It was a big day for Den -- Her Yamaha class concert. It is the first time she performs solo. She had a concert last year at the end of Yamaha Music Kids but it was a group performance. This one is different because she had to introduce herself and the music that she was going to play and then played them on the teacher's piano. I was very excited to see how would she respond under pressure.
When the teacher first announced the concert a month ago, Den cried. She thought the concert was on the following week and she didn't think she was ready for that. But when I explained to her it was 4 weeks later, she relaxed. I thought she would be nervous again when the time got near, but she never did. In fact, she was rather excited about it and wanted to be the first one to perform.
To prepare her mentally, I went through with her the whole process and what she was going to say in the concert. She even added her own idea of welcoming the guest to the concert at the beginning (that's why she wanted to be the first to perform so that she can welcome the guests).
I make her say her introduction to me again and again, then to her daddy and then to her grandparents, and finally to her uncle too. At first, she was really reluctant and spoke in a mousy voice that nobody can hear. But slowly and slowly, she gained confidence and started to speak up.
I also prepared her for things that might go wrong. What if you can't be the first one to perform (she ended up being the second person to perform)? What if you play it wrong? etc.
It paid off during the concert. She was really confident. She spoke up in a loud and clear voice to welcome the guests and introduced herself and the songs that she was going to play. Then she proceeded in playing 2 songs without any mistakes. It was a long way from the girl who cringed at us and refused to let go and shy away from any new experience. Thank God for that.
Most of her classmates spoke so softly that no one can hear them. One little boy even cried and refused to play.
I think there is pro and con to making kids so young to give a solo performance. If it was not handled properly, it might be a frightening experience for the child.
That was the highlight of the day. :)
As for the study, hmm.. we had about an hour this morning. We finished reading What's under the sea? (Thank God for that too!) today and it was about how we use the sea - fishing, mining minerals, etc.
It also talks about in some hot countries, seawater is collected in flat pans near the shore. It dries up in the sun, leaving the salt behind. So we did an experiment. We dissolved salt in hot water, then put it under the sun. A few hours later, all the water was evaporated and only the salt was left. Den thought it was so amazing. :)
We also read one 2 poems from Animals Animals and 4 poems from A treasury of Mother Goose. To enhance her learning, I spent a whole night researching and downloading origins, pictures, and music, and even video that goes with the mother goose poems. (all the work only for this week and next week's lesson...Im not sure I will be able to continue this way....). These are some of the good sites that you can check out if you are interested in knowing more about Mother Goose:
1. (Not Working) http://www.teach.virginia.edu/go/wil/rimes_and_rhymes.htm Teaching phonic using mother goose: 30 downloadable well-plan lessons with Rhymes cards and more. I tried this with Den when she was only 2+ and failed. But I think she is ready now. I will do this with her again at the end of the year.
2. http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=heh It comes with different pictures that go with the poem and also some music. However, some of the music do not work.
3.http://www.rhymes.org.uk/ This is a very interesting site. You will find out the origins of most nursery rhymes reflect events in history. Some of them are too difficult for the kids to understand but some are interesting for them to know.
For example, we read "Girls & Boys come out to play" today. At first, I thought the kids were very naughty because they went out to play at night and did not want to sleep but after I read on this site, then I realize that it was because at that time kids had to work 16 hours a day and had no time to play at all!!
4. http://www.kididdles.com/ is a very good site for all the popular kid's music. You just have to type in the title of the rhymes and it will give u the music. But it is not downloadable and it is without singing.
Another good source will be Youtube. Just type in the title of the rhyme and you won't believe some of the stuff that people put in there!
We read twinkle twinkle today, so I let Den work on one of her favorite books of all time My first nursery rhyme activity book. After each rhyme, there are like 7 pages of activities for her to do. That's how I got time to cook. :)
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