Oh man. What a month March was!
St. Patrick's day went pretty well (actually, pretty darn well) and things are winding up for recital and summer camp now.
Tessa's schedule is pretty much non-stop. But its fun and that's what matters. She has a sneaky side, though, and it gets her in a lot of trouble. She is very clever. Now, if she would just use those brains for good instead of evil...
Shannon is being Shannon. Its hard to get her to do anything on a daily basis. I pretty much have to sit on top of her to get her to focus and finish her schoolwork and chores. I have a tough time being easy on her. As soon as I let up, she takes advantage. Its like the saying "Give her an inch and she'll take a mile"...except it FEELS more like the way Sven puts it; "Give her a finger and she'll take your arm."
Here is a mild example:
Shannon: "Can I have some goldfish crackers"
Sarah: "Yes"
Five minutes later, I find her in the dining room with a CEREAL BOWL FULL of crackers. Pretty much the rest of what was left.
I guess we have a different opinion of what "some" means.
Some things just never change.
So now that April is suddenly and mercilessly upon me, recital has begun to register on my panic radar.
Recital is going to be SO FANTASTIC.
If it happens...
Monday, March 28, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Episodes Four and Five
Since I have taken so long to do this, I decided to post episodes 4 and 5 together.
Episode 4 is fine, Episode 5 leaves much to be desired. I struggled with making them do this one over again. Note Tessa fixing her hair in the camera :-) She does it a couple of times.
le sigh.
Episode 4
Episode 4 is fine, Episode 5 leaves much to be desired. I struggled with making them do this one over again. Note Tessa fixing her hair in the camera :-) She does it a couple of times.
le sigh.
Episode 4
Episode 5
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Educational Kittypets
Shannon and Tessa have named themselves The Educational Kittypets. Wow.
Today's episode involves writing.
Enjoy!
Today's episode involves writing.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Home School Project
Shannon and Tessa were assigned a history project last week.
They were given three aspects of ancient Egypt to write about and then turn their report into a video.
Three aspects soon turned into a 20 minute report that I had them split up into 5 episodes. They were really angry when I told them that most school reports are only 5 minutes long. Who knew they would like being in front of the camera so much? They just went on and on...
But you can really tell that they learned a lot about ancient Egypt. And now they want you to know all about it, too.
You can also tell that we watch WAY too much Mythbusters around here.
They were given three aspects of ancient Egypt to write about and then turn their report into a video.
Three aspects soon turned into a 20 minute report that I had them split up into 5 episodes. They were really angry when I told them that most school reports are only 5 minutes long. Who knew they would like being in front of the camera so much? They just went on and on...
But you can really tell that they learned a lot about ancient Egypt. And now they want you to know all about it, too.
You can also tell that we watch WAY too much Mythbusters around here.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Busy busy busy
So busy doesn't even begin to describe were I am right now.
After a successful feis weekend (Tessa placed 4th overall and received 1st place medals for both her hard and soft shoe rounds,) I walked right into March Madness.
In college basketball, March Madness is playoffs. In Irish dance, its St. Patrick's Day. I have a clip board full of sign up sheets for various performances. From theaters to nursing homes, we will be dancing like mad next week. And the week after. The last currently scheduled show on my clipboard is April 28th.
Here is the funny thing that I realized last night while working on a set list for our St. Patrick's Day Fair performance. I can be as organized as I like. But one unorganized parent can completely mess up any set list or plan. Either someone shows up without warning, or they are a no show.
Over the years, I have learned to cope with just about any scenario. I learned to cope by not planning anything until I showed up and all of the dancers were present. I hate this approach. I think it makes our shows look sloppy and it does not do justice to the amount of work we put into our performances in class.
So, this year, I am trying the opposite tactic. I am going to organize every show. And I am going to set a couple rules.
1. You must sign up for shows IN PERSON. No email sign ups.
2. If you show up without having signed up, you don't dance.
3. If you are late without a phone call, you don't dance. If you are more than 15 minutes late with a phone call, you don't dance.
4. If you fail to show up without calling, you will not be allowed to perform in any more shows this season.
These rules sound really harsh when I type them out like that. But the fact of the matter is, we all depend on each other to be on time and ready for a show. One unorganized person can stress out a little kid who suddenly has to dance a spot they never practiced in class or realizes that they are missing their partner. In that 15 minutes you are late, we have already gotten dressed or run through half the show without you.
In addition to this, I have also digitized all of my bits and pieces of paper and notes. Now, when I make notes in dance class, I take a picture of the notes with my camera and upload the picture to Evernote. I can access it from my phone, iPad or computer. And I can make alterations to my notes from anywhere, too. I will probably still carry around a notepad, but that is because I like writing with a pen. But, I will be storing all of that stuff on my computer, now.
In order to understand all of this organizational insanity, here is a picture of what running a show looks like from my perspective.
1. Client calls and wants to book a show.
2. I put them on my calendar after three or four phone calls involving them asking me questions, me asking them questions and them having to get back to me. (This year, I put nothing on my calendar until I had a firm commitment from my client. AND I archived the emails after responding to them instead of leaving them in my inbox. The ball was in their court at that point)
3. I post a sign up sheet in the studio and people begin to write their names on it.
4. After several reminders, people continue to tell me that they will check their calendars.
5. People scratch their names off of lists or write them twice.
6. I take the lists down to start planning sets.
7. People email me requests to be added to lists.
8. I have to re-plan sets.
9. I have to count endless amounts of music and hang on to those numbers in case I have to change a dance because of added or subtracted performers.
10. I have to find addresses, directions and maps to the show and distribute them.
And my favorite: I explain to at least four potential clients why the kids will not come and dance at your pub/ house/private party for free.
I have misplaced CD's, clipboards, contracts, and those all important music counts so many times that St. Patrick's Day has become synonymous with nervous breakdown over the past ten years. It involves a ridiculous amount of paper. I have been just as guilty of procrastination and disorganization as everyone else involved in the process. But the only person I can control in the process is myself, right?
After a successful feis weekend (Tessa placed 4th overall and received 1st place medals for both her hard and soft shoe rounds,) I walked right into March Madness.
In college basketball, March Madness is playoffs. In Irish dance, its St. Patrick's Day. I have a clip board full of sign up sheets for various performances. From theaters to nursing homes, we will be dancing like mad next week. And the week after. The last currently scheduled show on my clipboard is April 28th.
Here is the funny thing that I realized last night while working on a set list for our St. Patrick's Day Fair performance. I can be as organized as I like. But one unorganized parent can completely mess up any set list or plan. Either someone shows up without warning, or they are a no show.
Over the years, I have learned to cope with just about any scenario. I learned to cope by not planning anything until I showed up and all of the dancers were present. I hate this approach. I think it makes our shows look sloppy and it does not do justice to the amount of work we put into our performances in class.
So, this year, I am trying the opposite tactic. I am going to organize every show. And I am going to set a couple rules.
1. You must sign up for shows IN PERSON. No email sign ups.
2. If you show up without having signed up, you don't dance.
3. If you are late without a phone call, you don't dance. If you are more than 15 minutes late with a phone call, you don't dance.
4. If you fail to show up without calling, you will not be allowed to perform in any more shows this season.
These rules sound really harsh when I type them out like that. But the fact of the matter is, we all depend on each other to be on time and ready for a show. One unorganized person can stress out a little kid who suddenly has to dance a spot they never practiced in class or realizes that they are missing their partner. In that 15 minutes you are late, we have already gotten dressed or run through half the show without you.
In addition to this, I have also digitized all of my bits and pieces of paper and notes. Now, when I make notes in dance class, I take a picture of the notes with my camera and upload the picture to Evernote. I can access it from my phone, iPad or computer. And I can make alterations to my notes from anywhere, too. I will probably still carry around a notepad, but that is because I like writing with a pen. But, I will be storing all of that stuff on my computer, now.
In order to understand all of this organizational insanity, here is a picture of what running a show looks like from my perspective.
1. Client calls and wants to book a show.
2. I put them on my calendar after three or four phone calls involving them asking me questions, me asking them questions and them having to get back to me. (This year, I put nothing on my calendar until I had a firm commitment from my client. AND I archived the emails after responding to them instead of leaving them in my inbox. The ball was in their court at that point)
3. I post a sign up sheet in the studio and people begin to write their names on it.
4. After several reminders, people continue to tell me that they will check their calendars.
5. People scratch their names off of lists or write them twice.
6. I take the lists down to start planning sets.
7. People email me requests to be added to lists.
8. I have to re-plan sets.
9. I have to count endless amounts of music and hang on to those numbers in case I have to change a dance because of added or subtracted performers.
10. I have to find addresses, directions and maps to the show and distribute them.
And my favorite: I explain to at least four potential clients why the kids will not come and dance at your pub/ house/private party for free.
I have misplaced CD's, clipboards, contracts, and those all important music counts so many times that St. Patrick's Day has become synonymous with nervous breakdown over the past ten years. It involves a ridiculous amount of paper. I have been just as guilty of procrastination and disorganization as everyone else involved in the process. But the only person I can control in the process is myself, right?
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