




12
Our children will be returning to days of regimented learning when they return to school next week. Unlike previous years, Lela won\’t be learning Mandarain, Spanish, theater or knitting. After school, she\’ll probably walk home, perhaps with friends from her neighborhood, and play and relax. During the last twenty years, our kids have been robbed of at least eight hours of leisurely, spontaneous and unstructured play time every week. Compared to children from sixty years ago, it\’s fairly obvious that our children\’s ability to regulate their own behavior, control their impulses and understand their emotions is much worse. Studies have shown an alarming trend in self-regulation; our five-year-olds behave like 1940\’s three-year-olds, and our seven-year-olds have the same emotional capacity as five-year-olds from that same period. Unstructured recreation, led by children, add to a child\’s emotional health, as well as their social, physical and intellectual skills. Unstructured play can teach children to successfully work in groups, as well as how to negotiate, resolve conflicts, share, speak up, and regulate their own behavior and emotions. Another study has revealed that children who attend traditional, academic preschools do not have an educational advantage in reading or math over children who attended preschools that focused on play – but they did have elevated test anxiety, decreased creativity, and more negative feelings about school than children who attended play-based preschools.
By allowing your children to lead their own play, and not questioning the roles that they assume or the structure of their games, we don\’t have to worry about dominating their play experiences. Unless your children are being unfriendly, don\’t attempt to correct their methods of play. Remove yourself from the immediate situation if you find yourself expressing frustration or disdain for the ways that your children choose to play, and allow your child the free play time. It is important to let them lead, and still spend time doing things that you both enjoy. In my personal experience, rough-housing with my kids really increases our connection. I tend to skip participating in their make-believe play, because it\’s difficult for me to enjoy, and I become bored. History doesn\’t show us many examples of parents playing with their children, and even 75% of the world would find it unnatural for a child and parent to play together on the floor. Once your kids reach the age of four or five, it\’s completely normal for parents to step back from their children\’s play and let them control it for themselves. This is how children learn to get along with their peers, and how to entertain themselves. A kid with an imaginary friend isn\’t troubled or crazy; actually, studies have shown that these kids are more apt to interact, laugh and smile in social situations. By projecting their own personalities and interacting with plush creatures with pretend personalities, kids develop the necessary skills to focus on their relationships with other kids. Pretend play with a group of children can stimulate intellectual and social skills in children, which subsequently helps them in school. 30 minutes is the minimum amount of time that kids should play. It\’s even better to let this play last several hours. Instead of using manufactured toys for props, encourage children to substitute common objects in their play, such as sticks for wands, and boxes for houses or cars. It\’s unfortunate, but there aren\’t many neighborhoods where a child under ten can walk the dog without a parent. We\’re not doing what we should as a society by allowing unmoderated play disappear from out children\’s lives; we value play less because of academics that take over our children\’s lives, but we need to protect and implement play for all of our children.
25
If you have always wanted to learn how to play the guitar, well there has never been a better time than now to go about pursuing this goal. Has playing an instrument like the guitar always been a dream of yours? Did you always believe that it would be hard to find a qualified teacher to provide you instructions? You should be aware of one thing when it comes to learning how to play an instrument like the guitar. Internet guitar lessons are rapidly becoming a very popular avenue that allows people to realize their dreams.
I am sure that you realize what the Internet has been able to provide to people all around the world. Taking the subject of education; parents can find online certified tutorial programs for their grade-school children who struggle with certain subjects: math, science, foreign languages, and etc. Many adults pursue obtaining both undergraduate and graduate degrees through online college programs. You can also learn how to play an instrument like the guitar through Internet lessons. Consider everything positive that the Internet now offers to people. It is literally mind-boggling if you think how far the technology has advanced, even since the year 2000!
The advantages of taking internet guitar lessons as opposed to learning how to play in your local music studio are quite obvious. Many remote, sparsely populated areas might not even have music studios that would offer instrumental lessons. If you did not know of such a place that offered guitar lessons, you would generally be out of luck. Ten years ago, if you did know of a place that offered lessons, it could have meant a long commute to the studio. On top of that, they might have open time slots that were unsuited to your busy schedule. Who would want to drive 25 miles, one-way, on a Saturday morning to take lessons at 8:00; the only available time slot according to the teacher’s schedule? There also was no guarantee that the teacher was adept at both playing the guitar him/herself; or that the instructor was good at communicating the playing technique in an easy to understand manner.
Today there are many internet programs that offer guitar lessons. You need to do your due diligence, however. Not all online instrumental programs are equal in quality. Do your research by comparing and contrasting the online programs. Study what the program has to offer. Will you learn everything related to playing the instrument as a beginning student? Will you learn the correct strumming technique? Will you learn how to read tablature? Unlike the piano, trumpet, saxophone, and violin where the music is written on music staves; the guitar is different. On the guitar, the chords are written on tablature. You need to find a program that offers tutorials so that you can learn how to read guitar music. Are lessons offered in the particular style of guitar-playing that you want to pursue? The technique for learning how to play the acoustic guitar is different from the bass. Classical guitar is different from country, folk, jazz, or rock. Will a program offer lessons in the different particular genre that you wish to pursue?
The online guitar program that you seek should offer both video and audio tutorials. The instructors, themselves, should be adept at playing the instrument. They should also be certified instructors; capable of communicating the playing techniques to you in an easy to understand manner. You should be taught songs in a sequential manner that are in step with the new techniques that you are being taught. The other advantage in taking lessons online from a quality program should also be obvious: You have the capabilities of not only taking lessons at a time that is convenient for you; but you can also repeat each tutorial as often as possible until you master the technique being taught. Whereas in the year 1999 if you were able to take lessons at a music studio, you might have paid up to $10-15/ half-hour lesson. Due to inflation, weekly studio lessons would now be much higher, trust me! In comparison, a quality internet program generally charges about $25-30 total, for monthly lessons that you can download to your computer. Or, you should be able to order DVD’s monthly for around the same price.
You should now see that internet guitar lessons offer possibilities that were not available to you back in the late 1990′s. You should be aware of one other aspect related to learning how to play an instrument. You have to put in the time and effort through practicing. Becoming a good guitar player does not come about through magic or luck! After reading this article, I know that you would want more information. There is a program that meets the requirements that I listed in this article. To find out what it is please visit the following site: http://theplayguitarlessons.info.
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