Day 2127. Today my alarm was set for 9 am, but I was woken up by everyone before that and was already on my feet by the time the alarm went off. At 9:30 am we all left the house together and walked to the subway to ride it downtown. Then we walked the rest of the way to their music school where the year-end concert was to start at 10 am.
We got there just before 10 am, and a lot of people were already there. We went into the biggest room and were lucky to still get seats in the last row. Then the singing teacher came and gathered up all the kids that were performing to take them to the back to warm up their voices. A few minutes later they returned, and the concert started.
The founder and director of the school, who was also our kids' teacher this semester, then gave a short speech, then it was the kids' turn. All the kids from classes were sitting on the stage, waiting for their turn. They started with the youngest. First, they would sing the songs together that they had learned in class, then they would go to the piano to play what they had prepared to play. There were three groups of kids before Tammy and Emmy, all classes they have already completed. Then it was their turn.
They were holding hands, when they got up and approached the microphone. Their teacher then told them to let go and stand straight and sat down at the piano to accompany them.
They first sang "Billy Boy" with all the actions, bowed, then sang "The Little Dustman" with actions, then bowed again and sat down. But it was Tammy's turn to come to the piano and play her song. She bowed and sat down, and I made sure she got her sheet music as she wanted it, even though she could play it by heart. Plus, the music is way too high up and far away on the grand piano anyway. In any case, she did look up at it a few times while playing. And she played her song perfectly, no mistakes whatsoever! Yesterday, she had made two mistakes while playing the song in class. I was very proud of her. She bowed and returned to her seat.
Then it was Emmy's turn. He bowed and sat down at the piano - no sheets necessary. And he also played his song perfectly, making no mistakes at all. Then he bowed and returned to his seat. Sammy was cheering for him really loudly, you can hear it very well on the video. There was one more girl after them who has completed the class they'll be in in fall. It gave us a taste of what's ahead for them next semester.
They then all bowed together and came off the stage. Tammy and Emmy sat down with other kids further up front than us. The second part started with the private students sitting down on the stage and coming to the piano one by one to play their songs. They were playing two or three songs each, even their own compositions. It was getting too long for Sammy, and then also Emmy, and lastly Tammy, who left the room one after another and attacked the small buffet already. Once it was all over and the director had said a few more words, I and all the others also left the room.
The kids were all playing together in the hallway. I then reminded them that they had to pick up their gifts and badges. I was then also given their certificates; the report cards will be emailed to me at a later stage. We then took a picture with them and their teacher, and they were allowed to pick a gift out of a treasure box. First, they both chose play-doh, but then Emmy changed his mind and took a littly bouncy ball instead. As for the badges that were the prize of having practiced every day, they couldn't find them, so they'll have to wait until September to get them.
But we weren't done yet. This morning Tammy had made a card for her teacher, so she gave her that card, and the teacher admired it and read it allowed. Then she put it on the wall where everyone can see it.
It was 11:30 am and time to go. We walked to the subway and rode it home. It was noon. I had put two lasagnas into the oven in the morning, so it was ready for us to eat. After having eaten, it didn't take long for me to get so tired that I couldn't go on without a nap. It had been after 3 am before I had fallen asleep last. I was then blessed to be able to get a nap of over one hour before the kids woke me up.
They were eager to help me pack for our trip to the US on Tuesday, and they also knew we had to reserve the common room for their birthday party right after we return in August. So we went downstairs to do that, then it was time to pack. I'd tell them what I was looking for, and they brought me their favorite shirts, pants, socks etc. to pack. It worked pretty well and most of their stuff is packed now. Tomorrow I'll still have to pay my stuff, but it's a long and busy day so it'll be int he evening.
We did some packing, then they went downstairs, and I even had a student from 5 to 6 pm. After I was done, we continued packing some more, then I went to the kitchen to make their dinner. After they had eaten, they went into the bathtub, then I sat down with all three for story time. Once we had finished the one book, we continued with the other one, then I prayed for them and put Sammy to bed, while Tammy and Emmy went to the bathroom to brush their teeth and then went to bed. I went to the kitchen to make myself something to eat and started working on the pictures after I was done. Now it's going on 1 am, and I still have to do the dishes but I sure hope it'll be earlier tonight than last night.
