Oak Meadow's adorable depiction of playing the recorder
Today was our first circle time for this new "school year" (and, conversely, our first formal math lesson, which was basically just a review). We started out by gathering in a circle and reciting "Good Morning Dear Earth"...which caused DD8 to immediately run off into the other room and shut the door. When we finished with that, we sang Mary Had A Little Lamb (MHALL). My theory is that it will be easier for both children to play the song if they are super familiar with the tune. DD8 again ran off (screaming gently) into the other room when she realized we were singing.
I finished off our circle time with songs and movements and then brought DS10 to the table where I had our math lesson ready to go (I worked with DD8 on her math after I was done with DS10...she played happily with her toys quietly while he and I did his math).
As soon as we sat down at the table to get ready for math, DD8 wandered into the kitchen to see what we were up to. I figured that since she seemed a bit calmer, I'd ask her if it was OK if DS10 and I could sing MHALL to her. She reluctantly agreed and sat there rather uncomfortably with her hands over her ears while we sang softly. When we were done, we thanked her for listening, to which she grunted and snorted out her "you're welcome!!" (her typical tone when doling out a you're welcome for her).
I am considering this a slight win, because she at least allowed us to sing it TO her. I will try to do this every day, and then eventually I'm hoping she'll finally join in with us. Once I can get her to join in, I'll try the same technique when I add in the recorder.
I'm hoping that eventually all three of us will be playing MHALL together.
She may never truly enjoy the recorder due to her sensitivities, but then again, she might! She's picked it up and blown in it freely before, but it has to be on **HER** terms.
"They" say that DS10 should be playing much more complex pieces by now, and that he should be "graduating" up to harder instruments as well. "They" also say that an 8 year old girl should have picked up the recorder last year and learned at least three songs that year to play all on her own.
I guess this is where Steiner's words come back to give me comfort: it is not desirable to use his writings/lectures on the "typical" development of children at any given age as a rigid measuring stick. We need to work with the children in front of us. We are to work at their pace and work with their learning styles, skills and temperaments.
DD8 is autistic, which manifests in several different ways including sensory sensitivity, and DS10 is somewhat less coordinated and graceful than some his age, carrying his own sensitivities to the table as well. As a result of their unique qualities, my children do different tasks at different rates from what might be "typical" of their grade. Naturally, this also means that in some ways they are *ahead* of their same-age public-school peers, too.
I would say it all probably smooths out in the wash. We just do what we can to keep their curriculum at a "somewhat on par" pace and components as their same-age peers wherever possible. For example, they are both very capable of performing math operations using an "at or above grade" level. Because of this, I ensure their scope-and-sequence is solid and moving along well. They are also both "ahead" of their same-age peers in reading (although DD8 has some issues due to her language delay which makes reading comprehension/explanation a different kettle of fish).
We read a lot of books and listen to a lot of audiobooks each year. I choose to believe it has helped both of our children to develop a love of stories and to grow their vocabulary in wonderful ways. It's also not a bad addition to their imaginations and creative sides, either!
I guess I just wanted to add in this little tidbit today for anyone whose child has a challenge performing any kind of task that is "on the list". I'm really hoping that my daughter will eventually become comfortable playing a recorder in an organized way, but maybe she never will! I have had to make peace with the fact that some tasks just might be too much for our sweet autistic daughter. Maybe she won't play the recorder until she's older, who knows what is going to happen.
I am just going to work with her gently to sort of desensitize her to the idea of playing a recorder. If nothing else, it will hopefully help increase her tolerance level for listening to live music, which can sometimes be a challenge for her. In other words, my attempts may have other pay-offs for her that might not be readily noticed...and that's OK!
My son, on the other hand, is repeating the recorder lessons we did 2 years ago. He was incredibly uncoordinated back then and so it was an incredible challenge for him. He just wasn't ready. We gave it a miss last year because he was in public school for part of the year, and even after we pulled him out he participated in the school music program (which mostly involved singing). I figured that was enough music for him for the year, and that I'd try with an instrument again this year...so here we are.
I realize he may not have tons of interest in music, but that is not going to stop me from introducing him to it anyway and having him familiar with how to play an instrument, being familiar with reading music, qualities of music, types of music, etc.
I feel these are important pieces of knowledge that not only will help him to be a more rounded person, but will also help make neural connections in the brain.
There have been many studies on the power of music to improve the functioning of certain parts of the brain, and especially the coordinating between the left and right sides of the brain.
I want to ensure my kids have every chance to build whatever neural pathways they can...and just because they didn't choose this subject matter, doesn't mean I am going to wait for them to magically develop an interest later on whilst missing out on these young years when those pathways could be enhanced.
I know some of you are still enjoying your summer/winter break, and that's totally cool!
Please don't compare yourself to me or anyone else and feel that you are "behind" because you aren't starting in with lessons in August. We choose to do it this way so that we can "justify" only having a 3 or 4 day school week (although I count even the "off" days, because we often still read, watch documentaries, do physical activities, etc and so I consider them to still be "learning" even on that 5th day). This also allows us to get through all of the material I want to get through for the year in May (while doing it at a more relaxed pace).
If we want to "take a day off", we totally DO and I don't feel the least bit guilty about it.
On the other hand, we could certainly start in September and I'd still not worry one bit about going at a relaxed pace and doing "school" only 3-4 days a week. If we don't get to something, I don't sweat it too much...and I hope you don't, either!
Have a great rest of your week
No comments:
Post a Comment