I love Wednesday mornings. On Monday and Tuesday mornings we rush out the door to piano lessons. Wednesdays, we stay home.
Although it is not a going out day, we were still up fairly early. The mornings are becoming darker as we get into autumn but we’re still running before breakfast. “Have a good run,” I tell my yawning team as we set off down the track. “Just think about the porridge we’re going to have for breakfast once we’ve finished.”
So we enjoyed the fresh morning air as we ran through the bush. Then when we came home, we made a huge pan full of porridge. We? Actually Charlotte made it. I headed straight into the shower. When I reappeared, a bowl of porridge topped with chopped nuts, was waiting for me.
It takes a while for lots of girls to make it through the shower. Then there were morning chores to do and prayers to say. And by the time we’d done all that, it was hardly worth starting anything else. It was 10 o’clock: morning tea time.
I think back a few years and remember how anxious I used to be about getting the day started ‘on time’. On time? Rush, rush. We mustn’t get behind. Oh, we rush enough on days when we have outside lessons. Today, we relax and enjoy.
So we are all sitting here thumping on our computer keyboards as we sip milk or coffee. Yes, I like Wednesday mornings.
In a few minutes we’ll close our computers. Imogen is going to give Sophie and Gemma-Rose piano and singing lessons. Then later, we have something we want to do together. We’re really looking forward to it. We’re going to compose music using the Fibonacci numbers as inspiration. Gemma-Rose has already dug out the xylophone from the garage. She plans to play her music on it. I think Sophie wants to use the piano. She’s already thinking about how she will add interest by using sharps and flats.
I might post something about Fibonacci music if you’re interested. And what about Pi artwork? The girls and I made visualisations of the number Pi yesterday. I could write a post about that too.
And I have an idea I’ve been mulling over: Does maths have to be taught systematically? Or can we dip into it randomly and approach it from many different directions and levels? I feel like writing something on this topic.
Writing posts? What am I doing writing posts? I’m an ex-blogger, aren’t I? To be honest, I don’t know. All I know is sometimes I have ideas I want to write about. And why not post them here? There might be someone interested in reading, despite the fact I fail to network and can’t keep up with reading and commenting on everyone’s blogs.
And if not, then that’s quite okay. I shall post for myself.
Sophie and Imogen are now sitting side-by-side at the piano. (I love seeing older sisters passing on their skills to younger ones.) And while the girls are busy, I’m taking some time to write this post.
Yes, today our time is our own. And I realise this blog is my own too. Sometimes it’s important to do things on our time table, and in a way that suits us best. And not worry about the expectations of others. This doesn’t mean I don’t care about others. I do. But I have to recognise my limits.
I have come to the end of this post. Gemma-Rose is now at the piano. A light rain is falling, but we are warm and dry inside. Yes, I love Wednesdays. Don’t you love at-home days too?
Oooo, Pi Art. Did you write a blog post about the Pi Art? I would love to know more about that. And the music too.
I am a bit like Gemma-Rose I imagine. When I hear the word maths or even the word numbers, I feel like freezing. Or maybe running away.
Art on the other hand…Now that is a happy word. And music. So this is how I like to approach maths for myself.
Though I remember my maths teacher one day bringing up how my music was maths and really making me upset. I loved music and as a child played multiple instruments and in an orchestra. I was lucky enough to travel with this orchestra and to see some beautiful parts of Europe. Music brought adventures into my life. And joy. And now he dared to say it was maths? How dare he. Of course I knew he was right, but it did not feel like maths and since I really disliked maths and had nightmares about maths lessons and my maths teachers for that matter, I did not want to hear that word in the same sentence as music.
I remember how my teacher said that I had to count out the music after all when I learned a new piece and I felt secretly happy that he was wrong. I never, not once, had to count out the music. I looked at the sheet music ad I could hear the melody inside my head and I would play what I heard. No counting.
Later I realized that, of course there was still math behind it, even when I did not consciously count. And I am sad that our schools do so often not allow a different approach to maths. How much more enjoyable it would have been.
Please let me know if you do have a post or tips for me about the Pi Art.
Thank you.
PS: Sorry for commenting so much within such a short time. Am I keeping you busy just reading comments? 🙂
It is just that I am catching up on all these posts and I get excited.
Calla,
Yes, maths isn’t really what we think it is, is it? I’ve tried to show Gemma-Rose that maths is rather beautiful. It’s the language of the world. It’s the foundation of so many things such as music.
Pi art… I remember how much fun we had making designs based on Pi. We might have started with this Numberphile video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPoj8lk9Fo4
Here are a couple of other Numberphile videos we used as starting points for some maths adventures:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acTrvMlpuxA
http://periodicvideos.blogspot.com/2013/04/fibonacci-tartan.html
And here’s a post that contains links to some other great Pi videos:
https://www.storiesofanunschoolingfamily.com/pi-and-tea-our-dogs-tea-bag-collection/
Some of the Numberphile videos are a bit complicated, but there is no doubt that the presenters are enthusiastic about maths and this inspired us to enjoy maths too!
I hope you enjoy watching the videos. It was good to chat with you!