When our children were at school, we had many occasions at which we attended school concerts, ballet, speech nights and other related activities. While it was always good to see our children in action, I must admit that by the time that they both finished school, I was quite thankful that these types events were going to be in the past.
On Friday, however, we were invited by our seven year old grand daughter, Audrey, to watch her on stage in her school concert. I’m finding as a grand parent that everything is now very different. I really looked forward to seeing her perform and I couldn’t believe how quickly the time flew.
Her primary school has a fantastic program for involving the children in enriching experiences and this one-hour concert was for children in Grades Prep, One and Two. The teachers had obviously put in an enormous effort and every credit must go to them for creating such an experience for their students. They, and many of the mums had put a lot of time into making really good costumes for each of the acts which were based on animal themes. The kids performed very well and it was a terrific concert.
Of course, we thought that Audrey was the best ‘mover’ on the stage. Her class performed a dance to the theme music from the Monkeys song- ‘Hey, Hey, We’re The Monkeys’. She was the tallest person on the stage and easiest to pick out.
It was fun to observe different kids and the way they dealt with being on stage. Some were so struck with stage fright that they just stood there and didn’t move at all. In one act by a Grade One class, the kids sang and danced to the Beatle’s song ‘Octopuses Garden’. They all looked great, but the three little girls in the front row who performed as mermaids really made the act a hit. In another act, two little girls spent most of the time peering out into the audiences with their hands on their foreheads, shading their eyes, and trying to see their parents. In another, one little boy had the whole act so well together that he spent most of the time coordinating other kids and making sure that they did all the right moves and at the right time, rather than performing.
I was sorry that I couldn’t take any photos. but I will wait for the video to be produced.
It’s a wonderful life being a grandfather!!
