All the school kids

 M is in 7 classes: Art, Criminal Justice, Geometry, Biology, History, English and Band.  She is also in the marching band that takes 12 hours a week, piano lessons 4 hours a week, YW, seminary, and teaches B piano.  She's crazy busy!

She's handling it all with poise.  A lot of her classes want assignments turned in via schoology.  The classes have a lot of material online so she doesn't have textbooks to take home.  I think she really likes having daily in person classes.  I worry for what it is like to suddenly have 10 teacher/adults making demands of her time.  She seems to be doing good and was even interested in taking on the trivia club. 

Band Camp

 M had many days of band camp.  They had a 3 day rookie camp.  5 day 7-3 camp.  5 day 4-8 camp.  She ate a lot of "not dying ice cream".

For the parent show the band had planned to march their show, but the lines got mowed off the field so they played in place with step offs and turns.  They played some show tunes and it was really fun.

Busy Summer

 M has been busy this summer.  After our trip to NC, M had girls camp.  Now she is doing 4 weeks of Counselor in Training at the Alligator Farm camp.  Then she'll have 3 weeks of band camp.  All the while she's teaching piano lessons and finishing Algebra.  She starts High School full time in the fall.

For now she is in her happy place spending a lot of time with animals.

 

Here is M with the education director for the Alligator Farm camp.  M had a great time and looks forward to doing the camp again next year.
 

Grandma and Grandpa gave M a gift certificate to the rock climbing gym for Christmas.  Finally she was fully vaccinated, and had a free day to go and use it!

planning and piano lessons

M did such an amazing job at her piano recital, her teacher recommended her to a student.  Mrs L is out of town over the summer and this student will take lessons with M.

M is a little obsessed with calendaring.  She will be so much more busy this summer and fall than she has ever been in her life.  This obsession with calendaring let her to make a mini calendar like the one our family uses.  We also went to 3 different stores and got her a $17 planner.  I also got her another book of planner stickers as an early birthday gift.    

M was accepted as a Counselor in Training for the Alligator Farm summer camp.  She's very excited.  The application process was rigorous and I had her re-write the application several times.  I'm glad that effort was rewarded with recognition.  

M went to a spring football game for the High School and had a good experience playing in the stands.  She plans to be in the marching band in the fall.  It's a lot of time!  Way more time than my high school experience.  Way more time than our high schools that we taught at.  The band is good though.  That's nice to put the time in when the music is good.
 

Big Days

 M had her recital on May 8th.  She played Bumble Boogie and blew away the audience with her double time twiddly bits.  On May 15, P and M rode to Gtowne.  M didn't seem to even break a sweat.  Today she went to Jazz band then straight to the high school to participate in a spring football game pep band.

Busy times!

Student Day 2021

 M finished Student Day virtually this year.  She played 3 pieces and tested at level 5.  She played Waltz in E minor, Bagatelle, and the second movement of Sonata in G Major.  This Student Day program is intense and provides a challenge to keep advancing that is otherwise lacking for M.

This stuff is intense!  She plays 3 pieces for a judge, then scales, Chord progressions, and Arpeggios.  Then she plays a melody provided beforehand with harmonization that she adds.  Then she is to play the piece in another key.  I forgot about this harmonization piece last year and she was trying to prep it in a practice room before her audition.  Then again this year I forgot it and had her prepping it the morning of the audition.

There is a 4 page theory test that covers similar level of knowledge.  Major scales, relative minors.  Chord progressions, identifying musical examples, and dictation.  There is also an aural skill test on all this but from a listening perspective.  It kind of blows my mind that she handles this with such poise and grace.

In other news... I decide Margot looks like Sharon Carter!  I'm spooked by this.

These pictures don't convey how much she looks like her!

15 mile bike ride

 These pictures tell a story.  We dropped P and M off at Rochelle, 15 miles from grandma's house.  They rode into town and didn't die.  Yay!  M looks ready for another 15. 

 

M has student day this Saturday and a recital in a few weeks.  She is playing a Chopin Waltz, a Beethoven Sonatina, and a Bagatelle by Tcherepnin for Student day.  For the recital she is rocking out "Bumble Boogie" by Jack Fina.  She's amazing.  I don't know how she has all that music in her head.

 

Last year she did the student day pieces and then did Super Mario Brothers for the recital.   The pieces keep getting harder and M keeps getting better. 

 

Grandma made this beautiful dress and we have use of it currently.