Weekly Wrap-Up ~ 'Tis A Season

From the Heart, On the Homefront, Learning Time ... You name it ...

A huge part of our world is wound up in  "The Nutcracker".  All four of our children are performing in "The Nutcracker" this year and rehearsals are well underway.  In fact, between their routine classes and rehearsals, we are at the studio 5 days a week for a minimum of 12 hours total.  Normally, I would stay far away from something like this with my special needs kids and already bulging schedule.  However, this is turning into an awesome experience for all of my children.  I am glad I did not fully understand what we were getting into or I may have declined to participate.

Tom Sawyer in his mask that he made in class.

Tom Sawyer loves, LOVES, loves his all boy theater dance class.  In the performance, he and his buddies will be dragon toys that come to life and are scared off the stage by the mouse king.  Tom Sawyer is getting so much out of this class ~ friendship, respect of authority (other than his parents), dance skills, costume design, acting skills, and how a theater production is carried out.  I could not ask for more!

Tom Sawyer jumping off the ground.

My dear boy has really surprised me with how much care and attention he is giving to his own performance.  He is excited about going onto the BIG stage.  They will be performing in our city's theater that holds about 5oo in the audience.

The fencers rehearsing as mice and soldiers.

My oldest, Timothy, will be in the show, as well.  He is the fencer on the right and will be one of the soldiers fighting the mice.  When he volunteered to be in the performance, I almost fainted.  This is the guy who never wants to do any kind of public speaking or performing.  This is his third year of fencing and he is in an advanced class now.  We are so relieved that he is finding a place where he is really comfortable and enjoys the folks around him.

Goldilocks practicing balancing while catching a snowflake on her tongue.

Goldilocks is in modern dance I and will be a child playing in snow.  She even gets to be pulled off stage by  the Godfather.  Honestly, with all of Goldilocks' special issues (RAD, FASD), this is the first class outside of the home that she has truly been successful in and liked.  She has done okay in other classes but hated them or made little to no progress.  However, this dance studio does an awesome job of meeting kids where they are and helping them reach their potential.

Little Red Ridinghood is loving this dance studio, too.  She will be cotton candy in the performance.  This will be her 7th recital, so she isn't nervous at all.  I do think this is the largest stage she has been on so far.

I cannot wait to see them in full costume.  So, as you can see, this is what our world is made up of right now.

The Rest ! ~

When we are not at the dance studio, we are keeping up with the Three R's.  The kids are really enjoying doing The Boxcar Children with Beyond Five In A Row.  We are also in the midst of another Tomatis (sensory processing and OT therapy) loop for Tom Sawyer.  So ... 'tis the season to be busy!!  I am so glad to be home with my children each day watching them grow and thrive.

To see more weekly wrap-ups go over to Mary's blog.

Blessings,

Dawn