Emily played Petite Russian Rhapsody by John Thompson and I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables by Claude-Michel Schönberg:

Anne played the Raindrop Prelude by Chopin and the Minute Waltz by Chopin:

Caroline played Hogwarts Hymn by Patrick Doyle and Can You Feel The Love Tonight by Elton John:

Samuel played Chocolate Cake by Bastien:

I don’t know what would possess someone to become a 7th grade band teacher but I’m glad that there are people out there who are willing to take on the job. I’m betting that 7th grade band teachers are among the highest consumers of aspirin and acetaminophen.

Anne is one of only two girls in percussion. She is looking forward to next year when she can be in concert band and jazz band.

In our Christmas letter there are seven copies of Anne’s picture on the top and bottom of the page. They are quite small, but I think it turned out really cute.

Every year, the PTA of my school and many other schools have Reflections. Reflections give kids a chance to show off their talents.There are 6 categories that kids can sign up in, which are: musical composition, visual arts, 3-D art, photography, choreography, and acting. There is a theme that your piece has to follow. This years’ theme is “WOW…”. This year, I submitted an entry in visual arts. I did many paintings before I could come up with something I liked. My final painting was of a beach scene. I handed it in to the school on the day it was due, October 24th. A few weeks later, I was invited to reflections awards night, the day the PTA recognizes the children who won an award. There are three types of awards you can get. They are honorable mention (work that has been recognized but hasn’t won,) Principal’s choice (work that has been chosen by the principal and is displayed in front of his/her office,) and the Award of Excellence, which goes to the kids that won. I won an Award of Excellence. I am going on to the next round, which is the district. The last round is International, and if you win that, I think you get a money prize.I am not really looking forward to going to see if I won district because I hate thinking that I might not win. I also don’t like how they won’t let me take my artwork home because I won. But the thing that annoyed me most was that while I was at school that day, the PTA called my mom saying that I had won, so she already knew! Thanks a lot, mom.

Texas

I generally like what their teacher does with the exception of recitals. The teacher let’s them play pieces in their recital that they haven’t fully learned. I really wish the teacher would require them to memorize their pieces and not let them play pieces that they haven’t fully prepared. I also wish the teacher would teach them to bow afterwards.

Next was Emily. She played Witch’s Dance by Hill and Song For a Princess by Miller.

Emily

I think Emily has improved significantly since the last recital. Because she’s not fond of counting, she typically does better on the types of flowing songs where a rigid rhythm isn’t as important. She’s also learning to play hymns and plays for the Young Women organization in church occasionally. I have no dreams of my kids making it to Carnegie Hall. In fact, I’ve always thought that if my kids learn well enough to play hymns in church, the lessons will have been worth it. It looks like Emily is well on her way to achieving that standard. Now I just have to figure out how to get her to memorize her songs.

Anne followed Emily and played Fur Elise by Beethoven and Dorothy by Smith.

Anne

Anne probably enjoys playing the most out of the kids and I think it shows in her progress. She does a good job of memorizing her songs. She also delights in the fact that her pieces are becoming more difficult for me to simply sight read without mistakes. Although not a child prodigy, I think she did a pretty decent job for a 10 year old.

After the recital Grandpa Kent and Grandma Connie were gracious in enduring the chatter of our excited kids as they took us out for an ice cream celebration. It was a great way to top off a fun evening.