Rebecca Plays Burgmuller

For your listening pleasure, Rebecca plays "Arabesque" by Friedrich Burgmuller! She's been working on it for just one week and was so proud to show it to me in her lesson today.

Rebecca Plays Burgmuller (10.9.13) from Christina Hall on Vimeo.

Ana & Becca Start School

I took the two little girls for a walk on their first day of school (the day after Labor Day). Of course, Becca did not actually walk on the walk, but took her bike - and the lead - all the way to the post office and Caribou Coffee (for their first-day-of-school treat) and back.

 Morning glories in full bloom at the neighbor's!

"...even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" (Luke 12:27).

~ ~ ~

So, this year, Ana is in 5th grade and Rebecca is in 2nd. This evening, Papa brought them home a small stack of tried-and-true children's books he found at a garage sale. They're in great condition and even us big kids are elated over the four "Mrs. Piggle Wiggle" chapter books. We tend to emphasis literature in our schooling at home (Progeny Press puts out some great study guides, by the way), and 25-cents-per-book is hard to beat! Thanks, Papa!

Rebecca displaying the new additions to our library.

Loving that my sisters like to read,

C

Festival Eve

     For Jessimine through Rebecca, months of musical preparation came to a head last Saturday morning at one of the National Federation of Music Clubs' Junior Music Festivals. On Friday night, after supper and bathing, the younger children ran through their pieces in anticipatory performance. Here's a sampling from Ana. This was her sixth take (she's a perfectionist after Jonathan's own heart), and as you will see, it pleased her very much. Her pleasure augmented with the judge's evaluation the next morning: the annually-sought-after "superior" mark was achieved! Enjoy the music, and stay tuned for more posts coming soon!

Friday's Pupils

This morning our preschooler noticed that her vest lacked the handy hidden pockets
that Ana's jacket has, and, unprompted, made herself a pair with paper and tape.

discussing Viotti's Concerto No. 23

 

reading Pathway

 finding a more comfortable position

What are you looking at?

Musings on the First Day of School (on the Second Day of School)

     Following is Daniel's journal entry written on the first day of school last year. I remember us all laughing at his creative imagery (he was 12 when he wrote it), and this afternoon, after he again read it to me, I thought it would make a near-perfect post for today -- the second day of school here at Heritage Halls Academy. Yes, the kids launched themselves into their respective grades yesterday, and our grueling autumn schedule was calmly and unquestionably revived. I must say we have been surprisingly consistent in our 7:00 rise time. (I am taking this opportunity to praise our assiduousness, before I no longer have justification for such homage.)

First Day of School

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

     Greetings!!! A new school year has been approaching all summer, but now, suddenly, I find myself plunging into the icy water of curriculum. It jerks me to a rude awakening as the cold shock forces me to accept the monotonous, hard, dull moments and to appreciate the carefree, laid-back attitude of the summer and long for Christmas break. Already I find myself hoping to burst the surface and take a breath of weekends. Although, as I exert my energy to swim the Olympic-size swimming pool of grade six, I find myself enjoying the exertion (a little bit) and thanking Mom for pushing me off the diving board. Alas! I must admit that there have been and will be fabulous droplets of time in the endless pool of learning (although they will be chiefly comprised of weekends). Indeed, I am filled with vigor to hold my pencil steady and suppress sloppiness.

Daniel