Quiet Weekends Rock

Such a quiet weekend, yet such a rewarding one.

On Sat, took #2 to Chinese class in the morning and extra piano lesson in the arvo.

During Chinese class, the teacher announced hat she is going to use more Mandarin and less English in class, because that is the best way for students to improve their grasp of spoken Mandarin. Also, she prefers that parents (like me) not help kids out by translating for them. If they have questions, they can ask her directly.

I thoroughly approve. But I also know #2 is not ready. She can barely string a sentence together without prompting. She needs far more 1:1 attention and less stress from 听写， 默写, speed word games and trying to keep up with 老师's rapid 北京 accent.

It took me 11 years of continuous daily Chinese lessons and another 2 years as a mature adult to get to the (average) conversational standard that I am at. Imagine my poor Ozzie-born child trying to reach that standard when we don't even speak Mandarin at home. (My fault: I'm not that diligent.)

So the options are: homeschool her (am I patient enough, or will I yell when frustrated and create more friction between us?), or repeat Grade 4.

#2 sat her AMEB Grade 2 piano exam yesterday.

By the time yesterday came around, I had been through the whole cycle of stress (from "Why haven't you mastered your scales by now? Why are there still mistakes in your pieces??" to "If you get A or above, I will buy you Lego Friends") and had reached a place of inner calm and was able to surrender the situation to God and be my most encouraging and positive. Just as well it was hubby driving to Hawthorn, not me.

I remember this time 3 years ago when #1 sat her Grade 3 piano exam. She was 10 and at her most musically rebellious. She had made up her mind that she hated piano and would not practise, not even for the exam. I sat outside the studio on exam day, cringing as she misplayed her way through her pieces. Every wrong note felt like it was piercing my heart, and I almost wanted to go into the studio and take over for her. She got a C, and we decided that it was very clear that classical piano was not for her, and abandoned our well-meaning aspirations. I felt so bad for her teacher, who'd had to put up with a student who didn't want to learn and was wasting everyone's time.

While #2 was having her exam, I went to church with #1. Am grateful that she can now sit through the service without trying to sneak off every 30 minutes for some random reason like she used to. Lunch at KFC and then a trip to the library, which always makes us happy. We went home with a bag full of books (20 just for #2 and me) and everyone flopped around reading/napping.

A perfect weekend, really.