Suzuki Graduation Recital

Caleb participated in a Suzuki Graduation Recital on May 13th. This was a huge deal because he graduated from the highest level of Suzuki. He performed Mozart's Sonata in A Major, K. 331, Theme and Variations memorized. It's a difficult piece with little intricacies, and it's 8 pages long! His memory is incredible. He didn't perform flawlessly, but he did very well. The video he submitted to the judge was all 3 movements (19 pages long!!), memorized, but he was fortunately able to record one movement at a time for the submission (not back-to-back). He is gearing up for his Book 7 Suzuki Recital; all pieces are learned and mostly polished and memorized. I admire his dedication to see this through. It definitely represents a lot of hard work!!!

Caleb and his new piano teacher

Ellery also performed at the recital!

 

Piano Competition

Caleb is working hard to finish Book 7 of Suzuki. He's learned almost all the songs and is now polishing and memorizing. I'm proud of him for pushing through and making piano a priority even though he is so busy in high school. Quitting piano in high school is one of my biggest regrets. He participated in a piano competition at the end of January where he performed in front of an audience while being judged. The two songs he played were Alla Turca by Mozart and Nocturne in C-sharp Minor by Chopin.

Finishing Off the School Year

Bryson did very well in 3rd grade making the all A honor roll. Going back to school after homeschooling last year, the class he struggled in the most was Reading. I disagreed with how that teacher graded frequently throughout the year though. (Short assignments so that if you missed one question you got a B, not taking enough grades, etc.) Overall, he transitioned very well though.

Bryson got the Payday Award for always working hard each day.

Austin graduated from Kindergarten. For the most part, he thought school was only okay. He's a smarty pants so the work was too easy for him, and he was often bored. But he was able to help other students when needed and enjoyed getting to know new friends. Just like my other boys, he was very well-behaved at school and never stepped a toe out of line.

Austin got the Writing Wizard award because he enjoyed writing stories when he had free time. He's the first of my boys to really love writing. We will see if that continues. Austin is also very meticulous about his handwriting and tries to write his letters extra neat.

Caleb had his Suzuki Book 6 party mid May. He spent more time perfecting his songs this time, and his very difficult songs sounded absolutely gorgeous. I was so proud of him! We invited a bigger crowd this time, and many people heard his impressive talent. He continues to practice daily and work very hard at developing this skill. I quit when I got to 9th grade, so I'm glad he's not following in my footsteps.

In true Mom Fail fashion, I ran off to serve refreshments and neglected to get a picture of Caleb at the event. I did take some videos of his playing though.

Caleb finished up his school year with all As; his lowest final average on his report card was a 95. Next year he will try his hand at his first AP class. He improved a lot on his writing this year.

After the choir Pop Show with his tennis and choir buddy, Tyler.

Carter killed 6th grade. I don't know how much of it was his own intellect, easier teachers, or his fabulous homeschool teacher last year (wink, wink), but Carter made 6th grade look like a walk in the park. One boy and one girl are chosen for the Principal's award per hallway (3 classes) for demonstrating leadership and making good grades. Carter was picked as the boy in his hallway.

Look at this kid's report card! I don't know how he could have done any better with his final averages as a 99 or 100 in every class!!! He was also one of ten 6th grade students who passed the CBE test and will skip 8th grade math next year and move straight to Algebra. I'll help fill in any gaps as needed. He's excited to move on to junior high next year and play football.

I'm so proud of how hard all my boys worked this past school year! Matt and I feel so lucky and blessed to be their parents.

Family Update

Stocking up on Crispix while it's on sale. Our favorite family cereal!!

This sight made me so happy that I had to snap a picture! I have such a passion for reading, which none of my boys share (including my husband). But on the rare occasion, they have been sucked into a book. Carter is reading book 5 of Percy Jackson; he does a lot of reading at school (up to an hour), and one day last week he had to come home and dive into his book right away.

Baseball season has started for both Bryson and Carter. I was able to finagle a few boys in the neighborhood getting on Bryson's team so that we would have carpool help. Bryson is looking good, not as athletic as his older brothers, but fundamentally sound. Carter has finally figured out how to control his pitching (an assistant coach gave Carter some advice that helped), and it looks like Carter will be pitching this season! He's looking so strong in all areas. Matt is excited to coach his team again. This is the first year in 5 years that Caleb is taking off from baseball, and it could possibly be forever. He wants to try out for soccer and tennis at his junior high, and it will be too much to try to do baseball on top of those sports. In 9th grade, he'll have the option to do baseball through the high school, but with so much time off and his small stature, he likely won't make the team. We will see.

Bryson and Austin after B's baseball practice.

 The boys usually help Matt sweep up leaves in the front yard. One day after school, Carter saw it needed to be done and just started blowing the leaves off the driveway and out of the flower beds all by himself! One by one, the other brothers went out and helped. It was pretty incredible and that act of service set a wonderful tone for the rest of the night.

A few weeks ago, Caleb has his book 4 Suzuki Recital.

He knocked it out of the park! He played all the songs in book 4 plus Solfeggietto in C minor; they were all polished and played with minimal mistakes. This kid wows me, and it was such a proud Momma moment! He has a strong passion for piano, and it shows. He was so excited to be done, however, so that he could stop practicing those songs every day!

Level 2 Graduation Recital

In the Suzuki method they have certain graduate levels. To be a level 1 graduate, you have to finish the 2nd Suzuki book and be at a certain point in the 3rd book. To be a level 2 graduate, you have to finish the 3rd Suzuki book and be a certain point in the 4th book etc. The idea behind this is to be at a skill level past the pieces you actually perform in order to show greater mastery of the easier songs.

Caleb recorded 3 songs from book 3 to submit to a judge who graded and commented on different skills. Then he picked one of the songs to perform at the graduation recital. Caleb played Sonatina in C Major Op. 36, No. 3 by Clementi and played so beautifully. Excellent scale runs, trills, control, dynamics, and technique. I don't love everything about the Suzuki method, but overall this has been the best fit for Caleb to push him in this natural-born talent that he was given. The method has taught him to pay attention to the tiniest details; it has taught him more about technique than I ever learned as a piano student!

The students who performed in the recital

Caleb and his Suzuki piano teacher (and also a great family friend!)

Ribbon Festival 2018

Caleb participated in a Suzuki Ribbon Festival where he played two Suzuki songs from the current book he is in (4) in front of a judge and an audience. It's simply a chance to practice performing with pressure and give the students more experience. Caleb didn't perform as well as he had practiced at home but still did very well! The other students in his group were quite talented playing some very difficult songs so it was fun to listen to them!!

Caleb and his good friend, Tyler, who started Suzuki about a year ago.

Tyler is tall for his age and Caleb is short for his age--makes for a big difference even though they are only 3 months apart! Caleb and Tyler were actually in a car accident earlier in the day on the way home from a soccer game. Tyler's dad was driving and someone ran a red light and hit them. Fortunately no one was hurt, but the truck was totaled. They were both a little shaken up the rest of the day.

Caleb's Book 3 Suzuki Recital

On August 12, Caleb had his book 3 Suzuki Recital. I forgot to take a picture the night of with his piano teacher, but here is Caleb a few days later with his certificate. These recitals are a big deal because he plays the entire book of songs memorized and polished with great attention to detail. A huge feat!! Caleb does have a tendency to rush, so his sonatinas got faster on the runs. He also completely blanked in the middle of one of his songs and forgot what came next. But overall he did amazing. He is so talented and works so hard!