June, age 6, USA, Progress Report

We are new here.

I did a brief introduction earlier in the week. I am Laura.

We have purchased Soft Mozart for our two daughters:
June, dd6 (formerly referred to as Bugaboo) and
Jeanie, dd2.5 (formerly referred to as DuckieDoo).

Where we are now:
I have been teaching June for two years using My First Piano Adventures. She is working through Book B. I have just posted a piece of June playing in the May 2013 Piano Recital.

Jeanie is 2.5 years old. She is VERY musically motivated. She dances to the tv, tinks on the piano, and simply NOTICES music. If she sits up with me to watch Saturday Night Live, she will insist that I replay (on DVR) the songs played by the musical guest again and again. Same for any songs in Scooby Doo or other movies we watch. She loves to play "Tree" (Guess Key game) and "Hot" (Hot Cross Buns). I have no expectations of what she will accomplish, because she does have the attention span of a 2yo.

I'll try to get some photos and music clips soon.

Question: Should we work on the Summer 2012 Curriculum, or will there be a different Summer Curriculum listed for 2013?

June will be taking a summer hiatus from playing piano. We did this last summer, and it was a good break for us. We homeschool, and our summers are usually full of camps, swimming, and trips to the park.

Plus, June has written a sign for the piano that says, "No piano until Mom finds the Dinosaurs." (She is referring to the Dinosaur curriculum I promised her for this autumn. I sure hope I can find it by September 1st! June is ready to start it now!)

I am learning a lot about teaching June using Soft Mozart. We are learning the ins and outs of the program, and I am trying to find SM music that is a good level for her.

--We will start with some of the Nursery Rhymes in the autumn. I will post June playing them and hope for some good feedback to guide us to where she should be.

--Since June can already read music, I have learned that using the lower levels (1,2,3) for her is more frustration than help. Using the vertical orientations forces her to learn a secondary (and unnecessary for her) form of reading the music. She also does better if she can see the whole page of music and develop a strategy of how to attack the piece, rather than just focusing on one note at a time.

--SM has been a good transition for June to start playing with both hands simultaneously.

--SM gives June reason to practice, memorize, and perform pieces. This is something we had no access to before SM.

I have told June that we will supplement our piano lessons in the Fall with SM.

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Other details:
Originally, we purchased SM for little sister Jean (age 2). Jean is behaving like a typical 2yo by not playing regularly on the piano when SM is offered.

I am hoping to make use of SM myself this summer. I am only a few steps ahead of June in my piano abilities.

--Laura
June and Jean's mom