My little students are constantly full of surprises. A couple days ago a little 6-year old told me the following “piano riddle”:
You are locked in a room. The only things in this room are a calendar, a couch, and a piano. You need to eat, drink, and get out. What do you?
I’d never heard this one before. Anyone know this already?
Answer: You eat a “sundae” from the calendar, drink from the “springs” of the couch, and get out using a “key” from the piano!
Ta da! 🙂
Apparently she’d heard that at camp this summer.
Yesterday, I was attempting to correct a nine-year old girl’s slouching posture at the piano. I suggested she pretend she was a ballerina and even made what I perceive to be “ballerina poses” to show her–stretching my neck long, straight back, etc. I should probably mention that I am definitely NOT a ballerina, have no idea what a real ballerina pose looks like, and my back is decidedly curved and my neck decidedly not long. All of this might have something to do with the face she instantly made. She then proceeded to tell me that she’d rather think of a wolf. A what? A wolf. Specifically an alpha wolf, leader of and in charge of the rest of the pack. At which time she struck the perfect pianist pose. Awesome. Whatever works for you, kid! Turns out, the wolf is her favourite animal. And then she starts rolling out fact after fact about wolves. I can tell you I learned a lot. Too bad I can’t remember any of it now to tell you.
But the point is, I had made a stereotypical assumption that she, being a 9-year old girl wearing a skirt and flowery shirt, would of course want to be a ballerina. I ought to make a point of either choosing more gender neutral examples, or at least ask if the girl even likes ballet before using it. It’s not always easy to remember that children are all so varied in temperament and personalities. Especially since many girls do aspire to be ballerinas; I’ve used that example many times in the past and it has always been met with enthusiasm and success. Until now. Noted: in future, use alpha wolf instead! 🙂
I’m not sure that I’m much of a wolf-lover, but I do like cute and fuzzy animals. Especially if they’re in a video together. So I’ll leave you with a couple of cute videos that I came across today: Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D6aAKW-lE4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh8gnIluUp4