We're back!

It has been a while, but both children have recently updated their blogs.

For Alexander's recap of last year's trip to Disney World, please see:

My Life by Alexander

For Charlotte's take on our Disney World vacation last year, please see:

Adventurous Charlotte

And the winner was....

Last month we attended Őszi tábor (autumn camp) with the Hungarian Scouts. The favorite activity, for my children and many others, was the Számháború (number war).

Each player was given a set of cards with the same number on both the front and back. They wore these numbers on their heads, and tried to move in such a way that members of the other team could not see the numbers. If someone called out their number, they were out of the game, and had to go to the "cemetery" until the end of the game.

In the first game, the scouts were all on one team trying to steal the flag from the pirates. Then in subsequent games, there were two team of scouts playing each other, each trying to reach the other team's flag first.

Here Sári (in the light blue t-shirt) and her team prepared to race across the field.

 Sándor was the last was chosen for his team, but they chose well as he won the game for them!

Mongolian Dance

Charlotte had her final performance with the Lily Cai Chinese dance group. The 5th grade girls who have been dancing together for three years performed a Mongolian Dance.

The 5th grade dancers

Proud Charlotte

 

The Mongolian Dance

Piano recital

Alexander's piano teacher took a new position at a music school in San Mateo and is no longer able to teach him. We found him a new teacher at the Blue Bear School of Music at Fort Mason in San Francisco, so he has continued taking piano lessons. His previous teacher Isabelle invited him to perform at a recital with her other students. His smile at the end of the video was for her.

Technical note: We are experimenting with a new high definition video camera. If you would like to view the video at a higher resolution, click the cog at the bottom of the YouTube window, and select 720p. You can also increase the size to full screen by clicking on the rectangle in the right corner.

A shave and a haircut

The third grade students all learn to play the recorder. They recently performed at the school's end-of-year concert. Alexander was chosen to be the leader for his group. He sat in front with his back to the audience so that the other students could watch his fingers if they forgot which notes to play. He was very nervous, but he was a fantastic leader!

The songs they played were:

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Down By the Station

Ode to Joy

Three Note Waltz

Shave and a Haircut

I didn't know that he would have his back turned, but fortunately he was in the second group of third graders. When I saw how the first group did it, I found myself a new seat to be able to record Alexander from the side. I ended up right next to the violin section, which you may have noticed on the video.

Having a good time

As previously mentioned, Charlotte took an afterschool dance class with Ms. Tretheway this spring. They continued to practice the dances they had already learned, and choreographed some others. At the end of the two months, they performed at the Asian Art Museum during the SFUSD Arts Festival.

One of the new dances was a medley of three songs chosen by the students. Each child also contributed to the choreography. The songs were:

"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift

"Ready or Not" by Bridgit Mendler

"Shake It Up" by Selena Gomez

Charlotte's class performed Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation" again.

And they all had a good time.

Basketball Champions

Alexander recently finished the basketball season. It was exciting when they won several games in a row. It was exciting when they made it into the playoffs.

It was exciting when they won the championship in their age group!

Suddenly Alexander announced to me that basketball is his new favorite sport. I suppose it's easy to like it when you're winning. Maybe he can practice some more basketball with his uncles this summer.