Friday, October 13, 2017

What We Did Over the Summer - Improv and Music

The summer wasn't all swimming. It was full of acting and music too. I'll post later about the films the kids were involved in, but they are always working on their acting skills. Both Parker and Dema love improv. They both participated in an improv camp/workshop at Class Act this summer. Improv probably scares me more than any other acting so I am in awe that the boys embrace and enjoy it. Parker even recently joined a local adult improv troupe, Zoo Improv.
Parker is the one in the brown shirt and shorts in the middle.
Parker was asked, by one of our favorite local directors, to act in a music video. He needed to learn to play the bass guitar in a short amount of time to accurately portray the character. Well, months later the music video hasn't happened, but Parker's love for playing bass has taken off. He really wanted to start or join a band, but so far the musicians haven't aligned, but he continues to take bass lessons from our fabulous music guru and friend, Ryan. This summer, Ryan gave Parker the bass guitar he had loaned him and Parker was so happy! The guitar previously was owned by another neighbor friend of ours who moved to Canada several years ago. I love having useful things in our lives handed down from friends.
Parker and his "new to him" bass guitar.
Parker spent some of his time this summer at one of the local private schools, St. Thomas More. Last school year he got involved in their fall play and then they asked him back for their musical. He had so much fun and made so great friends. They asked him if he wanted to try out for their madrigal group and he did. The madrigal group used the summer to practice and get to know each other. He is at the high school a couple mornings a week before their school starts to practice. While getting up early is not fun for him, he does seem happier with singing back in his routine. 

Josie has taken some time off from music, but she went back full force this summer. She now takes drum lessons from Elsinore's fantastic drummer, James, and ukulele from Ryan.
Josie at one of her first drum lessons.
I was reluctant to put her in drum lessons at first. She had been "drumming" with  her hands on tables, her lap, anything she could get a beat going on. I finally decided this habit wasn't going away and figured she needed a musical outlet. We were only going to have a practice pad at home since drum sets can be expensive, but several weeks after she started lessons I found a used drum set at a local consignment store. The store sells toys and clothes, not usually instruments, so they were eager to get the tempting noisy drums out of the store. They gave me a great deal and our neighbor, Vicky, helped me get the set home during Josie's gymnastics practice. Dema and I set the drums up while Josie was gone (which involved moving a queen sized bed out of her room and a twin bed in to make room for everything) and she was so surprised and happy when she came home!
Josie with her "new to her" drum set.



Josie absolutely loves the drums and I really see her sticking with this for a long time. Her teacher is a great combination of positive feedback with constructive criticism. He talks about his own practice and he's been drumming for at least twice as long as she's been alive. I like having people in the kids lives who are about lifelong learning. James also makes body position, stick handling, and ear protection priorities. This is important to me as well since she's going to be spending hours of her week with her drums, I want her to learn how to protect her body.

Quick breakfast at the food co-op after shopping the farmers' market.

We are enjoying the last few weeks of the outdoor farmers' market before the weather turns cold. Josie had to be at the IMC (Independent Media Center) around the corner so we thought it would be a good place to have  a quick breakfast of fruit, bread, and hummus. Parker was going to the Buddy Walk, a walk to support the local Down Syndrome Network. He had a great time seeing some of his friends from The Penguin Project (more on that in a later post) and helping a good cause.

Josie rocking her Girls Rock! t-shirt.
Josie went to a workshop for Girls Rock! C-U and she hasn't stopped talking about it. They spent a few hours learning about different instruments and trying them out. All the musical mentors were women and all the participants identify as female. Josie really wants them to create a drop in type situation (not likely) or something more regular for girls to get together and jam. She spends about 15 hours a week with her gymnastics teammates, but while they are called a team, gymnastics is a very individual sport. The gymnastic girls are all pretty competitive or they wouldn't be at this level and it can be less than positive, at times. Josie was super impressed and inspired by the feel of "girl power" and supportiveness at Girls Rock! She definitely wants more of this type of female positivity in her life.

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