Piano Practice

Gabe is now having piano lessons, but he's been struggling to keep track of his practicing.
He's looking at his hands more than the notes and then losing his place on the page.  He hasn't been turning to the teachers instructions about which songs to practice either.

I wanted to come up with a way for the boys to keep track of their assigned songs and the days they've completed their practicing, so I bet you can guess what I did... I made a chart. (Yes, I'm so predictable!)

I bought a simple plastic frame that sits on top of the piano. I created a page for the boys to keep track of their piano assignments for each day of the week. One side is for Zach and one side is for Gabe. I put a dry erase marker next to the chart so the boys can check off their songs as they go.  It also offers me a quick way to see who's been practicing and who hasn't.

Some weeks I'll reprint the chart and replace it in the frame, and other weeks, I just use the marker to update their assignments.

I'm hoping to have more time in the summer to sit and work with Gabe during his practice sessions. We had a good practice session together this morning - I also think a little encouragement goes a long way. ;D

This is the next budding musician.
After Gabe and I finished practicing,
Jared sat at the piano and played while singing,
"C... E... F... E...   C... E... G... E"
So CUTE!

Articles of Faith

I wasn't planning to write this weekend, but I was so touched by the topic in Sacrament meeting today, that I wanted to make a few notes. 


The graduating seniors were asked to speak about their favorite Articles of Faith, half of them felt they couldn't choose just one, so they addressed the importance of the Articles as a whole. The other two speakers focused on Articles 3 and 7. I was really impressed by two true stories of children who not only memorized the Articles of Faith but were capable of talking about the doctrine. Their study of and faith in the Articles prepared them to share the gospel with adults that they met. These adults and their families began looking into the gospel and then joined the church.  The understanding and faith of these children was remarkable.


The whole sacrament meeting was very thought provoking and inspiring, and I just wanted to take a minute to write the Articles of Faith on the blog, for anyone who hasn't read them in a while:

 1We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

 2We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

 3We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

 4We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

 5We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

 6We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

 7We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

 8We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

 9We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

 10We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

 11We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

 12We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

 13We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

-Joseph Smith

My kids have been learning Articles of Faith Songs at church to help them memorize these, but I felt impressed today that we should be talking about them at home too. I found this wonderful reference page online that lists scriptures and quotes that support the Articles of Faith along with clipart and other helpful tools for memorizing the articles. Just go to this link "Articles of Faith Index" and then click on an Article in the list to see the teaching aids. 


We're getting very close to finishing our family study of the Book of Mormon, and when we finish, I want to take the time to really STUDY the Articles of Faith and these scriptural references during our family scripture study. 


Hope you had a wonderful Sabbath day too.