Monday, January 16, 2012

Of banana splits and magnet compositions


Why yes, that is a Yo Gabba Gabba placemat.  Don't judge us.

Ben creating one of his magnet compositions
 
Ben playing one of his magnet compositions, for Mozart Mouse

Well, the first picture is pretty self-explanatory.  No, he didn't get to eat the whole thing himself.  He shared it (somewhat reluctantly) with us, and it was delicious.

At his piano teacher's recommendation, I got a "Music for Little Mozarts" piano instruction kit which includes, among other things, two stuffed animals named Mozart Mouse and Beethoven Bear (he also has Mozart and Beethoven action figures, acquired separately) and this great magnetic white board.  One side has the piano keyboard that you see, and the other has staff notation.  There are ten small note-shaped magnets, and Ben's favorite piano-time activity is placing these on the keyboard and then performing the result.  It's been a great vehicle for him to learn the pitch names and locations, and he's pretty much mastered that.  He usually practices at the piano in the living room, but this was an impromptu act of creativity at the electric keyboard in the guest room, timed especially so as to delay his bedtime.  He knows how to manage me.

4 comments:

dlefler said...

Very cool! I love the piano kit you bought. Is Ben doing Suzuki or the "traditional" method? Matt starts on Saturday with a traditional method - I'm excited to watch him learn.

Also? The banana split looks delicious. Yum.

Melanie said...

We love Yo Gabba Gabba around this house. :) Ben is so musically inclined...like an inborn talent. Kind of ironic and kind of awesome. :)

rouchi6 said...

Its a blessing that Ben loves music. Getting them to understand and talk is a big effort, knowing and loving music is great. Hope he learns and does big performances.

Julia said...

His teacher is definitely more "traditional" than Suzuki, although she's not opposed to Suzuki and incorporates elements of it. I took Suzuki violin from age 4 to 13, and when we moved my new teacher was non-Suzuki -- which was good, because while Suzuki is terrific for young kids, I was kind've growing out of it.