Les préparatifs:
Les préparatifs de Noël ont été aussi magiques que la fête de Noël du samedi 13 décembre !
Pendant plus d’un mois les enfants ont organisé « leur » réception avec bonheur et enthousiasme. Très fiers d’être les hôtes, ils voulaient transmettre à leurs parents toute leur joie et tout leur amour !
Combien de merveilleux moments partagés tous ensemble ! Combien de réussites formidables pour chacun des enfants :
L’apprentissage quotidien des chansons en anglais et en français autour du piano d’Amy et de la guitare de Véronique, parce qu’une très belle fête se célèbre en musique !
La décoration du sapin gigantesque devenu un ami incontournable brillant de mille feux!
La réalisation de cadeaux ravissants pour les parents et d’une magnifique fresque de 2x2m, centrés autour du fameux « cœur » de Niki de Saint Phalle que les enfants découvrent cette année!
La confection de pâtisseries délicieuses par de joyeux lutins enfarinés des pieds à la tête!
la création de décors pour que l’école soit un enchantement !
Oui, vraiment, la préparation de Noël a été aussi passionnante que la fête elle-même !
The show!
The children in the Prématernelle and Petite Section invited their parents to come to their show and watch them sing from 9am-10am.
The beautiful presents they made were waiting underneath the Christmas tree, their ‘petits sablés’ biscuits placed decoratively around the buffet; we were ready to celebrate the fruits of their hard work on this morning, the 13th of December, with tears of joy and laughter.The children arrived with their parents at 9 a.m., their arms full of pastries for our breakfast buffet! Each child went under the tree to find their present, a hand-made heart made of salt dough, painted in lively colours and finished with a ribbon to hang on the Christmas tree. They were so proud to present their gift to their parents, and the parents were so happy and grateful some even shed a tear.
9:30 arrived and the children took their positions in front of our glorious Christmas tree and, after the count of 3, we were ready to sing. 1, 2….oh dear, tears! An audience of 34 adults pointing their cameras would be intimidating for anyone, so we understood when a couple of the little ones suffered with stage fright at the beginning. Mums, dads and Lili were on hand with cuddles to calm their tears and by the end, all of the children were pleased with their recital!
First on the bill was ‘Dors Mon Petit Enfant’, followed by ‘I’ll Be There’ by the Jackson 5. The children were enchanting! This was the first time they had sung together in front of an audience–a moment mums and dads will never forget!
There was such a wonderful atmosphere. Mums and dads chatted over delicious juices and pastries while the littles ones played nicely. When it was time to go, we could hardly believe the time had passed so quickly!
Véronique, Lili, Amy and Kasia had just a few minutes to prepare for the next session!
11 a.m arrived and we were full of enthusiasm ready to do it all again, this time with the Middle and Big Sections.
The children arrived with their parents and tempting appetizers and each child gave their hand-made gift to their parents. Inspired by the work of Niki de Saint Phalle, the hearts they made of Plastiroc clay were painted and decorated with a mosaic of coloured and mirror stones. Their gift bag also contained some other smaller hearts for table decoration. The children absolutely loved making their gifts and were so proud to give them to their parents, and their parents so pleased to receive them! The ‘petits sablés’ biscuits they made went down a storm too, many of the parents asking for the recipe!
11:30 arrived and it was clear the children were excited to begin their show! They began with Happy Xmas(war is over) by John Lennon, which they sang with all their hearts. The children sang softly and loudly, showing their ability to change the dynamics of their recital and they articulated very well.
Their second song, I’ll Be There, was very moving to hear! They sang beautifully, first in groups, then as a whole. Those who may have been a little shy to sing in rehearsals came out of their shell and were beaming with happiness to sing their part for their parents.
When they had finished, the children cuddled each other and there was an enormous round of applause and cheers from the parents. Véronique asked the parents if they would like to sing with us and they said yes! Provided with the lyrics, we all sang I’ll be there together as a choir and it was so moving it gave us goose pimples!
What a wonderful conclusion to a show that brought together months of work, perseverance, and the children’s love for each other!
Parents and grandparents enjoyed the appetisers and pulled crackers with their children…but these weren’t just any crackers…they were crackers with balloons inside them…balloons to make balloon dogs à la Jeff Koons, the next artist we will be studying with the children! There were even giant crackers to be pulled!
The Christmas show & party were a huge success. Thank you to the children for giving such wonderful performances and to all the parents and grandparents for being such a great audience!
Merry Xmas one and all!
