The first month of 2017 has kept me on my toes:
- Vee started P2 (at a KL Chinese primary school) and has been loaded with homework, which he often tries to avoid doing.
- Vee is starting to learn Grade 6 piano pieces, which are more challenging and need a longer time to master.
- Jae started K2 (still homeschooled) and I’m responsible for ensuring his foundation is solid before P1 next year.
- Jae’s violin pieces are starting to get more complex (for me) too.
In 2016, my proudest “achievement” was to finish reading 25 books, after several years of finding “no time” to read books.
I was also glad to have made time to catch up with lovely girl friends over occasional breakfasts.
Amongst the craziness this month, I’ve managed to:
- Brisk walk with hubby a few mornings each week
- Find a gardener to redo our mini outdoor garden, just in time for Lunar New Year (LNY)
- Declutter the house (since December actually because LNY IS super early this year — 28 January, 3 days away!)
- Join in Jon Butcher’s LifeBook 30-day challenge with hubby at MindValley academy (online)
- Meditate before bed each night (I’m joining The M Word 33-day challenge by Emily Fletcher in February.)
- Reorganise the family’s finances
- Finally have a haircut. Unbelievably, I didn’t have a haircut in 2016 because it meant leaving 3 active kids with hubby.
I also deleted the Facebook app from my handphone for good to minimise distractions from my life priorities.
This year, I’ve decided to refocus on myself. I need to build myself up in all important areas so as to take better care of the people around me and to share positively with others.
As I have learnt, we can always make time for important things in life. It all depends on whether we want to take action.
- Spend time on exercise now or spend time battling illnesses in future
- Spend time & money on good nutrition now or spend time & money in clinics in future
- Spend time on guiding kids now or spend time being frustrated with their behaviour in future
- Spend time organising the family’s finances now or find that the money isn’t there when we need it most
- And more…
So 2017 shall be an extraordinary year because I’m taking daily small steps to make it extraordinary. May you have a fulfilling year ahead too!
~ MieVee
hi mv,
wow 8yrs doing grade 6?
can u share on how did vee achieve this?
do u guide him besides his usual piano lesson?
he is a piano prodigy?
sorry im really interested to know because i try to coach my no1 besides his once a week piano lesson but at 7yo, this yr his piano teacher says he is not fit for grade 1. that is disappointing.
it will be fantastic if you can share a little on his piano journey .
many thanks! 😀
Hi Shia, great to hear from you again. No he isn’t a prodigy. I’m still wondering how the world record boy passes Grade 8 with distinction after learning for 1 year; and a Singaporean passed Grade 8 at about 8 years old.
That said, Vee loved music from a young age, has very sensitive hearing and specific taste for music. I just realized he has perfect pitch (press any key on the piano and he can tell you what it is without looking), so this certainly helps.
I don’t know if perfect pitch is nature or nurture or a mix. He’s born with sensitive hearing and we did music classes from 3+yo, so it could be both.
Class is 30-45min/week. Practice is 5 days, so he plays 6 days a week. I usually have to sit beside him for new songs to ensure he’s correcting mistakes. No point practising the wrong way.
We aren’t exam-oriented, so he’ll take exam only when he’s ready. Instead, we seek chances for him to perform on stage. And the teachers let him learn a wide repertoire of songs.
I didn’t know music and learnt with him along the way. Till now, I can only play really simple songs since I don’t practise and this isn’t my area of passion. Just need to know how to observe from what teacher mentions weekly and remind the child.
The basic is the child must enjoy music and the instrument. (That’s why my second child is playing the violin instead. He loves the sound.) Then a patient and good teacher who makes learning fun. Plus regular supervised practice that focuses on correcting techniques.
Hope this helps and all the best! 🙂
hi MV,
goodness! i still cant believe Vee is doing grade 6, what more grade 8 at 8 yo??
well the grade 8 with distinction could be a prodigy? 😀
from the day you reply until now, ive been observing ds1 closely. he is 7yo, cant practice independently and when i sit down and do chords with him, i noticed he actually still do not know which is middle C for treble and bass! im so frustrated and disappointed 🙁
he has been learning piano about 1.5 years ago.
imagine end of last year we started practicing grade 1 pieces, thinking of getting him to sit for grade 1 this year, but before registration closes early this year, the teacher commented that he is not ready.
he could play the songs rather well, but lack of tempo/ beat.
i reckon he can memorize very well. hence all the while he has been memorizing and so lately when we were practicing, i decided not to spoon feed, i told him to show me which is middle c! he cant even point out the middle C in the chords!
our piano lesson is 30mins a day every week.
but i admit i do not consistently sit down and practice with him.
like what you have said, no point practicing the wrong thing so i will always try to sit with him.
however after the recent meltdown (i refused to sit beside him and watch him. dad doesnt know how to read piano notes), i told him to just sit there and practice on his own -especially the chords.
so now we think that he should sit there for 30mins and do the drill. after each song/chord he likes to ask if it is OK. -_-””
ds1 did music from young too (kindermusic) and i’d say he has the dad’s family gene where their entire family can sing pretty well. (unlike me, i cant sing at all)
im not sure about the pitch though but his dad is impressed that after listening to songs, ds1 can sing with the correct pitch.
i did asked ds1 if he still wants to play the piano. if he doesnt i will stop the teacher from coming. he insisted that he still wants to continue learning.
disaster when it comes to piano now :S
thank you so much for sharing your side of event regarding this mievee.
always looking forward to hear from you 🙂
thanks!
It’s great that he wants to continue learning — that’s the most important thing. He’d blossom at his own pace. One of Vee’s fabulous piano teachers started learning at 5yo; my friend started at about 7yo. Really no rush regarding music.
We’re taking things slowly at this stage because the songs are getting more complex, schoolwork busier, and he has more interests to explore. He gets frustrated if he needs to practice piano when he has little time left or wishes to do something else. So we just practice a bit each day (unless he’s really in the mood), trying to be as relaxed as possible. Just enjoy the learning journey, music is meant to be fun. 🙂
thanks MV.
thank you for the reminder. i have relaxed and not focus on the exam pieces. we have decided to go with his momentum.
there is more to it than music. lols. because there is now math that we need to work on it too! i need to always make it fun so that he enjoys learning and not get sucked into the ‘rat race’ rhythm.
apart from all these, we do let them play, anyhow they are still kids . thanks mv! greatly appreciate your response 🙂