Stay-at-Home Diaries | Isaac and Terence Lee, Students
Since the PCM campus closed in March, PCM has been checking in with students, instructors, and staff members to see how they’re managing and how distance learning (and teaching) is working for them.
We recently checked in with Terence and Isaac Lee, who both began studying at PCM in the Young Musicians department in 2016. Now they study piano with Dr. Steve Cook and their parents, Suzie and Eric Lee (PCM Board Member), are supporting their music education at home. (Check out this webinar Suzie and Eric participated in with other PCM parents!).
PCM: Where are you right now and who are you with?
T&I: We are with mommy and daddy at home!
PCM: What does a typical day look like for you right now?
Isaac: I wake up and I get dressed and brush my teeth. Some times I wake up and go running outside with daddy and then come home and brush my teeth. Then I eat breakfast. We go to the Huntginton to play tag. After the Huntington, I go on my zoom math class with 4 of my friends. Then, mommy starts bugging me to do my homework and get it done before 12:00, but I would rather stay on with my friends and play online. So now, I do my homework online with my friend Marcus. Then I eat lunch and do daddy’s work. I also practice my piano after daddy’s work but I also practice whenever I have time too.
Terence: When I wake up because I know it’s the morning time, I brush my teeth and then change my clothes. I get to the piano before Isaac can take it. Then I practice piano of course! Then I eat my yummy breakfast. My favorite breakfast is cereal because it taste super good but I don’t want to have it every day because my teeth definitely does not like getting cavities from the sugar. After breakfast, I walk at the Huntington and I enjoy it with mommy because she lets me go through the sprinklers. I like getting all wet! After the Huntington, I read. I’m reading the Last Kids On Earth. It’s very funny because they say funny words like squirrel butt. Then it’s lunch time. After lunch it’s very very very fun playtime!
PCM: What do you like most (or least) about spending all this time at home?
Isaac: I like it most because I get to stay home, build and play with my friends online. That means my friends and I can build our own mind craft world. I also make inventions at home, like a pinball machine, or an oven that actually burns. I made s’mores in my steam powered oven that I built, but my oven didn’t work. My s’mores didn’t get cooked, but I just ate them anyways. Also, Dr. Cook told me about Estes Rocket and gunpowder. So I took the gunpowder apart and lit it on fire. That was a blast!
Terence: I like playing LEGO Boost at home. I built Lee Town in the backyard. Isaac drew it. The town has a hotel called Car Care Inn. I run around the town but I need to build more places.
PCM: What song(s) are you practicing right now?
Isaac: The songs I’m practicing right now are Pomp and Circumstance because I am graduating to 4th grade after all. I’m also playing Allegro K-3 by Mozart because it’s a happy song. The other song I’m playing is Bagatelle Op. 119, Number 9 by Beethovan because, well, Dr. Cook chose it and it is a pretty good song, though not as good as Allegro. Some times, Terence asks me to play Lean On Me so he can sing because my mommy played it on the ukulele, but Dr. Cook didn’t teach me that song. I found it in a book that my daddy bought.
Terence: I’m playing March Slav, Musette, Minuet, and my sight reading book. I like March Slav because there’s a lot of flats. I like Musette because it is super fast, but I like Minuet because it is slow.
PCM: What do you like most about Dr. Cook and/or your lessons with Dr. Cook? (at-home or in person)
Isaac: I like doing my piano lessons at home because I can show Dr. Cook all my inventions. I prefer online learning than actually going there because I can show him my inventions and I don’t have to sit around for 30 minutes waiting for Terence. In person, I like it because I like seeing Dr. Cook. I especially love seeing him at pool parties. It’s my favorite time to see him.
Terence: I like seeing Dr. Cook in person because I get to talk to him a lot. I get to hang out with him. I like my lessons at home because I get to have screen time!
PCM: What are you most looking forward to when you can return to campus?
Isaac: I am looking forward to playing with new friends after I have my piano lessons on campus. Before the lock down, I met a new friend, but I forgot his name. We would play tic tak toe or tag or motorcycle tag in front of the PCM campus. I miss that! The first thing I would do when I see Dr. Cook is say, “hi and I miss you too!”. I would also give him a big hug.
Terence: I’m looking forward to eating lunch with Dr. Cook! At school, Dr. Cook gives me stickers and stamps after my lesson. I think Dr. Cook owes me like 62 stamps for all my lessons at home.
