Our Week

I think I'm not going to do a non-scheduled-summer-month again. For some reason, everything just gets pushed into the other two months. This week was no exception.

I have been spending every day, 10-3, with #1 child at Suzuki Institute. Lots of kids, some very small, playing their instruments (some 2 and 3 instruments) at varying stages of accomplishment.

What I come away with every day is, if you want kids to have some skill, you should start when they are quite young. These kids want to perform. They look for (and are given) many, many opportunities and, from what I see, there aren't all that many who are disturbed about being in front of an audience, regardless of talent.

I remember being in a hotel somewhere in the South at a conference, it was about 1994. I walked down toward the lobby and, down a side corridor, I heard the sound of many violins. I looked and saw about 20 LITTLE kids, between 2 and 4, all playing teeny, tiny violins. Who knew so many years later, I would be following my now not-so-little kid around with her slightly bigger than tiny cello. Life is funny.

 

The rest of the children (whom I never see anymore) have been honing their skills of imagination with "the box"...which arrived fortuitously on Tuesday. C says it's her "rocket ship to take her to Slovakia." Whatever works, sweet thing.