Giving Anchors to Your Children
Monday, May 13, 2013 at 5:00AM
The older my children get, the more I can clearly see the importance of some sort of "anchor" in their lives.
By an anchor I mean a skill and/or passion they can call their own - an area in which they can excel and develop their unique talent.
Several months ago I wrote about how important it is to give your child an anchor.
I had been contemplating anchors after a beautiful children's chorus performance.
After a fabulous piano recital this past weekend, I got to thinking about anchors once again.
Anchors Come From What They Love
This may seem like a "duh" to most people, but too often I think we encourage what WE love and not what our CHILDREN love.
Anna went through a few things before piano. She took ballet lessons (but told me she really just liked getting dressed up and looking cute). Next came tennis, but that was short lived.
During this entire time she had been taking piano lessons (a requirement in our house!) and steadily was getting better by the day.
I knew she loved learning about musicals. She loved to sing and play instruments.
By simply cultivating this love, she naturally gravitated more to the piano.
Now I don't ask her to practice. The first thing she does when we get home after being gone for a long time is go to the piano and PLAY.
She is seeking out music on her own. She willingly shares her playing with others.
{Have you read my post, What About Piano Lessons? This answers any nitty gritty questions you might have about piano lessons, teachers, methods, etc...}
Anchors Develop Perseverance and Stamina
{Warning: a little bit of shameless bragging here - I'm very proud of my child!}
At a recent piano judged piano festival, there were 8 children (out of 200) awarded a cash prize for exceptional artistry. Anna received one of those awards.
Her piano teacher had set this as a GOAL for her.
She has received Superior ratings at this festival for 5 consecutive years.
At each recital we can see her progressing into a wonderful musician.
She is developing perseverance and stamina, and the last time I checked those are two extremely valuable skills in life.
Anchors Can Instill Community
If your child has an interest where other children are present it's an added bonus.
Knowing that other people share your passion makes you a part of a community. It builds friendships, understanding, and support.
We all need that in our lives, and our children especially need it.
Being a part of this small piano studio has made a huge difference in Anna's life. A few of the students are also educated at home, which builds further camaraderie. The children go to group theory classes and support each other.
I'm very thankful for Anna's teacher, who is her first (and only) piano teacher.
Since this blog is a place where I share homeschool ideas as well as preserve memories for my family, I needed to cement Anna's recital.
Here are two pieces she played at the recital - Trumpet Tune and The Sorcerer. She also played an arrangement of Taylor Swift's Love Story, which she recorded herself and uploaded to YouTube.
Do your children have an anchor? Was it an anchor they developed with your prodding, or did they choose it all on their own?
Reader Comments (9)
Great post. Gets me thinking!
I agree that an anchor is an important part of a child's life...and for us too.
Her playing is beautiful.
Piano is my favorite instrument. Arn't we blessed to have its music fill our home every day?!
Such an interesting post for me! I'd never thought of these activities as "anchors," but I like this concept. Our girls also take piano lessons - and yes, it's a requirement in our house as well! While I don't think my oldest is totally in love with it yet, I know that she does enjoy playing the piano - especially since at one point she added more practice time to her daily schedule of her own accord! Thanks for giving me something to think about today!!
My daughter is 11. She is passionate about theatre and music. She plays the piano, violin, and cello. My youngest son is 8. He is passionate about soccer. His eyes light up and he can't stop talking about it. My oldest son is 10, and he is struggling with finding a passion. He plays soccer, but it doesn't light him up. He plays the piano, but that doesn't light him up either. He likes football. He played it for the first time last fall. This fall we will try it again. I'm really hoping he can find his passion because it is so amazing to watch when they find it and it just lights them on fire.
Wow! I love to see pictures of your daughter play. It's such a wonderful gift to have.
My oldest daughter's anchor is horse riding. She wants to compete in show jumping and cross country.
As for my other kids, they just don't know yet. But, the cost of figuring it out is high. My 8 year old has decided she no longer wants to ride, but wants to try out gymnastics. That isn't too bad a trade off, but seems a lot costs money. I never really had an anchor as a child. That's probably why I was so conflicted by high school.
Lovely post, and so true. My 9-year-old is passionate about nature & art. He loves to be in nature and soaks up all he sees, researches further, and the. Brings it to life in his art. We invest in a weekly nature homeschool class where he gets to be with a group of homeschoolers that hike & learn around our county with an amazing naturalist. Next year we hope to invest in weekly art classes as well to help him grow in his artistic confidence.
He also minors in a love of Lego so I plan to invest here and put it to use as our science for next year!
Btw, Anna did a lovely job. My toddler had me play her 'pinano' four times!
This definitely gives me something to think about as I'm sitting here today trying to figure out how add some structure of our weekly plans for school but also begin to include some of the activities that we haven't done so well on - art and music being two. Which is very ironic considering we are both very musical ourselves. Thank you for the thought of an anchor... I wonder perhaps if I've lost mine. Perhaps it is time to find it again.
I had been a creative writer since I was in elementary school, though I was told to focus on more useful skills such as computer engineering or business. I went through college trying to figure out why everything was such a grind and came to realize that it was because I wasn't doing what I loved.
Excellent, Mary! Congrats to Anna! I know what my childrens' passions are, but I struggle to give them time and space for them daily.