HCC has offered to archive Miss J's enrolment file and has advised that we ring up the Enrolment Office to reactivate it whenever we need to. Her application will then be considered along with other applications as vacancies arise.

Isn't that a nice way to handle the situation?

Hubby and I are impressed.

刘老师 has asked for feedback on a possible morning session for Chinese class.

Judging from the responses, most parents seem to prefer morning session to afternoon.

Which leaves us in the minority, cos Beth has keyboard/piano in the mornings.

Another development we particularly approve of is doing away with the no-class-on-long-weekends policy.

The school used to give students the Sat off if it was a long weekend, but this year, they decided to change strategy. Students continue to have lessons on Queen's Birthday and Melbourne Cup weekends, but the benefit is that they finish the term early. So this Sat 25 June is the last lesson for Term 2, whereas Beth's Yamaha class would probably continue right up to 2 July.

How do I motivate my child to practise the piano?

The daily tug-of-war - nagging, threats, yelling, emotional blackmail, coloured by the occasional flash of musical brilliance, but marked mostly by defiance, procrastination and painfully bad playing - is exhausting.

If not for her, then certainly for me.

I sometimes wonder if she would not be better off having a year off AMEB.

But then my logical mind protests:
"She'll be one year behind her peers!"
"She'll lose momentum and not want to learn piano anymore!"
"How will she be on track to get a music scholarship by Year 6 if she eventually decides she loves music?"

Tonight, Miss B was in a malleable mood.

So I asked her to rate her own effort as she played Minuet in G.

Each time, she gave herself a higher score than before. 6, then 7.5, then 9.75.

"How much more before you give yourself a ten?"

"Just this much more." She made her thumb and index finger into a circle.

Just for fun, I said "Why don't you try playing with your toes?"

You should have seen the gleam in her eyes, and the way her mouth tilted upwards.

She loves quirky challenges, you see.

And immediately she started playing Minuet with her right foot.

Our family is having great fun with the Wind In The Willows movie adaptation of the novel. It's done like the Tales of Peter Rabbit videos: actual people narrating and introducing the story, then the animation (and the real fun!) begins.

I have lovely memories of playing Wind In The Willows at JC with my Humanities friends. I was Mole because of my poor eyesight, Seok was Toad, Pam declared herself Badger "because he's the wise one". Can't quite remember who was the Water Rat though.

Miss J knows all the characters now.She claims Mole, Rat and Badger as her friends, and loves to make fun of silly ol' Toad. ("Poop-poop!")

She particularly enjoys delighting us with her rendition of Toad singing his own welcome-home song after defeating the stoats and weasels with the help of his friends (much like Odysseus returning home to set his house in order after a long absence) -

"When the toad came home..."

If you've never heard this song, have a listen here. The sheer hubris of it will make you laugh.

Full lyrics here.

Never underestimate the power of Barbie.

I never liked dolls as a child, and disliked Barbie particularly for its overt twee factor. And Ken? Eeewww.

Then along comes Barbie in animation form.

One day not long ago, Miss J and I were shopping and she saw the Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale DVD.

I don't even know why I picked it up, much less paid for it, but I can assure you it has changed our lives.

Both the girls LOVE Barbie.

They sing the songs in the DVD - "I wanna be someone, feel something..." "Get your sparkle on, show the world where you belong..."

I have to admit, they're pretty catchy songs. Heavy on the girl power factor, you know?

And the storyline. The right blend of drama, twists, humour, and characters you recognize or that you aspire to be...it's all here.

The dorky boyfriend.

The girl who treats everyone with kindness and respect, takes the time to bring out the best in those who are going through tough times, and who happens to look gorgeous and stylish even when it's raining on the streets of Paris and she's just been fired from her job and dumped by her boyfriend.

The shy apprentice who, when told she is a great designer, says she just makes dresses sometimes.

The pragmatic business owner who acknowledges that her time is up and prepares for a new phase in life by picking up cool hobbies usually associated with teenagers.

The silver-tongued rival designer who steals others' designs and passes them off as her own, constantly talking her talent up and hogging the press.

Miss J has watched the movie so many times she can recite lines perfectly, with the appropriate expression.

And I have to tell you the movie's got some great themes and thought provokers.

"If your audience doesn't like what you do, does it make sense to continue?"

That was the question Barbie and her aunt Millicent had to ponder. One had just been fired from her leading lady role because she spoke her opinion. The other had decided to shut down her fashion house because people no longer loved the dresses she designed.

The 8 yo has been using that line (which just happens to coincide with her own thinking) to query why she must learn AMEB piano.

She likes reading and art, and already gets enough music stimulation through school and Yamaha. Why bother with piano and practice and exams and grades?

So I have to explain that in life, you don't only do the things you like. Some things are necessary to learn because they are essential life skills. Or they are part of your duty and obligation. Or they help to develop your whole brain (like classical music).

I'm not sure if the message is getting through, but maybe if we continue to explore strategies for her to cope with learning the piano and she gains confidence and experiences success, she will eventually want to do this for herself.

Last night, we started a new experiment. It's based on something I noticed about my own piano playing ability. I found that I can play a new piece fairly well if I've first heard it played professionally several times. Because I already know how it ought to sound, I sort of bypass the sight reading bit (which is my weak spot) and play by instinct and memory.

I gave Beth the portable DVD player and headphones and her AMEB CD, and she listened to Intrada several times before she went to bed.

We are going to do this every night this week and see how it affects her playing.

Am waiting for the day Beth plays Graupner's Intrada in C Major like this...