Something that Bugs Me…
…a lot. As in “alot”. This is not a word, people. Look it up in the dictionary. Not there. If you like something very much, you like it a lot. Two words. Not one. /rant
Archive for March, 2007
Ukulele and Slack Key Workshop
We spent last weekend at an ukulele and slack key guitar workshop in Pahala, which is about two hours from here.
The workshop was at the Pahala Plantation, a seven bedroom behemoth of a house. It used to be the plantation manager’s home before the sugar plantation closed down in 1996. Now, it’s available as a rental and for events like the one we attended. It’s just gorgeous.
Our cottage was a couple of blocks away.
B was in heaven. From Friday to Sunday he spent every waking hour playing ukulele, test driving a slack-key guitar and taking lessons from Herb Ohta, Jr. and Keoki Kahumoku. Keoki has played slack-key on all three of the Grammy Award winning albums in the Hawaiian music category and Herb is an award winning ukulele player, so the students definitely had access to the best in the business. Both of the instructors were so good with the students and readily helped everyone (both adults and kids) with an abundance of aloha.
Each morning, the students sat in a circle and practiced their Hawaiian language sounds and learned a chant that was written especially for the event. Every evening, they gathered to kanikapila (or play music together).
And on Sunday, the entire community was invited to a concert. The instructors played for the first half of the concert, and then invited all of the students to join them on stage to play four or five songs that they had practiced over the course of the workshop.
E and I – not musicians! – spent the weekend hanging out, helping in the kitchen, and just watching. It was really a mini immersion class in the Hawaiian lifestyle, too. One evening, a member of the community (”uncle”) brought a whole ahi tuna that was immediately prepared for dinner – sashimi and bone fish.
The ladies in the kitchen surprised me and took a break from cooking to practice hula. At each meal, everyone gathered in a circle as Keoki blessed the food. It was a truly wonderful experience.
So True
I just got my Chinaberry catalog in the mail and loved the “Dear Friends” letter. Here’s an excerpt:
So often we think we need to schedule every minute of the day for our children. Not only does this not leave any down time for them to tap into their natural curiosity and feed their own interests, but often what we adults come up with is way off the mark as far as what truly feeds their souls.
So very true, and it pertains to learning too! When kids are pushed to do certain educational things, or reach certain educational milestones, or pass certain educational tests, what is lost in the learning?
And while I’m talking Chinaberry, did those of you who ordered your own copy of the catalog just LOVE it or what? I want this and this and this. You know. Just in case you’re keeping track.
Keep your eyes here…
..for two author interviews that I’ll be posting:
Homeschool mom and author of Dark Enough to see the Stars in a Jamestown Sky, Connie Lapallo will share with me (and therefore, you!) the details of her journey from genealogical research to published novel. You may have seen a couple of other homeschooljournal bloggers mention how much they enjoyed this inside look at the women of the Jamestown colony.
I’ll also have the fabulous author and illustrator team of Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long, who crafted An Egg is Quiet (and the forthcoming A Seed is Sleepy!). These ladies garnered the top spot in the CYBILS non fiction picture book category. They are both on tour at the moment, but I’m anxiously awaiting the details of how I’ll finally connect with them.
