Mum the music coach

I am donning my coach hat as Beth's AMEB exam looms.

This requires a different approach every day, because her moods are as predictable as Melbourne's weather.

Yesterday was horrible.

She played so badly during her weekly lesson with her teacher.

And in the afternoon, she had a meltdown when I insisted she practise. She banged violently all over the keyboard like she was trying to destroy it. My mum would have had a fit if that had been my response to being told to practise! (Then again, I was such a compliant kid, I would never have dared.)

Today, she dawdled and delayed. She wouldn't put down the book she was reading. Then she took extra long in the bath. Practice time which was meant to begin at 5.30 started at 7.30.

But when she finally got round to it, she actually put in a decent performance with her pieces. Which just goes to prove she's got it but just needs to focus and be more disciplined and consistent.

I got Beth to commit to an hour of practice every day from now till 19 Nov.

She could decide how she wanted to space out her practice session: 4x15 min, 3x20min, 2x30 min.

She chose 3x20min and wrote out the practice times on her chalkboard.

Tomorrow, we begin.

Club Penguin

Beth has discovered the delights of Club Penguin, a virtual community for kids that claims to be kid-safe.

So a game on CP has now joined the growing list of rewards for good behaviour and incentives to meet set goals.

At pickup time today, I learned two new things about my child's social life -

• She asked for her BF Keely's email address and promised to send her info on how to access Club Penguin, which she duly did this evening (it was detailed enough to nearly be an instruction manual; I confess I was quite impressed by the depth of her knowledge and memory retention)
• She promised to "meet" her classmate Isabella on CP at 7 pm Melbourne time (!!).

I have decided to be a "good" parent and sign up for a parent account on CP so I can set the amount of time Beth spends there.

Trouble is, I'm required to supply the email address used to create her penguin.

I don't know it.

And neither does she. :p

Kumon?

Am checking out Kumon to help Beth with her math.

She is not struggling. Yet. But I agree with my fellow mum Su****. Better to train her to learn at a higher level so it will be easy when she gets to high school.

This is just one of the testimonials on the Kumon website that are making me lean towards a yes to booking her in for 2011.

The only trouble: it's one more after-school activity on top of the music, Chinese and swimming.

Getting ready for kindergarten 2011

J received her kinder confirmation yesterday.

She has kinder orientation next Tue 11-12.30 at Woodville Park, where they will get to experience various kinder activities and meet their teachers. As she's been going to daycare since 18 mths, I don't expect she'll notice much difference.

Parents are also required to attend the AGM on 17 Nov, but we will only receive the info pack if we pay the first instalment of the fees before the AGM. Once we receive the invoice and make payment, we are to show the receipt to the kinder staff at the AGM.

Fees for 10 hour groups: $752 pa or $188 per term (it was $666 during Beth's time, and she was on the 12 hour program!)

Will be handing in the booking form to Wyndarra today and letting them know J won't be attending daycare wef Dec.

It's exciting to be able to pay some extra money into the mortgage and watch the outstanding balance shrink.

First AMEB exam approaches

I am getting very worried.

The way Beth is going - playing when she suka, refusing to correct mistakes - she will not be ready for her exams at the end of the year.

It's already Oct and she still has not mastered Poseidon's Throne or her scales. And her sightreading is hideous: she can scarcely read!

I tried showing her my old RSM exam results and what examiners look out for. She was less than interested. None of it seems to be making a dent in her motivation and self-discipline.

I don't know what I should do: let her continue on her certain path to a C? At Grade One??

Filipino hospitality at its best

Last Sat was a drama where all ended well.

We were invited to dinner at Amencio & Rose's new place in Moorookyle but when we got there, no one was home and A was not contactable on mobile and landline. It was all very strange, and we wondered if we'd got the date wrong.

Eventually, A was able to reach us and the gathering took place as planned.

We especially give thanks that Beth and J got on so well with Kate and Clark.

Kate and Beth were classmates at Sr Rita Douglas Kinder 3 years ago, but we lost touch when the girls went to different schools. Amencio helped us when we moved into our current house, so hubby tried to return the favour when it was their turn - but was preempted as they decided to move during the week.

Beth is a creature pretty much driven by her moods. She gets overwhelmed by the new - new situations, new people - and has even hidden in her room when we have visitors. So it was wonderful to see how quickly she was able to relax and be part of what was going on at Amencio's: watching Monsters and Aliens in 3D, playing Wii tennis and hide and seek...

The four kids got on so well that at the end of the night, J didn't want to go home. She even let Rose carry her, and said she wanted to sleep over!

As for the adults, we had a fantastic time enjoying slow food, carrying on where we had left off in our friendship, and trying out Amencio's new MagicSing karaoke system - competing to see which team (guys vs girls) scored higher. As Rose jested, it's not fair that the guys get 100 most of the time...just because they have louder voices!

Many thanks to Amencio and Rose for their hospitality and friendship, and Kate and Clark for making our children feel like their new best friends.