This Week

Another adventurous week coming up!

Will be spending some time in NYC this week - I was lucky enough to be offered a ticket for the final dress rehearsal of Armida at the Met. If I can figure out how to actually obtain the ticket (that part was unclear, but I'll figure it out...) I'll go. Also seeing Die Zauberflote one day this week. Banawoman will be out East for that. I anticipate lots of laughter, yummy food and beautiful Mozart.

Now I will use the rest of this blank window to brag about my kid.

Alex has a weekly private music lesson with a very good teacher at Westminster. She uses these music note cards to teach rhythm, pitch and so on. She plays games with the cards and also teaches him patterns with each hand on the piano while singing along. She always tells me he's coming along very well.

Because of behavioral and social issues associated with PDD-NOS, he has a paraprofessional assigned just to him at school. One day before school started they were in the music room and he was showing his para what he can do on the piano. She was surprised, and then while he was doing this the school music teacher entered the room. Well, she was REALLY surprised! She was very, very impressed and amazed at what he was able to do. He was playing piano with both hands and singing along. I think that was the point that he was unofficially excused from the kindergarten music class. It's more a music experience than a music lesson, very chaotic and noisy - not an ideal situation for him anyway. The music teacher has asked to see his piano book but in my opinion it's the games and exercises with the cards that allowed him to learn the songs he plays on the piano. Well, it's all of it, but the cards make a huge difference. They're in spring break now, but I'll contact her next week to see if she and I can meet. The school also has a gifted and talented program for music, so I'll find out more about that. I'd have to apply by the end of April. How cool and brag-worthy would that be? I'll answer that question myself. Very cool. And very VERY bragworthy!