting dressed, and brushing teeth. If your dd has interest, I say go for it. The worst that happens is that she wants to move on at some point.
That has a lot of merit, too! We're past the "doesn't remember life before violin" stage, but habits are better formed earlier than later. I wonder if there are any Suzuki teachers here? That's another thing I'll have to research.
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I think Suzuki starts that young. Really it depends on the child. I've known very young children who could do instrument lessons. Mine weren't ready. We started a few times. Oldest at ages 3 ( for 8 months piano), 7 ( one year violin), 12 ( drums and guitar 5 years). Middle did piano at 4 (because it was concurrent with brothers violin) and guitar at 8.
With my group, we would have been better off following the public school instrument schedule of starting at age 8 and just making it a mandatory part of school for several years.
But that was our experience. Your dd has a different personality.
Have you gone local orchestra events targeting children? Ours has time for children to try out instruments as well as special concerts.
Thanks for your experience:) I honestly don't believe my daughter is ready yet. I like the sounds of your public school schedule--wait until they're a little older, then make it mandatory for long enough for them to really give it a good go. I think that would have been the best approach for me as a child. It may be too early to tell if that's a good one for my daughter, though.
We haven't gone to any orchestra events at all. I've not had much exposure to classical music, and my husband would rather do almost anything else than attend a classical concert (though I'm sure his opinion would change if our daughter were performing in it). I'm not sure if there is anything available here that targets children. We just moved here, and there's a language barrier (we're Americans who just moved to Greece), so it'll take some research and possibly some time to find out. I'll look into that, though!
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Yesterday I was discussing with my 5-year-old daughter whether she'd like to take a class outside the home, and if so, what. Frankly, I was thinking swimming (we want her to learn), or dance or gymnastics (for the exercise and for the opportunity to meet other kids).
She announced that she wants to take a class in which she learns to play the violin. She also mentioned the trumpet, but she kept going back to the violin. This may just be a passing interest that she'll be over in a day or two, but then again, maybe not.
Music is by far her favorite subject in school--she seems to enjoy much of our work, but when she balks, all I have to say is, "After we finish this, you can do a music lesson," and she's suddenly very cooperative and even excited to get back to work. We're using Calvert's Discoveries in Music, which is DVD-based, so she may just like the videos. However, she has noted repeatedly when she sees a violin and has said that she likes its sound.
She seems too young to me for musical training. She's still learning to read words; reading music seems a bit much to ask. Fine motor control for writing is developing; fine motor control for using a violin bow seems even more difficult (but maybe that's just because I don't know how to do it myself). But I also just read on a website that someone recommends starting a child with the violin at the age of 3 ... maybe that's just because the people at that particular website sell children's violins :glare:
For context--if/when she starts playing an instrument, the goal will not be to become a professional. It will be enjoyment and the cognitive benefits that seem to come along with musical training. Of course if she became passionate about it, then I would make it more of a priority as well. If she didn't like it, we'd require her to keep at it for a while (she dislikes things she's not good at, so I'd expect her to be excited about it, realize it was hard, announce she couldn't do it and didn't want to anyway, and then begin enjoying it as she improved), but eventually let her stop if it became clear that she really didn't like it.
So ... if you play a musical instrument, at what age did you start? If your child plays, at what age did your child start? Was that a good age for it, or do you think it would have been better to start younger/older? Would your answer change if the instrument in question was expensive, not already owned, not available for rent in your area, fragile, and required replacing as the child grew (and the child grows like a weed, already the height of an average child 3 years older)?
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I think it's a pretty common phrase, and in context, I understand it.
However, when I read only the title of the thread, my first thought was in regard to wardrobe--"dressing down" as opposed to "dressing up." Think versatile clothes--you can dress it up by adding sparkly jewelry and heels, or dress it down by adding a scarf and boots. I think that's the more common usage now, at least among my circles. Maybe that isn't the more common widespread usage, though, since no one else has mentioned it.
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Avast is again blocking threads--this time every thread I try to pull up to get ideas about good Christmas books or biographies of St. Nicholas.
Two specific examples:
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I voted based on what I estimate I'll have spent by the end of the year. I've bought all the curricula, all the supplies needed for the art curriculum, and the books I need for the first half of the year for history and literature (plus a few that I'll use later in the year). I'll probably still spend a good bit more on literature and history books, though, since I buy those a few weeks at a time.
Of course, if we don't slow down on the math and language arts curricula, I'll be buying more of that too. My daughter is mastering the material faster than expected, so if she doesn't slow down, we'll end up spending another $200 or so on more curricula--I plan to keep doing it over the summer, but slowly (2-3 days/week instead of 5) to minimize the summer brain drain.
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When you say "just curricula," do you really mean just curricula, or are you including supplies (art supplies needed for the curriculum or for history projects, books required or recommended by the curricula, etc)? I have a pretty good handle on my overall expenses, but not on "just curricula." I also probably spend an heckuva lot more than many homeschoolers because the library isn't an option here--if we're going to read a book, we have to buy it, and I like living books. If those expenses don't count toward the total you're looking for, my total will be a lot lower. (I haven't voted yet.)
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I didn't vote.
I would have a very difficult time choosing--I'm a "luxuries" girl; the nicer hotel in Atlanta would really factor in. However, it also takes me a while to start relaxing and feeling like I'm on vacation, so 3 days wouldn't do it. Honestly, I'd probably delay the trip a year so I could spend 6 days in Atlanta, but I understand that given your circumstances, with the holidays and missing loved ones, you want to go now. In that case, I guess ... Gatlinburg, assuming the hotel was nice enough that I'd feel comfortable in it.
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My younger daughter when 2 was potty training and liked her Elmo potty to be right in the room where she was playing. My FIL mocked her, saying "Oh, you're going to pull down your pants and poop right THERE, right in FRONT OF EVERYONE?" -- mocking voice and all, then proceeded to criticize my husband in front of the kids for letting her have her potty there. She went from using the potty and liking it to going on the floor for 3 weeks, hiding behind chairs while sobbing. Never underestimate the "subtle" messages that grandparents can send when they don't respect boundaries.
I would have hit the ceiling! I doubt he'd be around my kid anymore at all after that, at least for a while--even when I'm there, I can't always prevent them from saying things, only try to do damage control after. Your poor daughter! Poor YOU, having to deal with that kind of regression and (if you're at all like me) getting furious at your FIL all over again every time she got upset about it or didn't use the potty!
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That sounds pretty mean. Her post must have touched a nerve. I didn't read it that way at all.
I do have parents and in-laws who are very bad at respecting boundaries. I have to over respond in order for them to realize I'm serious and respect our boundaries at all. I've learned to skip the unclear, polite stuff and make my boundaries clear. I don't threaten consequences until they've violated our boundaries, and after I tell them what the consequences will be, they get one more chance. But, yes, this is a clear violation of boundaries and I would respond accordingly.
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No, you are not being too sensitive. I would be very blunt: "We're homeschooling our daughter. You aren't." Unless, of course, you want their help with homeschooling at some point along the way. I would not send work, and if I caught wind that they were working with her after I'd specifically told them not to, she wouldn't be around them anymore without me or her father present.
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I agree that you're going to have to address the situation with your family members--probably with all of them.
In the area where I grew up, medical information may be safeguarded from strangers, but not from the church. And everyone knew and accepted that--it was assumed that if you shared information with a Christian and didn't ask for privacy, you wanted anybody and everybody to pray about it. It would end up on prayer lists all over town. Especially if they believe that you are a Christian as well, then it probably didn't even occur to them that you don't want that information shared. In many cases, even if privacy were requested, there would be "unspoken" prayer requests or requests for prayer for "a relative who's having a health issue." If your extended family is from a similar church culture to my hometown, your relatives will be flabbergasted by the idea that you don't want every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the church praying for every splinter your kid gets.
You'll have to be explicit that you don't want your relatives to request any kind of prayer for you or to discuss your family with anyone else, period. And it still won't take long before church members start praying for your family every time any of your relatives has an "unspoken."
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You can do whatever you'd like here and not be doing anything wrong. However, it's very kind of you to think about their excitement and not want to steal their thunder. I'd talk to them about it and coordinate announcement dates however they wanted, as long as I was confident that it wouldn't end up with me stealing their thunder by trying to wait and being found out just before their announcement.
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It sucks to deal with difficult family members.
Hopefully she'll be completely unable to make the Friday date, and since she isn't coming, there will be no need for her to be included on ANY future emails about this event ...
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I agree with Farrar in that I prefer the direct approach. If the situation is not important, and I'm unlikely to have to deal with the person again, I may just let it go. However, if it is important, or I am going to be dealing with the person again, I calmly and politely press for what I need or point out the illogic of their platitudes. I like the way you phrased it and the suggestions Farrar gave for phrasing.
The important thing to remember is that you teach people how to treat you. Every time you let it pass without pushing back, you cement the other person's understanding that it's OK to treat you that way. It's best to push back immediately and consistently in hopes that the person will learn to treat you like an intelligent adult so that a real relationship of equals can develop.
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I think I've been broken by my time overseas. When I lived in the US, I wouldn't have thought twice about going to a protest. I accidentally found myself in the middle of one outside the Supreme Court while walking from one work appointment to another one day. A protestor lay down on the sidewalk in front of me, and I just stepped over her and kept going. It never occurred to me that it could be dangerous.
Then I moved overseas. I was in Egypt when the protests turned into revolution, and my daughter and I were evacuated for three months. I was in Cambodia just before protests resulted in tanks on the streets, and I was concerned for friends there. In Kosovo, there were protests that were pretty peaceful, but by then I knew that if there was a protest, I wanted to be far away. Now, in Greece, I get daily emails telling me times and places where protests are scheduled, and you couldn't pay me enough to go to those areas at those times (especially the ones put on by anarchists).
So, no, I doubt that I'd go to a protest even in the US now, and there's no way I'd take my daughter. However, I can recognize rationally that many protests probably would be perfectly safe ... you just can't always tell which ones won't be until you're in the thick of it.
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That would drive me insane. I'm not sure I could handle that, either--we most likely would be some of the ones who just wouldn't come back, and maybe try it again after the steep dropoff in grade 2, or see if there was another league in a better area that we could join instead.
I guess it wouldn't be possible to increase the number of volunteers enough to have volunteers policing the parents, huh? Ideally, there would be volunteers who wouldn't necessarily be responsible for the kids, but who would do things like send the unattended child off to stand by the negligent parent (with the child welcome to participate when the parent comes back to the group to supervise).
At the very least, I'd start enforcing the standing-in-line rules myself, whether their parents were nearby or not: "No, little girl, you cannot break in line in front of my daughter so that you can stand with your friend. If you wanted to be with your friend, you should have gotten in line with her in the first place." Depending on the reactions of the other parents, that may lead to its own problems, though ...
I don't see any good solutions to this one. Ugh.
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I have no fashion sense whatsoever, so my vote for may actually need to be interpreted as a vote against, but I LOVE the dress and I LOVE the idea of wearing it with a cute denim jacket and boots. Love it, love it, love it!
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The bill is not presented in the article. The bill has nothing to do with guns. It is a mental health care bill.
You need to read the bill. It has nothing to do with guns. The word "gun" is never used in the bill.
Yet, if the proposed bill really does loosen health privacy laws enough that others could become involved, and it really could prevent suicides or mass shooting events, it is relevant to the gun control debate, even if it isn't specifically about guns. Lots of people have said that what we need instead of, or in addition to, gun control laws is a revamping of our mental health system. A mental health bill can indeed be relevant to guns even if that is not its primary purpose--and that is how it was framed in the OP and in the linked article. Insisting that it's a mental health bill does nothing to change its potential relevance to the gun debate.
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Please tell me everything will be ok
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
You're fine. International moves are hard.
If your kids need the consistency of school in this time of transition, give them what they need by doing the minimum. Otherwise, feel free to do the minimum or stop altogether for a while as you choose. They're young. Only the second grader needs any school right now, and if you miss a few weeks, she'll catch up. Don't stress about it; you have plenty of other things to stress about.