The End in Mind
Posted: March 31, 2011 Filed under: Joined at the Heart, Mouths of Babes, Writers Write | Tags: family, writers, writing Leave a comment »Yesterday, Coco and I argued about the violin. She loves to play. Practice? Not so much. After sparring a few minutes, threatening a few more, I yelled. “Get a notebook and make a list of what you need to do.”
Anyone who knows me, knows my history with the To Do list. I’m ashamed to say, I’ve passed on my angst to a nine-year old. Coco took out a notebook. She scheduled five minutes for bowing, ten minutes for fingering, ten more minutes for working on the rhythm to a Haydn melody. In all she played forty-five minutes.
At the end of the night I said, “I’m proud of the way you practiced.”
“I used one of my habits.” Her school teaches Stephen R. Covey’s The Leader in Me curriculum. “Make a plan. Begin with the end in mind.”
I’m trying to follow her example.
Parenting a Tiger Child
Posted: January 30, 2011 Filed under: Aha!, Joined at the Heart, Mouths of Babes, Writers Write | Tags: family, Mothers, writers, writing 2 Comments »
I’m not a Tiger mom. (If you’ve been under a rock in regard to parenting trends, see the article here.) But, since the high school orchestra visited Coco’s school last year, she’s wanted to play the violin. I explained, “You’ll have to learn to read music.” She taught herself notes and fingerings on a dollar store recorder. I said, “Wait until fifth grade. Then you can learn with your friends in the school strings program.”
“I want to play the violin now.”
After she made her big sister watch an entire PBS concert featuring Itzhak Perlman and YoYo Ma, I gave in.
Last June, we agreed to lessons on a trial basis with a rented instrument. We found Miss Winnie, who is Chinese like Coco. She played second violin in the Shanghai symphony. She is a luthier, which means she makes violins as well as plays them. Coco adores her. Once a week, I sit outside a practice room and listen to my nine-year old explore a world that belongs only to her.
This week she gave her first public performance. In the school talent show, she played for 350 of her classmates. Where did she find the courage? I’m not a Tiger mom, but it’s possible I have a Tiger child.
Luck is Here
Posted: January 2, 2011 Filed under: Joined at the Heart, Mouths of Babes | Tags: family Leave a comment »
- Cherry drew the character, Fu, and taped it, upside down, to the inside of our front door. It means, Luck is here. Happy New Year!
