Monet

Today we've been spending the morning researching Monet and setting up an outdoor studio so the kids can do some landscape sketches. They're having a great time using light and shadows to draw things in the yard. Zoë even took her lunch with her, just like Monet would have, and ate while she drew.

Last week was our first test of not finishing their task list. Zoë decided that she wasn't going to complete her math, so she spent the weekend with no technology privileges. She did manage to finally sit down and work on it Sunday morning, so at least the work doesn't carry over to this week. I think she thought she could just skip doing it altogether, and was upset to find out that was not an option. Something tells me she won't do that again.

We have a very busy week fitting in the rest of the Europe unit before we head out of town for the weekend. Final projects will need to be completed by Thursday night, and they have a few lessons to finish before they even get to the final projects. It's probably going to be a long week!

This weekend they participated in a piano competition. They had to play 2 songs, one from the Suzuki book and another they just learned by reading. They also both took a theory test after they played. We just got their scores back and they did very well. Both Aiden and Zoë received a superior rating on their playing. Aiden got a superior in theory, while Zoë received an excellent. We're really proud of all the practice they've put in lately. I'm hoping that Zoë's higher score will motivate her to continue practicing well. Aiden is further along in the book, and she sometimes gets discouraged by that.

We're starting to think about planning Aiden's book one piano recital. He only has 2 songs to finish hands together, and he'll be ready. He can't decide if he wants to do the recital at home or a piano store. I'm hoping he picks the piano store! We can't comfortably fit all the people he wants to invite into our living room, plus I think it would seem like a bigger deal if he did it away from home. Hopefully, I can sway him to pick that option.