Scholé of Intent: As I mentioned on Monday, we watched a SQUILT Music Appreciation webinar together during Morning Time. It was good, but sometimes I wonder when the kids seem restless and ask “Is this done yet?” whether they are getting anything out of it. 😉 Well, later this week when we were decorating the Christmas Tree, I put on A Christmas Festival with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. When Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride started playing – the piece played on the webinar – Mr. E’s face brightened, and he said, “I know this music!” I’m sure he’d heard it before the webinar, but that focused listening time, and the easy-to-understand outline of the music that Mrs. Prather shared with us really helped him to pay attention and remember it when he heard it again. I am planning to use her free Holiday 2016 Listening Calendar during our Advent Morning Time to help us improve our listening skills and really enjoy the music. She also offers some more in-depth Christmas music listening guides. Other Morning Time plans for the Christmas season include:
- Singing Christmas carols
- Continuing to memorize Isaiah 9:1-7 and our Shakespeare passage
- Enjoying three more of Henry Ossawa Tanner’s paintings
- Reading the libretto (Scripture) and listening to a little of Handel’s Messiah each day (we usually don’t get all the way through it)
- Finishing Shakespeare’s As You Like It, The Plutarch Primer: Publicola, and the Edward MacDowell bio
- Enjoying some Christmas poems and picture books (see below) together
Scholé of Method: Mr. D and Mr. E have started piano lessons with a new teacher, after several months without one. I am very pleased with how she is helping them really polish up their pieces before moving on, especially Für Elise with Mr. D. And the lessons are every other week (and longer – about 45 min.), which gives them more time to practice in between.
Scholé of Practice: We don’t have a large collection of Christmas books, but each year or so I add a few more, and then supplement with library books. When the Read-Aloud Revival December book list came out Thursday night, I looked through it and put several on hold at the library. I’m keeping the picture books together in a basket, and we’ll just pick one to read together each day, probably at the beginning or end of Morning Time. I’m looking forward to both the old favorites and new-to-us stories. 🙂
Thank you for mentioning SQUILT. I love how you point out that listening is worth it, and sometimes we do simply have to instill that habit of attention in our little ones and we will reap the rewards later!
Many blessings for your Advent season!
Thank you, Mary!