NOTE: Here is another really old post that I found (written 12-13 years ago). I added a few pictures of my cute 5-year-old at the time. Does it sound like all we do is work? Well, yes. Sometimes it feels that way. Summer vacation is definitely over. So here's another post about work! My sister asked me recently how much work I expect of my five-year-old. She has a five-year-old too and wanted to know what she should expect. One of my highest priorities as a parent is teaching my children how to work. But I definitely don't have it all figured out... My five-year-old is a little delayed because of health issues so she is not quite as capable as other 5-year-olds. She has a pretty hard time staying on task. Plus, she's the youngest. I don't need as much help from her so I really have to force myself to let her do the work and not do it for her. So here's what I expect: A successful morning really starts the night before....
NOTE: I wrote this post a long time ago (10 years ago at least) and never posted it. However, it seems like it might be helpful for someone out there so I'm going to publish it. With my children almost all grown up, the only people practicing at my house currently are the parents (and we practice without being reminded!). A few of my children still play the piano and organ, mostly for church. My daughter plays her violin in a community orchestra as I also do. Even though some of my adult children are not playing their instruments much, I am glad we did this with our children and I think it helped them learn some valuable lessons. There are a lot of reasons to learn a musical instrument. One of my favorites is that it teaches children to do something hard. Some people have the mistaken idea that children should enjoy practicing and they should just do it because they love it. Or that some kids are talented and others are not. Some children DO have more...