Piano recital

This girl has really been changing lately.  A year ago, she was more anxious then I had hoped, and very cautious about everything.  Now, she still notices that something might be a little scary, but she does it anyway.  I have even heard her say out loud at times, "I'm just gonna try."  You can imagine how this pleases us.

With performing, however, she has always been pretty confident. She gets the normal butterflies, but has never minded dancing or playing music on "stage."  She's making such nice progress in piano, turning a corner from plowing through the notes to learning musicality and how it affects the piece.

Here's her spring recital, which is just down the street from our house : )

Open Education

I could go on and on, I am so inspired from last weekend's Open Education Conference, but I will just tell you that this woman, Amy Valens, sets an amazing example for teachers in an open classroom.  This is not our school, but our school is an open school.  It's possible for public schools to be respectful and attentive to the children, to honor and trust their choices, and give them power that they deserve.  Amy's husband made a full 80-minute documentary that was just wonderful.  This is the trailer.

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

Reconnections

Reconnecting with good friends gives me a bit of a boost.  We are grateful to have these people in our lives, and to connect with them when and where we can.  This time, they came to us, and in addition to the wonderful Festifools parade, we gave them a tour of the places we have lived here.  So many memories.

The youngest two sort of discovered each other, and really hit it off.  The two that are most alike had a few clashes.  The mix of what is familiar and the adjustment to new things has its rewards, that's for sure.

Festifools (I love this town!)