Astrid memorized her lines & has them down pat!

At Astrid's preschool, they've got all the kids rehearsing for the Christmas recital which is going to take place in a couple weeks. They're singing a bunch of Christmas songs as is expected and they've got some choreography - Astrid has shown me the hand and arm movements.

One day when I was signing Astrid out of school, I saw a note was placed inside for me to take. It contained the lyrics to songs and 4 lines of dialogue - and asked that parents practice with their children at home. I thought "wow 4 lines for a 3 year old" but knowing that she loves this kind of stuff I was all for it.

We practiced that night and she just wanted to keep going. I would say, "Okay that's enough it's getting late. It's time to sleep now. We'll practice more tomorrow." And Astrid would protest, "No mama! Again! Let's do it again!" What a perfectionist! The fact that she has 100% of my attention also helps I'm sure. She loves that.

Last week the school coordinator approached me and asked if it was okay for Astrid to have a speaking part and if I thought Astrid could handle the 4 lines of dialogue. I explained to her that at first I thought it was a lot, but Astrid loves to sing and dance and perform and she was a star at her last recital that had the parents talking about her for weeks afterwards, so I didn't think it would be a problem. She said, "Oh good good. I saw that in her, which is why I chose her as one of three kids to have a speaking part. I thought she could handle it." Wow - kudos to Astrid for shining in that space.

Here are the lines:
"On Christmas Eve, we stay up late.
We cannot sleep. We just can't wait
for Christmas morning to arrive.
It's oh so hard to close our eyes!"

And tonight I was so happy for her when she finally memorized her lines and got them down pat! She would even take the piece of paper and pretend to be reading it. Of course she can't read yet, but the fact that she was able to say all 4 lines smoothly really looked like she was reading for the part. I clapped. I cheered. I gave her a one woman standing ovation, and lots of hugs and kisses.

In return she wanted to repeat her lines another 10 times, and was so proud of herself and overjoyed that she had done it. She was so motivated to learn her part and that sheer determination of hers at 3 years old is awe inspiring.

I'm one proud Mama.