practicing.

oh my goodness. my son never fails to surprise me. i woke up really early to have time to take a real shower & make a run for coffee before j left for work. z was up after my shower, before any opb kids programming was on, so the only option i gave him was to practice until wild kratz started (10 min). he watched his two shows. i was in the bathroom, and i heard him say, "mommy! it's violin time!"
what the heck? had he just forgotten that we had already practiced? perhaps. who knows, with this child. the past week, i've been limiting his tv watching in the morning to two shows (1 hour). he has 5 shows to choose from, if it's not a school day. he also has to choose when we will practice the violin in the morning, during which show. since i've begun doing this, he always chooses to watch wild kratz (which makes no sense, because it's on again in the afternoon, which he could watch then) and curious george, with practicing afterward during the cat in the hat 30 min segment. he was so much in the pattern of doing that, i guess, that it was just automatic to say "violin time." but being my child, my sweet z, he also said, "yay! i get to play the violin!"

please realize that practicing lasts for 4-5 min before he says, "i'm tired. i'm finished. i don't want to do anymore." we only practice 5-11 minute bits at a time, and at his age, that is totally okay. i'm just thrilled that we have now done 14 days of straight practice in a row, without any tears!