Today I was helping Filip solve a MOCK exam prepared by Operon in 2019.
Filip found this one really easy at the beginning, so I almost did not have to propose solutions to him, however near the end there were a couple of exercises which he just could not do.
I explained them to him and after that he was able to solve them himself.
I think I am doing a good job with helping him and hope that it will be reflected in his final exam results.
Unfortunately, the tennis courts are closed again due to the Coronavirus pandemic, which makes it impossible for me to practise or do this for my CAS activity at the moment. I will come back to playing as soon as the courts are open again, which I hope will happen very soon.
Today I learnt how to play a piece by P.Tschaikowsky, a very famous composer known for Swan Lake, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Seasons as well as many others. However, I was not playing any of these. I was playing Chanson Triste which translates for 'sad song'.
It indeed is sad, but as it usually is with sad song they are the most beautiful ones.
I have learnt few new techniques using this song, which was a great way to cheer myself up after it's melancholy sound.
At this week's training I have played a lot of matches.
We started off by playing two doubles. Me and my mom versus the couple who is also taking part in our training. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly we lost (they are more experienced than we are), but it was still great fun and a priceless experience.
After that we played one on one matches, so that everyone would play twice. I have won the first one, but sadly lost the second.
I do not get discouraged with my loss as it gives me more space for further improvement.
Today at my lesson with Filip I had to face the fact that he thinks differently than I do, and that it has an effect on the way he chooses to solve a certain exercise. I had to force myself not to interrupt him and propose my solutions just because I thought them easier.
Still, after he solved them his way I showed him in which direction I would go while finding the solution. I hope that he is learning a lot from me, although I cannot say anything just from looking at him during our classes.
Today I was learning a second Shanty entitled Dashilla's Sea Shanty. It is written in c minor and tells the story of a sea monster.
This really dark piece looks really simple, however it requires the same atmosphere kept through the entire duration of it. The most tricky part is when two fast notes appear, which happens only once in the entire song and thus it is hard to keep the right pace when it happens.
I like playing challenging pieces as I feel this is where I can improve, as I surely do.
Yesterday at tennis my trainer decided to focus on the forehand technique as I have been getting pretty good at the backhand hits.
We spend around the half of the lesson practising this and although modifying moves and reflexes one is used to is hard and annoying after some time the new ones are made.
For the next few weeks I will have to remember to focus on every part of the forehand move, but after that I probably will not even have to think about it.
It is really good to know that my technique is getting closer and closer to those of professionals'.
Today I had another hour with Filip, who is preparing to his 8th Grade Exam.
We were solving another one of past papers. Now he still needs a lot of my help but I hope that in time I will be barely talking as he will be able to solve all the exercises on his own.
I can say that he is dedicated and determined to write his exam really well. It will take place at the end of May so I still have almost three months to help him prepare.
Having a class is something really different from anything I have done before and I can see that when I try to explain certain aspects of Math to him, he does not necessarily understand what I say the same way I do. It shows me what challenges teacher must face and it makes me more open to their side of school.
