May 2011: What are they doing now? - Page 2

[dessismama]

Most amazing day today! DS, just 12, took part in this really hard competition where at the final round he had to play with professional chamber musicians. It was amazing--he did it and beautifully, winning over 16+ year olds who are themselves outstanding musicians. The musicians told him they felt he was already a part of the group, after the very first time through. They played together the first movement of the Borodin string quartet, DS described it as "bittersweet"....

And the stamina he showed for a day that started with an 8 a.m.lesson, 12 noon final exam in music theory where he got a perfect score, then an orchestra and chamber music rehearsal before the competition... a day that ended with a performance around 8 p.m. Wow! Very proud mama moment!!!

[pigpokey]

DS6 is really into cartooning and writing stories, and has been for some time.  He starts Level 4 gymnastics team officially at the end of the month, so his training hours will go from 4 to 9 per week. 

DD7 was in a talent show this weekend and did one of her dance solos.  They have a recital in 2 weeks and DD is in about six dances.

My kids do swim team, gymnastics, and dance and May is the mighty collision between the xenith of the dance year (extra practices leading up to the recitals), the last weeks of the school year schedule for gymnastics and the onset of neighborhood Summer League swimming.  ¡Olé!  Yes in the South summer league practice starts TODAY and they will be racing starting next week (from their perspective) with the mock meet / time trial and weekly thereafter for real dual meets.  It's over July 1 and they pull an all-star team for State.  We won't go to any summer league practices until later in the month but will continue with their regular coaches and then just do the summer team in June.  I really wish summer league took place mostly in the actual summer.

Home school rolls along during the summer.  I am a bit more relaxed in May about it than any other month  because of the aforementioned collision.  They are studying math, spanish, cursive, spelling, and listening to Bill Bryson's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Short_History_of_Nearly_Everything

[loraxc]

DD is home from school today with a bug and asked to do "school," so I pulled out a 4th-grade reading workbook I got but had never given her. She is finding it easy and getting all the passage questions correct. Her reading achievement has never been tested that I know of, so I've been curious if she really comprehends on the level she chooses to read (3rd-7th grade), especially since we have gotten the "Well, these precocious readers can decode, but they don't actually COMPREHEND...." line a few times.

[ollyoxenfree]

April was the cruelest month, or at least pretty grueling, for our family. We had a few things to celebrate, but mostly stressful stuff, including a health crisis in our immediate family, funerals in the extended family, tax complications, car trouble, DD's theatre production fell apart at the last minute.... If someone told me the stars and planets were misaligned, I think I would start believing in astrology. 

It's hard to focus on good stuff to brag about, but there is always something. I'm grateful for the emotional maturity and strength and grace that my dc demonstrated the last few weeks. It's nice to know they are so reliable, thoughtful, independent and helpful.  

DD's drama teacher recommended her for a part in a professional theatre production, which was very encouraging. She lost out, I think in part because she looks too old (she's just turned 15 but could pass for 18), and the role is for a younger tween. Still, it's nice to know that her drama teacher has such faith in her. 

DS and his band have been getting wider attention in our local area. They opened for a fairly well-known group last month and there were some flattering things said about them during a radio interview. They finished recording an album (produced with the help of a friend) and they're starting to promote it locally. Despite these distractions, DS is maintaining his grades, and making some decisions about university next year. All of the schools that gave him an early acceptance want an answer by early June. 

[kathymuggle]

Originally Posted by loraxc 

 Her reading achievement has never been tested that I know of, so I've been curious if she really comprehends on the level she chooses to read (3rd-7th grade), especially since we have gotten the "Well, these precocious readers can decode, but they don't actually COMPREHEND...." line a few times.

I have had it too a few times too, lol.  G-d forbid anyone actually can read ahead of scheduel
 

[kathymuggle]

Originally Posted by ollyoxenfree 

April was the cruelest month, or at least pretty grueling, for our family. We had a few things to celebrate, but mostly stressful stuff, including a health crisis in our immediate family, funerals in the extended family, tax complications, car trouble, DD's theatre production fell apart at the last minute.... If someone told me the stars and planets were misaligned, I think I would start believing in astrology. 

Every once in awhile I think of posters who had not posted in awhile.  A few days ago I wondered what you were up to that was keeping you offline.  I thought it might be a vacations.  Too bad I was wrong!  

Virtual hug your way......

kathy

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by kathymuggle 

Every once in awhile I think of posters who had not posted in awhile.  A few days ago I wondered what you were up to that was keeping you offline.  I thought it might be a vacations.  Too bad I was wrong!  

Virtual hug your way......

kathy

Many thanks, I really appreciate your kind thoughts. I should have added that we are all coping and adjusting and keeping up. There is a quote by Dame Julian of Norwich that I have always loved: "And all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well". I believe it to be true for us. It's a wonderful mantra, if anyone ever needs one. 

[moominmamma]

Originally Posted by dessismama 

And the stamina he showed for a day that started with an 8 a.m.lesson, 12 noon final exam in music theory where he got a perfect score, then an orchestra and chamber music rehearsal before the competition... a day that ended with a performance around 8 p.m. Wow! Very proud mama moment!!!

That does sounds like an amazing day! Congrats!
 

Miranda

[pranava]

DS, just turned 2, is in a super jealous and possessive phase.  He owns everything including me, and he is having a hard time sharing me with my partner even.  Totally age appropriate I suppose, just very intense like everything else he does!!   He's starting OT and PT next week for some sensory and motor planning/strength issues.  He's all into puzzles suddenly.  He totally skipped peg puzzles - no interest ever - and is on to 12 and 24 piece interlocking puzzles.  He tells me what letter the puzzle pieces resemble, and upon seeing a yield sign last weekend said " Look, Mom!  An upside down A!"  I thought that was very observant.  He has been able to wrote count for quite some time now, but just the past two weeks has started counting objects up to 10 in both English and Spanish.   

I'm hoping the OT and PT get him jumping, running, and coloring soon.  The last time I tried to get him to color he said he didn't want to because it makes him feel bad   I think I have a perfectionist on my hands.

[MJB]

My 5 yr. old got second place in a race where he was the youngest competitor (with kids who were all 2-18 mos. older). That was really exciting. Plus, it was on TV! 

He learned how to tell time on an analog clock last week. He also counted by 12s past 100. His handwriting is really improving, too, and he wrote a nice story with correct punctuation (apostrophes and periods). He's rereading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. 

He only has 3 weeks until he's done with kindergarten. Wanting to keep him small makes me reconsider putting him in school early... but he's obviously thriving and it's not about me. 

[Casha'sMommy]

Sometimes my children leave me with a jaw hanging open and a bewildered look on my face.

Several weeks ago dd (5yo tomorrow) asked if the dog would die someday like woolly mammoths. We then had a very rough couple of days to follow because dd was afraid winter would get cold enough that we would all die. We did get over the tears and freaking out. But then...

We lost our beloved pooch this morning and upon returning from the vet, without the dog, I sat dd down to explain what happened. She had a sad face for a minute and then asked if we could now get a hamster or a cat. (the dog was not fond of rodents or cats. She thought they were for chasing, catching, and pulling the squeaky part out of.) Apparently, dd's over the grieving stage.

[Cherkay]

I’m new here but can’t resist the urge to share this story.  My DS is four and loves math and brain type games.  He has no interest in traditional video games but loves the type that allows him to solve puzzles.  We’ve found a few different web-sites that have these types of games and he literally would spend hours doing them if we would let him.  Today when he got home from school the first thing he said to me was, “I have been thinking about Level 8 today.  During 2^nd circle time I figured it out in my brain.”  Then he proceeded to show me how to solve Level 8 based on what he figured out in his mind during school today.  It amazes me that he sits around and thinks of strategies while he is away from the activity.  Since I couldn’t even figure out how to solve it, I definitely thought it was impressive.  Of course I’m a little biased. :)  Thanks for encouraging us to share our stories.  This forum has been a great find and provided me with a wealth of knowledge. 

[ellemenope]

Here is a link to a YouTube video we made last night. I was trying to get the overtired and distracted 2 year old to recite all the presidents for DH who is away on business. He did not believe me. It is pretty cute nonetheless. Oh, and we found out DH is scheduled to fly home on DD's birthday. We are so excited!

I also splurged and bought an early birthday present for DD- a huge encyclopedia about the presidents. I figured she deserved it even though it is geared toward much older kids. It even came with a really nice poster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqgutbDUsEU&feature=youtube_gdata_player


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[tuesdaymom]

Originally Posted by ellemenope 

Here is a link to a YouTube video we made last night. I was trying to get the overtired and distracted 2 year old to recite all the presidents for DH who is away on business. He did not believe me. It is pretty cute nonetheless. Oh, and we found out DH is scheduled to fly home on DD's birthday. We are so excited!

I also splurged and bought an early birthday present for DD- a huge encyclopedia about the presidents. I figured she deserved it even though it is geared toward much older kids. It even came with a really nice poster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqgutbDUsEU&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

She is to cute.  My DD will be 2 in 2 weeks and made me play this 5 times for her.  I have to say her personality reminds me of my dd.   She is very silly sometimes and thinks its funny to tell you the wrong answer.   ....

My DD started daycare 3 weeks ago.  Her first day went good.  She didn't want to nap so they asked her what Mommy and Daddy do when she naps She said mommy lays next to me then rubs my head and then she looks into my eyes.  I almost choked when the teacher told me this.  I hoping its her imagination and not telling stories @ 23 months.  Either way I'm still in trouble :)...  The next day wasn't so good my husband said she walked in the room and walked back out and said no lets go back in the car.  She has been home sick for the past week so I know Monday is not going to be good going back.  I feel so horrible :(....   She has learned about 4 new songs in the 2 weeks she has been there so I do think she enjoys it. Just when they stop and transition to something else she cries for us, and then stops when they start something else.  We got the high five magazines  and she is pretty good @ find the hidden pictures.  I thought she would be to young but I was wrong lol! 

[hergrace]

It is DS3 (4) who has me saying "Wow!" these days. He has just started really reading the early phonics books that we have around the house and is pushing for as many reading lessons as I can give him.  He shows signs of dyslexia, like all my other kids, so I expect his reading will explode once he amasses a big enough collection of memorized words to work other words out from context. It is the same pattern I saw DS1 go through, though DS3 is about 6 months ahead of where DS1 was at this age. 

But, it is DS3's math that is really fascinating to watch blossom.  He has been watching DS1 play Timez Attack - Multiplication, a computer game to help with memorization of math facts. Yesterday, he asked to play himself. I had to use the mouse and talk him through the keyboard controls, but he did the math all by himself. It was the 2 times table up to 2x5 that he played yesterday. At dinner tonight, he demonstrated on his fingers that he understood skip counting by twos and the related multiplication and had memorized the answers. He figured out how to read the hour hand on a clock by himself and asked me to teach him the minutes, and he is now practicing his skip counting by 5s to learn the minutes.

I'm starting to wonder if school is going to be possible for him given that he is 6 months to a year ahead of where DS1 was at this age and I have just given up on the public school district for DS1 since they wouldn't provide him with complex enough material.

DS1 (7) is blossoming at home.  His love of learning is reasserting itself and he is learning how to create good searches on Google to find answers to his questions.  Today, for example, he wanted to know how many months after his 8th birthday Mozart finished writing his first symphony.

It is an exciting time at our house. I am enjoying watching the kids become independent learners, because I do not have time to teach them all at their own levels the amount that they want to know.

[ollyoxenfree]

We attended the final recital for DS at his music program and it was lovely. He did solos on upright bass and classical guitar. After years of studying upright bass it's funny that he received the most compliments for his solo on the classical guitar (Asturias by Isaac Albeniz). The audience favourite was the Uno Bow Serenade by Haydn - his string quartet shared a single bow for the entire performance. The 4 musicians tossed the bow to each other quite deftly. Before they played they were a little worried the bow would be dropped and it would all end in disaster.  They had practiced a lot and made it look quite effortless. I wish I could upload some video clips but I'm having some difficulty with re-playing them. 

DS isn't always detail-oriented and tends to lose marks on small errors even though he understands the higher level concepts. He was studying for his calculus exam. He worked through a question and pronounced the answer at the back of the textbook was wrong. We had a visitor - a friend of ours, a math professor and head of the undergraduate math program at his university. Our friend looked at the question, looked at the answer and suggested that DS work through it again from the beginning. DS did and insisted that the text was wrong. Our friend, remarking that he had set the same problem for his second year students back in the fall, thought the book was right. Finally, they worked through it again from the start - and yes, the book (and the math prof) were wrong. They were making the same error - and DS had avoided it from the beginning. It was reassuring to see DS pay attention to the details, to say the least. 

 

DS and DD have done some charitable work using opposite methods which I find kind of amusing. DS has been helping out with a Food Not Bombs group to feed homeless in the city and late last month, DD fasted to raise money for the 30 Hour Famine.  

DD is working on her culminating projects in most of her courses. She likes her science project - one of the possible topics was to write about the science behind a television show - eg. what is possible and probable and what isn't. She picked Firefly, one of her favourite shows. She's also working on a production of Lysistrata right now, so there's lots of emoting happening!