Art in the Afternoon

We didn’t have anything scheduled for today, so I asked Marina what she would like to do. She suggested we go to the art museum It had been a while since we had been there, so we went after we had lunch.

As always, our first stop was the interactive area. They had a theme of animation. Marina made a puppet and then tried making a stop motion animation film. It took a while for her to get the hang of it and even longer to get her film created, but she seemed to have fun with it.

We went looking for an exhibit and found ourselves in a gallery of abstract art by women. Surprisingly, Marina liked looking at it. She liked the bold colors and varied textures of the pieces we saw. Next we found an area called “Tableau,” which featured artistic backdrops where you could pose for pictures. Marina enjoyed those. I took photos of her inside a whale, sitting on the moon and seated in a chair with wings!

I asked her if we could look at the European art and she agreed. We started off by seeing many Christian themed paintings. I explained that was a common theme in European art. She seemed to like those. We also found a spot where she could “pose” for a Renaissance portrait. She could hardly keep a straight face.

She was a bit bored with the art, so we planned to leave. On the way out, we came across an area called “Dance Lab.” We decided to check it out. Inside, Marina stood in front of a camera and danced slowly. After she was done, her dance (alongside several other people who also recorded their dances) appeared on a large wall with music and visual effects. She loved it. She recorded several dances and often she had two different dances right next to each other.

After she finished up with the Dance Lab, we went into a gallery of art that all had a theme of dance. In one area she got to play with silver balloons. She liked looking at the costumes on display, but wasn’t as excited about the art and sculptures. We went home after seeing the dance exhibit. It was a fun afternoon!

Cool Zoo

The weather forecast called for a beautiful day today, so we deiced to go to the zoo. Brian and Emily were able to come as well and we were looking forward to it. However, the weather didn't cooperate as planned and it was fairly cool today, but we went anyway. Marina brought Kailey along in her backpack. They even wore matching shirts.

The animals seemed to enjoy the cool weather. We saw some interesting behavior from them. In one exhibit, a group of peacocks and peahens were all showing off their plumage. I've never seen a peahen do that before!

At the feline house, we saw two hyenas wrestling with each other and having a great time. When the tigers were brought inside, they stalked around their areas to find treats the zookeepers had left for them.

Later on as we were walking by the pachyderms, we heard a loud banging noise. The rhinoceros was charging a plastic container hanging in his enclosure. It was fun to watch.

Because of the cooler weather, we made sure to visit all the indoor exhibits. The building with tropical animals was especially welcome! We checked out Bird World and the elephant exhibit. As we were preparing to leave, we saw an elephant demonstration about to begin. So we stayed for that. It was fun to see how smart the elephant is!

Shortly after the demonstration, we headed home. Despite the unexpected weather, it was an entertaining day!

Piano Party

Marina's piano teacher arranged a Christmas party for her students where they could have cookies and play the Christmas songs they have learned in an informal setting. Marina was looking forward to it. She’s been working on “Silent Night” for a couple of weeks. Recently she added “Away in a Manger” as well.

When we arrived she was in a bit of a bad mood. She had a couple of cookies, and checked out the piano. Her teacher called the kids around the piano and they all sang Christmas carols together before the recital began.

Once the kids started playing, Marina was excited. As she waited her turn, I could see her practicing the fingering of her songs. She volunteered to go early. She did very well on “Silent Night.” At one point she got stuck and it took her a moment to figure out the next note. Once she did, she finished quickly. I was even more impressed with “Away in a Manger.” She hasn’t been playing it as long, so she pretty much just sight read it.

After the recital was over, Marina had more cookies and a candy cane. She was pretty happy with that as well.

Hail Mary!

Marina was very excited for the church's Christmas Pageant this year. She got to play Mary. She's been going around the house with a blanket over her hair preparing for her costume. And we've been going over her lines all week. She even volunteered to bring one of her dolls for the Baby Jesus.

Before the church service, the kids arrived to rehearse. They went through the pageant twice before everyone arrived.

During the service, Marina and I lit the Advent candle. I read the prayers and Marina got help from Miss Judy lighting all four candles. Once we did that, she went into the classroom to put on her costume and wait with her friends for the start of the pageant.

The pageant went very well. Marina remembered all her lines and spoke in a loud, clear voice. She had a little trouble pulling Baby Jesus out of his hiding place to be born. All the kids seemed to have a good time.

For those of you who missed it, here is one of Marina's pivotal scenes.

The Leprechaun's Magic Hat

This evening was the third grade show. Marina has been looking forward to it for weeks.They put on a show called The Leprechaun's Magic Hat. Marina was disappointed that she didn't get to be a leprechaun, she was a dancer in the song “Gold, Glorious Gold.”

Despite her disappointment, she was happy with her dance. Earlier this year, the music teacher she'shad every since she stared at the school moved away. So the previous music teacher took over the direction of the show. Marina loved her! The kids were asked to wear green. Marina chose her bluish-green birthday dress.

 

There were two performances today. One for the school and this evening for parents. Marina located me and waved to me at each show. She seemed to have fun with the performance, often smiling as she sang. She and her best friend were standing next to each other which is to be expected.

After the second show, I gave her a bouquet of roses. She was pleased with those. She wanted to give one to Madison, but she had already left for home. She wanted to linger near the stage for quite a while after the show. But, since she has school tomorrow, we had to leave earlier than she wanted to.

Below is the video of "Gold, Glorious Gold" with Marina dancing.



Christmas Concert

Marina was anxious to take piano lessons again this year. I think she has finally realized she can make music when she plays. Miss Patty arranged for a Christmas concert today and Marina was excited to take part. She practiced for several weeks to get ready. She was nervous and excited today. But she did really well!

Princess Moment

Disney Channel is having a Princess Moment contest. To enter, you have to submit a 45 second video of your daughter performing a 30 second clip of a princess song. Marina immediately wanted to do it - especially when she heard that first prize was a trip to London to see Rapunzel's coronation at Westminster Abbey.

One of my coworkers, Luke, offered to film it for us. He was a film major is college and he has professional experience and equipment. Marina had a great time recording the video and even more meeting their pets. She chose the Rapunzel song to perform.

After the filming, Luke did some editing. Here's the result:



Marina says she thinks she's going to win the contest. Even if she doesn't, we had fun making it and a nice video as a memory!

Dancing Princess

Marina was very excited for her dance recital, especially the “Walking on Sunshine” dance. She was especially happy to have me put make up on her before the show. She packed a bag with a few toys to play with while she wasn’t dancing.

Marina performed well in both dances. During “Walking on Sunshine” she was singing along with the song, it was so cute! During “Angel of Music” she located me in the audience and waved. Some things never change.

Here are videos I took of both dances at dress rehearsal earlier this week.

Winter Wonderland

Marina's school had a craft fair and concert today. They called it "Winter Wonderland." Each class also had a scheduled time to perform. Marina's was one of the first. They sang three songs.

They started off with "We Are Thankful."



Then they sang "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel."



They finished with "Frosty the Snowman."



Once Marina's class was done, she wanted to go shopping at the craft fair. So we didn't get to see the other classes perform.

Song of Dreams - Ballet Recital

Marina's ballet recital was a neat one. It was called "Song of Dreams." The girls were all dressed like fairy princesses. Marina, as usual, waved to me when she found me in the audience. Actually, she did it twice. She seemed to be in a bit of a hurry to get through it, finishing each movement faster than everyone else. But she was happy about it. If there is one thing Marina loves it's being on the "big stage."

If you weren't able to be there, here is the video I took of the dress rehearsal. Marina is in the back row on the far left end.

Kindergarten Family Celebration

To mark the end of the year, the kindergarten staff had a "Kindergarten Family Celebration." It started with the kids performing. They did many of the same songs they had done at their big show in April. But here are a few new ones.

Hello



Down By the Bay



(My camera had an error while filming the next one, "Everything Grows," so I only have the last 30 seconds or so. But since it was a new song, I went ahead and added what I got.)

Everything Grows



The music was followed by a video presentation of pictures the kids had taken of each other during the year. Many of them were very silly. We also got to see pictures of each student as a baby and now. That was fun!

The Kindergarten Show

The Kindergarten at Marina's school had their program tonight. Marina has been so excited about it. She's been asking for for over a week if I would come to her show. A few days ago, her question became, "Will you clap at my show?" Of course I did!

Marina knew the songs well and seemed to have fun on stage. At the beginning she looked for me and waved when she found me.

For those of you who couldn't make it, here's what you missed. Marina is in the second row off to the right side. She is wearing a long sleeved light blue shirt and a "pilot" hat.

Magical, Magical Me



You're Not Everybody



I Feel Tall Inside



When I Grow Up



I Like Being Little A Lot



One Light, One Sun



The Kindergarten Wall

Ballet Class

It was Parent Watch Week at Marina's dance studio. Parents can watch through a window but whenever Marina catches me watching, she stops dancing and waves to me. This time, Marina didn't seem quite as distracted by me as she has in the past. In fact, she even asked to start one of the exercises. We also go to watch a rehearsal of their recital in June. It looks good so far!

The OZ

This evening, Marina was in the Dance Core's production of The OZ, a variation of The Wizard of Oz. She was a Munchkin, the Lullaby League in particular.

She had two dress rehearsals this week. I noticed at both of them that she knew the steps very well. She even took the time to wave at me during both the dress rehearsal and performance.

The battery ran out midway through the performance, so the video is in two parts.

Part 1



Part 2

Little Mermaid

Marina started swimming lessons three years ago. She began in the Tadpole class. Learning to swim and not just playing was a whole new concept, but she did very well and managed to pass the class. She was scheduled to take the Guppy class after that. However the kids in there were all very advanced and they intimidated her. So she was moved back into the Tadpole class. She didn't really learn anything new in that class. Probably because she was able to easily manipulate the teacher into letting her do what she wanted to do. She did have fun.

The next summer, she started in the Guppy class. She learned a lot and came close to passing. But she didn't quite pass. So this summer I optimistically signed Marina up for Guppy in the first session and then Minnow after that. However, it didn't go as I had planned. (Does it ever?) In June she was in the Guppy class. Suddenly she was afraid of putting her face anywhere near the water. She seemed afraid of a lot of things she needed to do to pass the class. So once again, Marina didn't pass Guppy.

She was signed up for Minnow. I tried to get her into a Guppy class, but was not able to do so. On the first day of the second session I let her teacher know the situation. I figured this was a disaster waiting to happen. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Two weeks later, she was doing this:



Her progress in the class was amazing to watch. She'd get excited to go to her swimming lesson and say, "I love to go underwater!" I felt like I watched each one with a stupid grin on my face.

And today, the last class, she proved how far she has come - she passed Minnow! I'm sure her teacher is a huge part of how she accomplished this. I couldn't tell her enough how happy I was with her teaching. I was especially proud of Marina for overcoming her fears and working so hard.

Ballet Recital

I've had Marina enrolled in ballet class for the past two years. This year, she was in Pre Ballet with Miss Shila. She's loved ballet but didn't always participate in rehearsal. However, she has always enjoyed performing for an audience. The girls had the most adorable Southern Belle costumes and they danced to "Georgia On My Mind." Marina was very excited about performing on the "Big Stage." Like last year, having a lot of people watch her didn't phase her at all.

Here's the video of the dress rehearsal, Marina is the farthest dancer on the left in the back row:




I ordered the DVD of the actual performance. Hopefully the quality will be better. :-)