Fun things

Today was my Music Mind Games day.  Once a month, I get to attend a meeting with Michiko Yurko (the creator of Music Mind Games) and other music teachers to practice games we learned at our Unit 1 Training, learn new games, and share ideas of how we are using this system in our own studios.  This is one meeting I always look forward to!

What is Music Mind Games?  As I was preparing to embark on my piano teaching journey, I did a lot of "online research" into different piano teaching methods, pedagogy, etc.  In this process, I discovered Music Mind Games. Music Mind Games is a unique way to teach music theory through games and hands-on activities, it is used all over the world.  When I learned about this program, I was immediately thrilled with the idea, ordered a Puppy Packet, and started using the materials as best as I could.  Last summer, I attended a week-long training and had a blast learning a variety of games to teach simple and sophisticated music theory concepts.  It is a fabulous program and I only wish I could find more time to use it in my private lessons.  It is designed to be taught as a weekly theory class in addition to private lessons, but I have not been able to fit that into the schedules of my students or myself yet.  I have just been trying to fit in what I can at occasional group lessons and the few minutes I can squeeze out of private lessons.  I'm determined to find a way to tweak my schedule next year and include it more because it is fabulous!

Last Sunday, I was bemoaning not being able to do all thing things I needed to do, even when I was productive all day long and engaged in good things.  Well, sometimes, I'm not productive all day long, and I don't get things done because I choose to play instead.  I generally try to avoid watching t.v. or movies during the week because it can be such a time-hog, but last weekend, we discovered the BBC show, The Paradise, and Kayla and I wanted to watch it every night.  My intentions of no t.v. went down the drain.  We finished Season 1 yesterday and I'm going to try to pace myself better through Season 2!  My oh my, I do love BBC shows!

Valentine's Day was yesterday and I didn't manage to take any pictures.  This is the first time in my 15+ years of marriage that I haven't decorated for Valentines Day.  I went to get the box of stuff out of the basement, and there was a bunch of stuff in front of it, and so I gave up at the moment, and never got back to it.  I thought no one in the family would notice, but Hunter did let me know he was sad last night because we didn't have a nice dinner with our Valentine tablecloth like we have in years' past.  I guess these things really do mean something to the kids after all!  I did make a couple cute things with my craft supplies for teachers, along with some chocolate covered peanut butter balls, but you'll have to take my word for it that they were cute since I was rushing to deliver everything and didn't take one photo. Jason's parents invited us for dinner at their house and it was lovely.  Hunter babysat (no wonder he was sad), Kayla went to a youth dance, and Jason and I had a kid-free evening at his parents' house with delicious food, no crowds, a nice atmosphere, and nice company.  It was great, but I did feel bad later when Hunter was sad.  My intentions of making pink pancakes for breakfast had also fallen by the wayside...yes, The Paradise can be blamed for that too because I stayed up too late watching it the night before and slept in too late to make the breakfast!  My Sweetie got up with Archer so I could sleep in and beat me to breakfast making, so I had a really great day! :)

All in all, it was a happy week.  A few weeks ago, I was at my wits end with homeschooling because Hunter was struggling to stay on task and I was tired of nagging all day.  Of course, the roughest times in homeschooling usually lead to better times because I start praying and pondering about what to do and the Lord always helps me.  We created some schedules, charts, etc. and I have been dedicating some time at the beginning of each week to help Hunter plan out the week and what needs to be done daily.  It has made a huge difference.  I know what he needs to do, he knows what to do, he stays on task, and I feel happy!  Hooray!  I'm grateful for answered prayers.

One final thing, I'm attaching a video of Archer singing his "Goodnight Sweetheart" song with me. This is usually his number one song pick at bedtime and he totally sings it out with me.  I happened to have my phone with me in the room tonight so I tried to catch it.  Unfortunately, you can't see the video because we are in his dark room singing, but you'll have to trust me that he looks as adorable as he sounds when he sings it.