At the End of the Rainbow

She recently joined the strings ensemble.  They played this piece:

Olga Square Dance

Finally, River is also in the choir and they sang a few songs as well.

Simple Melody by Irving Berlin

and

To the Moon by Schubert

There were a lot of very talented children performing tonight.  I was very impressed and enjoyed all the music immensely.

River and her friend Grace put together a duet for their school house performance called an “Evening with Tedder”.  Apparently, they practiced during breaks at school.  I was very impressed with their effort and I thought it came together pretty well, though they seem to think they can do even better and have plans for the next performance as well.

River also just joined the Lower School strings ensemble, so there will be even more concerts upcoming.

Sage also had a music performance recently.  She played a piece she’s been working on for quite a while now.

It went beautifully!  In fact, I think it was probably the best she’s ever played it.  Perhaps having an audience inspired her?

We were very proud of her and I think she was pleased as well!

It was really nice to hear everyone play.  Evie and Henry have been playing for a couple years now, I think, and are both excellent musicians.

They all seemed so excited to play for everyone.

We even got to hear some duets!  It turns out that there are quite a few talented musicians in our family.

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

The Can-Can

We had been learning Spanish in Massachusetts, but the kids have started French at Foremarke.  I think they were a bit put off at first switch languages, but they seemed to be more interested in French after our trip to France last summer.  I taught Sage this song last week when she was home sick.

Frere Jacques

Yesterday, I went to watch River’s second hockey match.  They played very well!  This video shows a bit of the game.  It’s not the most exciting bit of action that I filmed, but it does have River in it, so…

In other academic news, Sage was awarded a Golden Leaf for being gentle,

and River got an Academic Star for her work on adverbs.  These are excerpted from the Foremarke Flyer, a weekly newsletter that can be downloaded from Foremarke.

There was a very nice setup for art projects and the kids spent many hours making and decorating beautiful shapes such as this heart:

River and I collaborated on this hula hoop.

My capoeira group did a demonstration and workshop at the festival.  It was fun to play capoeira in the sun and I enjoyed hanging out with the folk from capoeira outside of our normal training routine.  Sage really enjoyed the workshop.

There was also some elaborate costume making and a semi-successful theatre workshop.  River transformed into some sort of purple monster.

Another thing we particularly enjoyed was the giant hammock constructed in the woods.  Easily big enough for the four of us, we rolled and bounced and played and relaxed.

There was some very good music at the festival as well, ranging from punk to old-time Appalacian and Irish tunes to drum-and-bass and electronica.  In addition to listening to these high calibre musicans and djs, I managed to have a little jam at the campsite with a friend from capoeira who is an excellent violin player.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable weekend.  The weather was amazing, for England.  The moon was almost full and there was hardly a cloud in the sky revealing more stars than I’ve seen in quite some time.  It might have been even better without the mud, but perhaps that’s just part of the experience.

River started playing hockey in PE. After school she’s taking tennis, netball, and swimming. She was interested in continuing drama and trying the science club, but those options were full. Maybe next term?

Old MacDonald Had to Rock

River started a drama course today. They are planning a production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. She’s also been interested in their study of Ancient Greece in History and Kenya in Geography. Here she is doing her maths prep in her summer term uniform with her new haircut.