Tuesday, June 6, 2006

And now for something completely different



"Will it Go Round in Circles?" - Billy Preston (Music is My Life, 1972)


Billy Preston passed away today. I always loved "Will it Go Round in Circles?"

Haley, moving up to the third grade next year, has been selected for the Gifted and Talented program. I'm happy she is having some academic success and also glad that at this point in her school, any independent learning needs she may have will be handled within her own school, perhaps even her main classroom. I think the girl needs a little more challenge than she is currently getting. Like her Mom, she's a very social girl and tends to prefer chatting to working. I think she needs more rigorous expectations.

Haley and Anna will both be going to a new Elementary School next year as their current school is overcrowded so a new one has been built. I'm going to miss our current principal and I'm actually *very* sad that Lindsay won't get to have the same kindergarten teacher that both Haley and Anna have had. She's wonderful. The principal just has this wonderful sense of play and her staff engage the kids in some really wonderful ways. For example---in this year's Jump Rope for Heart campaign, the PE teachers issued a challenge to the kids---if they were to collectively raise $25,000 (the student body is 1200) they'd spend the night on the roof of the school. So as I blog, Rob is over at the school with Haley and Anna bidding their PE teachers a good night's rest atop their school. You've GOT to love that.

Haley also had her cast removed today. She's very very happy about that but being pretty tentative about using it. We've firmed up our summer plans with tumbling, swimming lessons. We've got once a week math and reading activities with a local teacher who's running some groups. All I have left to do now is go pick out a piano so we can get on with firming up the piano lessons.

Whew.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Loved hearing Billy when I hit your blog. A great talent lost for sure.

It sure sounds like a busy summer for the girlies. Glad to hear that Haley is as smart as the rest of us (haha) and going into the gifted and talented program at an early age like Cousin Lyman. Being bored was always a reason to have his own little party time for Lyman. Tumbling?? I see more broken, bruised and cut baby bodies in your future for sure. Do your girls want to play the piano or is this a mother thing? You may need to make sure everyone knows about you doing your blog, they may be missing out.

LYFE Donna

Drew said...

I was wondering the same thing as Donna about the piano lessons. I love music so much that I think I'm going to have to be careful not to push it too much on my kids. Luckily, Layla seems to be a music fan already too. Our recent nighttime music to go to sleep is Michael Buble. No crappy lullabies for us!

I knew the name Billy Preston, but I couldn't place any of his songs in my head and you picked the one that I immediately knew. So thanks.

I noticed it's saved in a different location. Comcast allows you a certain number of websites and you are going to use the storage in all of those before finding some place else?

KHM said...

you are very clever, Drew. Yes, I figured that comcast allows me x storage space for every email account I have and I think I'm allowed up to 8 so before I go find more online storage I thought I 'd use up what I've got as I figure out this whole blog thing...

I'm hoping that my kids' affinity for music will parlay into enthusiasm for making it on their own. I don't really have any particular objective in mind, just that they understand a little about how music is made---enough to make some on their own or to inform their listening. I don't think anything you share with your kids enthusiastically and without pressure can be bad---unless its just bad stuff to begin with---like maybe running with scissors or playing with matches... and luckily for us both Haley and Anna seem genuinely fired up about the piano lessons...

I applaud your efforts to introduce Layla to quality music early in life. We also stayed away from conventional baby fare in the nursery... we played a lot of James Taylor but Enya was also very nice and had a soothing effect on Mommy and babies... its funny though that my kids all really have this subconscious awareness of James Taylor.