Drama

Yet another accomplishment for K and J was their year-end production "Paradesia". Two weeks before the show their teacher approached me and asked if they had been practicing their lines. I sheepishly admitted that we haven't been practicing at all. After that we practiced several times a day. On the last class practice, their teacher again approached me and said not only did they know their lines, they knew other people's lines as well. Yay K and J !!! I am very proud of them.

The performance was awesome! Hey said their lines "loud and proud" and we had no difficulty hearing them. Not many people know the hard word that was put into it, but worked very very hard. I was grinning from ear to ear while watching. 

Again, the medal they received at the end was such a reward for them. Bravo!

our little actor

Drama Kids had presented a play this weekend and we could not have been prouder of Big M! For an offspring of a painfully shy person, he is not at all like me. He was very comfortable on stage and was excellent. He knew his lines but he still looked to others for his queue though, so in some parts he looks like he doesn't know his line because he is slightly behind the others. I only took pictures in the end, because I am also the videographer and I just can't hold both camera and camcorder. :)

The play is only 20 minutes and this is the middle part. I can't post the whole thing because we were told not to due to the play being original and copyrighted. 

This is at the end with the silly shot. Their wonderful teacher is in the back right.

This is all the Drama Kids from the school - the class is broken down to lower primary (k and 1st graders) and the upper primary is 2nd to 5th. The upper primary's play is Mystery Under the Big Top (hence the background).

Argh, Matey!

At the end of the performances the kids were given medals and trophies. A medal was given to kids who entered mid year and a trophy for those who started from the very beginning. Big M was very proud of his trophy.

K and J were very interested in the play. I think we may have 2 more Drama Kids here. :)

Drama

We had a busy day yesterday. Drama in the afternoon and then the girls' christmas presentation in the evening.

Because Drama is right at school, parents are not allowed to go in and out as we please. We don't know what goes on in there, though I frequently hear, "Mommy, Drama is so much fun I want to go everyday!" from Big M. So every now and then, the Drama instructors hold observation days.

Here are the younger kids presentation (Kindergarten through 2nd Grade).



It's a story of a coo-coo clock who is different from all the other chiming clocks. Because he's different, he is all alone. But the chiming clocks got together and decided to accept him for who is and yet be a part of the group. Mind you, I didn't know what was going on while this was happening. I couldn't hear a thing because my ears were stuffed up from my cold. Daddy had to explain it to me before bed last night. :)

Big M's (wearing a blue shirt)line is "Be quiet coo-coo clock!" Notice his Star Wars Clone Trooper coo-coo clock.



Here are the all the Drama Kids doing their class song.

it's good to have a blog

Last weekend, Daddy and I spent a couple of nights coming up with "evidence" that our 5-year old shows signs of giftedness. We needed to illustrate his learning style, his personality and why we think he needs to be in the school's gifted program. Daddy went through this blog, and I went through the old blog. When I handed the application in at the school office, there were 4 sheets attached to it.

Our efforts paid off. A few days ago, Big M came home with a letter of a notice that sometime between now and January, he would be pulled out of class 4 times for an hour each session to be tested. For Kindergarten, the test would be read for him and he is allowed to take as much time as he needs to answer the questions. The program director advises us to tell our Big Man that he would be excused from class, not to take a test, but to solve puzzles and problems - not to cause undue stress.

During the first parent-teach conference, the teacher said that not many kindergarteners pass the test, not because it's too hard, but because they are not mature enough to sit still to be tested. She said not to be discouraged should he not be accepted in, and to keep trying. She said it really isn't until the 2nd grade that kids show the need for a gifted program.

Ever since Big M was 2 years old, Daddy and I agreed that he is the kind of child who would need to be challenged in the classroom, otherwise he would get into things that could get him in trouble. Daddy recalls cutting out all the buttons on his shirt as a child and not knowing he did it until he stood up and his shirt was wide open. Idle hands, right? :) We know that Big M is smart. Even if he doesn't get accepted to the program, we will continue to engage and encourage his curiosity and provide opportunities.

On a side note, he loves being in Drama. It is a paid extra curricular activity that is held at school once a week. Big M loved it from the very first day and wished he could go everyday. He loves the friends he makes there. Before the end of the school year, there is a production. I can't wait to see that.

Curious George in a church play

Curious George was part of a church play this weekend with 2 performances, Saturday night and Sunday morning. He enjoyed it, even though he barely knew half the words on the songs. But he sang them proudly. :) It's hard to miss him, he's always the one moving.

He woke up not feeling well on Sunday, but he still wanted to go. It's obvious on his face he wasn't quite himself, if holding his arms out when he saw me was any indication. He wanted Mommy.

Oh yeah, he also had the worst case of "Elvis legs". I just made that term up, but if you watch the videos, you'll know exactly what I mean.

You will also hear the girls in the background. The first couple of videos, Thing 1 wanted to go up in the stage and was a little upset. Then she wanted me to sing along.













Day 2 - very tired and not feeling well and coughing.