Tuesday, December 16, 2008

More Nutcracker Resources

I recently realized that the Ovation channel is running six versions of The Nutcracker in "The Battle of the Nutcrackers".  So I set my DVR to record a couple so that the girls could watch them and then compare and contrast them.   The girls can even vote for their favorite version online.  You can check them out at  http://www.ovationtv.com/Programs/battleofthenutcrackers/.  It looks like the winner will be shown on Christmas Eve and then there will be a marathon of all 6 versions on Christmas Day.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

The Nutcracker

As a follow-up to our trip to the Nutcracker ballet, we have been listening to the CD of the Nutcracker that we purchased at the show, and reading this book.  

The pictures in this book are great, and it really simplifies the story.  The girls ask to have it read over and over again!  

Also, I found a recording of the Nutcracker, thanks to Tracie's Adventures in Homeschooling blog.  You can find it here.  I am looking forward to using it with the girls to compare and contrast the two versions of the story.

I was particularly happy to find all of these recordings since we just decided to take the girls to Walt Disney World in February, and I think I will download some of them for use on the plane ride.  Included in these recordings is a version of Peter and the Wolf, Madeline, and Alice in Wonderland.  I do plan to preview them myself as I sometimes find that some of the older recordings contain things that I do not think are appropriate.  



Friday, December 5, 2008

Preparing for the Christmas Recital

Our trip to see The Nutcracker came at a particularly fitting time as Madeline and Isabella will be performing in their Christmas dance recital on Sunday.  They have been working very hard this fall to get ready for this performance.  While it is not nearly the event that the spring recital is, it is very exciting for the kids.  Both Madeline and Isabella really love the fact that they get to perform on stage.  It is also nice that we are able to get a video of the performance, and it is a good way to see their progress through the year when compared with the video of the spring performance.

Here are some pictures from their dress rehearsals.

These are pictures of Madeline' rehearsal.  Her class is dancing to "Senor Santa".  They had to make some last minute changes because a student dropped out of the recital.  



Here are pictures of Isabella's rehearsal.  I am impressed by how much more she pays attention this year than last.  Last year at this time I was really concerned that she was just going to stand there on the stage, and even at their spring performance last year she would just miss entire sections of her dance.  She really follows along this year!  She is very proud of herself! 


Thursday, December 4, 2008

The Nutcracker

One of the best things about where we live is the easy access to the arts.  With the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts (MTCA), the University of Missouri, and a wide variety of art galleries in town we rarely have to leave town to expose the girls to fabulous theater and art programs.  

Last night I took Madeline and Isabella to see the Moscow Ballet preform The Nutcracker at the MTCA.  The Nutcracker is also preformed at The University of Missouri's Jesse Hall every year.  It was their first time seeing this particular ballet, although we did go to see Swan Lake at Jesse Hall last year and I took Isabella to see a production of Cinderella, also at Jesse Hall, about 2 years ago.  We all really enjoyed the production, although the girls did get a bit antsy toward the end.  I think they both would have been happy if I had let them dance along in the aisle (we actually had to leave the production of Cinderella because Isabella insisted on doing just that).  Isabella also made up her own words to go along with the music, which I thought was interesting.

This production also had some local children in it who had spent a few months preparing for the show.  A couple of their friends were in the production, and they thought it was really cool to see their friends on stage.  That the type of opportunity I think we may take advantage of in the future.

I also brought home the CD, and I am looking forward to seeing them dance along and act out the story.  I hope Isabella remembers some of the words to her songs, because I would love to hear them!

It was also an opportunity for a geography lesson!  We spent some time looking at the map and finding Russia and Moscow, and seeing how far it was from Missouri.  I am also planning to have them locate the other countries that were represented in the show.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

A Day for Making Smiles

I have been trying to find ways to include some community service or volunteering activities into our lives to teach the girls about the importance helping others and caring for people in your community.  I have considered several options, but not really settled on any, partly because they are too young for many of the activities.  

We did get a chance to do a couple of things today in this area, however.  We belong to the University of Missouri Fortnightly Preschool Playgroup.  The major focus of the Fortnightly Club in general is service.   The playgroup has adopted a Christmas family through the Voluntary Action Center this year.   The girls and I took a trip to the store today to pick out Christmas gifts for the 4 children in the family.  It was a great experience for them to go to buy toys for someone other than themselves, and I think at least Madeline understood that we were doing this because there are kids whose families do not have the money to buy presents for them.  At least it was a start!

Then, this afternoon, also as part of the MU Fortnightly Preschool Playgroup, we made some holiday cards and then took them to Tiger Place to deliver them to residents there and sing a few holiday songs.  Both Madeline and Isabella were very interested in the people there.  Isabella especially showed concern for the people who were living there.  I think she would have stayed for quite a while and visited with the residents.  She was very concerned that not everyone there may have gotten a card!  I think this might be one avenue that we may investigate further on our own for some volunteer activities. 

All in all, a good day!