And That’s….the Truth

Today my daughter went off to school all set for her violin lesson. When she got to school, she was in for a big surprise. The teacher decided that since there is only three weeks of school left, she is going to end the violin lessons for this year. So that means no more violin practice for her until September. This is kind of nice since she really despises her practices and I have to fight with her to get her to practice every night. So not only is this a break for her, but it’s a break for me as well. Don’t you just love it when the school year starts to wind down?? I know I do. Soon enough it will be September and she will be back practicing again. So until that time, I’m sure that her and I will enjoy this small little break.

Well after another year of a lot of practicing and learning, my daughter’s violin class is all set to give her final strings performance tomorrow night. It should be a pretty good performance, as there will be over 100 kids playing at different skills levels. And just a few days ago, I was informed that my daughter will be doing a solo during this concert. She is pretty excited about this and has been practicing extra just to make sure that she gets it right. So, I’ll be sure to let you all know how well the final performance goes.

The day has finally arrived much to my daughter’s delight. Yes, that’s right. Tomorrow is her annual fiddle-a-thon and she is pretty excited. For the past couple of months she has been collecting pledges and tomorrow she will play her violin for 200 minutes to earn the pledges that she got. Although she is pretty excited about this day, I really can’t say that I am. While she is playing for 200 minutes, I get to sit there and listen to her for 200 minutes. Oh well, this only happens once a year and it’s something that she really enjoys so I guess I can suck it up for one day now can’t I?!

Over the weekend I got an e-mail from my daughter’s violin teacher. They now have all the dates set for all their upcoming performances. This means that I need to get my digital camera and our camcorder all primed and ready to go. The kids have been working very hard this year and you can really tell this in their playing. Every time I hear my daughter practice, I am always amazed at how good she is becoming. So I’m pretty sure that by the time these different dates for the performances arrive, my daughter, as well as the rest of the children, will be all ready to go. I’m quite confident that they will do an excellent job.

Well today is my daughter’s first day back practicing and playing the violin for school. Although she did practice a small amount this summer, she didn’t practice a whole lot so I am a little nervous to see how she makes out when the teacher tests her on her skills level. Because she enjoys playing the violin and is a fast learner, I really see no problem with her catching up if she is behind. But I hope she’s not far behind as this may discourage her. Oh well. Time will tell. Hopefully when she gets off the school bus today she will have some good news to tell. But if not, she’s really going to have to buckle down and start practicing. Where or where did I stick those earplugs. lol Just kidding. I love hearing her play even if it is with a squeaky note or two.

A couple of weeks ago my daughter’s violin teacher had a discussion with them all about what instrument they would like to play next year.  They had the choice between the violin, the chello or the base.  I managed to talk my daughter out of playing the chello and the base as I honestly think that these two instruments are way to big for her to play (she’s quite tiny).  She then indicated that she would like to learn how to play the violina in grade 6.  Stupid me thought the violina was a smaller instrument than the violin so I agreed.

Well this weekend I discovered that this instrument is actually quite big as well.  But I haven’t said too much to her about it as I have another year to worry about this.  If she grows (a lot) then I will let her play this instrument.  But if she stays tiny then I guess her and I will be having another conversation about this particular instrument.

Yesterday after school I took my daughter around the neighborhood to get some pledges for her upcoming fiddle-a-thon that will take place this Saturday.  We only ended up going to three houses as most of the people we know weren’t home.  And, the other people in the neighborhood don’t know Kara so I didn’t want to ask them to pledge her.  But she did good.  The three houses that we did go to, gave her pledges.  Between this and family members, she did quite well for her first time asking for pledges.  Now on Saturday she needs to play for 200 minutes to earn these pledges.  But she is having fun with the entire experience and that’s the main thing.

As many of you know, my 9 year old daughter has been taking violin lessons through her school.  She was off to a rough start at first as she got quite sick before Christmas and lost a lot of violin practice time.  But, she is one determined kid and has worked very hard a getting caught up with her classmates.  Yesterday I received a message from her violin teacher that her class has been entered into a violin competition.

My daughter is so excited about this.  She now has the confidence built up and I know that she will do her very best.  So at the beginning of April she will be headed off to her very first competition.  I know all the children will do an awesome job and I am just so proud of her.  I can’t wait until April so I can see her perform.

When my daughter got off the school bus yesterday, she was so proud. In her hand’s, she had her own violin. Actually it’s the schools, but for the year, this will be the violin that she plays on and learns on. Last night she was in her room and she was practicing. She informed me that she was really happy that she got into the program and very happy that she didn’t quit when she was thinking about it. So now that the violin is home and in her room, I think she will practice like she is suppose to and I honestly can’t wait to hear her progress over the next few months.