Quote of the Day

If I could get a job as a Procrastinator, I think I could do very well!

Inadvertent Enthusiasm Killer

I am dousing Aidan's enthusiasm for new things. This is certainly not my intention, but it's the result of every time I encourage him or get involved in an activity in which he has expressed an interest or shown ability.
All the times before now, I've been able to just shrug it off in annoyance or resignation.
I happily added to his collection of Brio trains when he was 3 and 4, then figured out it was time to stop when, with every new train, he would almost instantly pore over the included catalog of still.more.trains.
I purchased every book in the Warriors series, only to be forced to accept that he won't be reading the books without me. So I guess I'm in it for the long haul. I need to make much more time for read-aloud sessions.
When I saw him effortlessly throw a Frisbee straight and far, and ask family members to play along with him, I was excited to surprise him with Frisbee varieties (LED-lit for night play, oversized, soft ...). At least I was smart enough to back off when I saw the signs. Six weeks later, he voluntarily brought the old Frisbees to the park to play with his friends.
But his enjoyment of Shakespearean theatre is possibly the thing I regret destroying the most. I didn't see it coming. After Aidan pronounced last summer, as we departed Bard on the Beach on the night of his Young Shakespeareans performance of The Tempest, that it had been the best day of his "whole, entire life," I committed to helping him keep Shakespeare a part of his daily life. He really had shone in his performance of "Caliban." He seems to have a natural talent for theatre.
I invited Aidan to co-host a Shakespeare Club at his school. In September, he was keen. By January, he was losing interest. In March, he told me he really doesn't feel like doing Shakespeare Club anymore, and he only goes because his mom is leading it.
Tonight, when Caitlin asked if he would be signing up for the Young Shakespeareans again this summer, he said, "No." Caitlin was understandably surprised, and Aidan explained that what he liked most about Bard on the Beach, was that it was something different and new. Now that he has spent a whole year doing Shakespeare Club every week, there's nothing new and interesting about it.
My response was, "If I knew this was going to happen, I wouldn't have spent 3 hours a week volunteering to run the Club." (and write minutes, adapt the script, research materials, etc.)
Honestly, I guess running the Club was something I did for me more than I did it for him. I loved working with those kids who are so bright and creative! But boy is it a solid blow to the stomach to realize that all my efforts have actually killed any enthusiasm he once had for Shakespearean theatre.
I feel like I can't inspire him and I can't imagine how to teach him when we need to homeschool again soon.

Quote of the Day

"Reverse poetry is now my favourite kind of poetry."

Aidan has been inspired by this poem by Jonathan Reed:

The Lost Generation

I am part of a lost generation
and I refuse to believe that
I can change the world
I realize this may be a shock but
“Happiness comes from within.”
is a lie, and
“Money will make me happy.”
So in 30 years I will tell my children
they are not the most important thing in my life
My employer will know that
I have my priorities straight because
work
is more important than
family
I tell you this
Once upon a time
Families stayed together
but this will not be true in my era
This is a quick fix society
Experts tell me
30 years from now, I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making
In the future
Environmental destruction will be the norm
No longer can it be said that
My peers and I care about this earth
It will be evident that
My generation is apathetic and lethargic
It is foolish to presume that
There is hope.

And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it .

Read the message, then read it again in reverse.

Quote of the day

"There's no harm in trying unless you are trying to harm."

Quote of the day

"I think Heaven is a really long dream."

We Are a Clam Family

Our family is the clam that opens up the shell. The pearl is our eye and if we lose our pearl, we die. But we're brave enough to stay together and look out together.
We see all the other clams on the sea floor with their eyes tightly shut, kept safe in darkness.
The more you keep your eyes open, the more you will see.

Brandenburg No. 5

Aidan's private violin teacher holds recitals twice per year for all her students. Aidan played Ode to Joy at Christmas, but when it came time to select a piece for the year-end recital, he didn't really have any material on account of never getting into a regular habit of practicing.

He likes to play around on the violin, getting different sounds and playing pieces in different keys. He hadn't been confident with sight-reading music, and had convinced himself that he may never be able to, so didn't really try.

Anyway, he hit his lowest point on May 25, when his teacher was frustrated that he hadn't been practicing and didn't have a piece for the recital. She proposed that perhaps he shouldn't play in the recital this time. It's true that he could only play a few bars of Brandenburg No. 5 (from Strings Explorer 1), then couldn't read the notes or rhythms for the rest of the song. In our car after the lesson, through ten minutes of tears and an analogy about raindrops (a longish story, but beautifully told by Aidan), he resolved to rise up and challenge himself to perform in the recital.

He put many things aside and made Brandenburg his priority for the next two weeks. He would play the song through, up to 20 times per day and we recorded him once on most of those days.

This evening, the recital was held at the Mount Seymour United Church. Aidan played beautifully and did particularly well with the rhythm and the final note (which had been out of tune on many practice runs). He played the song as a duet with his teacher.