R.A.D Exams 2018

Another R.A.D. ( Royal Academy of Dance) exam is in the books for the girls. A lot of hard work, patience and sweat was required, but they did it! Of course we won't get the results for  another two or three months. 

Keira took the level 3 graded exam this year. Above she is with Sophia, Miranda and Maggie. Three of her  other friends were in a different group. Only up to four exam candidates get examined at a time.

Keira loved learning the character dance. Character dances usually are based in fold dances from Europe. In the U.S. this is a dance form that is not taught anymore in the majority of ballet schools. The Candadians and Europeans still make character dance part of the dance training. Katharine would still love to take character dance if there was a class! 

This picture is from Katharine's first R.A.D. exam three years ago. That was level 7. This year, she took the advanced foundations exam which is a vocational exam, meaning that it is graded at the professional level. This was her third time being graded on that level. 

Just like in  the past years, Katharine has been partnered up with her friend Danielle.

I will have to ask Erik to post videos from dress rehearsal this past Sunday.

Kassidy's Bed

Here is the view while I am reading to her from the latest Oz book.

Post Playdate

Keira had her friend Kaylee over today. 

I came home from work after they had already left, but they left some interesting setups behind.

Oklahoma Trails

The boys spent the past weekend in Oklahoma with Fox and Family. It was their last trip up to the cabin before Fox moves next month.

They will miss it, although Portland will be a lot cooler place to visit :)

Click on the link for some video:

Big Sticks

And here are some pics that Dereik took:

On Your Feet!

Keira, Katharine and I went to see "On Your Feet!" today, the musical inspired by Gloria and Emilio Estefan's life story.  This was Keira's first time seeing a musical. Next up, "Waitress."

Meanwhile at home, Kassidy and Erik watched "The Wizard of Oz." Erik just finished reading the book to Kassidy and now she got to watch it. The boys are in Oklahoma with their friend Fox. 

Masquerade

We finished the girls' plaster wolf inspired masks. Both are happy with their results. Working  with plaster was a new experience for  the girls.

The mask on the  left is Kassidy's, the one on the right is Keira's. They painted the masks with acrylics and then glued  on some fake fur ( I don't like it much, the stuff is worse than any pet hair!).  

Water Colors and Cave Paintings

The girls painted a water color picture to go along with the story of "The Hungry Fox", an animal legend from Israel. The more they use water colors, the better they get. Keira's is on top, Kassidy's is on bottom.

The boys' lesson in ancient civilizations this week is about the Stone Age. One of the assignments was to recreate a cave painting. We used crumpled up news print, put a wash of acrylic paint on it, and then they used oil pastels for the drawings. They girls got to participate, too.

Little Backyard on the Prairie

With the sun and warm weather rolling in, Keira started to set up her homestead in the backyard.

1v1 Plus Fun

Fox and Lennon's games were cancelled this weekend, but they still managed to get a little soccer in. I always love to watch how much fun they can have when there aren't referees around :)

Suddenly Soccer

It has been a while since the kids have played a game, but the sun is out again and seasons are now resuming.

Lukas has had so many reschedules that he will play four games this week, which is half of his season.

After a handful of near misses Lukas got his first goal in at the end of the game, which his team won 4-0. Hopefully that will help build his confidence, as tomorrow they face off against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season.

Go United!

Zoo

One of the boys'  science assignments this week was animal photography. I thought it would be fun to go to the zoo and give each of the kids a disposable camera. We arrived just as the zoo opened, which was great because all the animals were very active. I can't wait to see the kids' photos, it should be interesting.

I did not take a lot of pictures this time, but got a good one of the Western Bush Viper and one of the Western Lowland Gorilla silverbacks who was in a bad mood this morning, grunting and banging against the glass. The photo was from before he decided to be not as well behaved.

To end our wonderful morning at the zoo, we made a detour at the car dealership to drop off my van as the engine light started flashing on our way home. I sure hope the car problems will end soon. It is not a good feeling when that light starts to flash when you are driving on one of the busiest highways in the DFW area. We made it safely to the dealership and I now have a nice 8 seater Pilot loaner car.

Explorers

The boys have been busy studying maps, longitude and latitude and explorers: Magellan, DaGama, Vespucci, Pissaro, Cooke and Bacon, just to name a few. Our curriculum gives them many assignments to choose from. This week, they did a water color painting of the earth as seen from space and made a globe out of plaster.

 

Jacob's Dream

Kassidy and Keira are learning about animal legends and stories from the Old Testament. This week's stories revolve around Jacob. After listening to and writing about Jacob's dream, the girls made a water color painting. The like to draw on the computer, as well, when they are allowed to. Kassidy drew another picture of Jacob's dream. I love seeing her revisiting what she has absorbed in school in her free time.

Here are the water color paintings the girls did this morning. The top one is Kassidy's, the bottom one is Keira's. The girls are getting quite good at painting with water colors.

Tight Spaces

A weeks worth of dance tights hanging on the rack, waiting for the next round of dance classes to start.

Wet Dog

This is not his "I'm so excited to be taking a bath" face, but rather his "please get me out of here" face.

The dog HATES water.

Anything Goes

Katharine has learned a tap solo this year to the music from "Anything Goes."  She did a stellar job at her first competition yesterday evening. She owned the stage, and made her wonderful tap teacher and me absolutely proud of what she did! 

We found the pants on a website that specializes in vintage inspired clothing. The top is a custom made leotard by a professional ballerina that makes all of Katharine's leotards, and I learned how to do a 40s hairstyle.

Fox Trails

Lennon headed up north to Oklahoma this weekend with Fox to stay at their cabin. 

They are moving in a few weeks, so they are trying to get a few last trips in.

It looks like the rain finally cleared and left them some fun surging brooks to navigate.

Platinum at Platinum

Katharine took the stage for the first time in a singing competition, and won the platinum medal and trophy for highest score.

Book Club and Report

Keira loves to read, but she also loves to organize. 

Here is a notice for her book club, along with one of the reviews that she wrote.