The Nutcracker Suite!

One of Krish's favorite memories of his Kinder year is performing in the Nutcracker Suite, a ballet by Peter Tchaikovsky!  The Kindergarten Nutcracker musical is one of the oldest traditions at Greenhill, dating back 65 years!  Every year, each of the 4 Kinder classes are assigned 2 songs from the play, culminating in eight ballet performances of the entire musical.  The head of school narrates the story, while the Kindergarteners perform their dances in a production put on for all the parents and many other GH students as well.

This year, Krish's class was split into the boys who were the Russian Cossacks and the girls who were the Sugar Plum Fairies. They looked beyond adorable in their costumes on performance day!  The entire semester, they practiced their dance in music and drama class, and Krish loved every bit of it!  He practiced his part many times for us before the big show and even wanted to perform it in our Shah Family Reunion Talent Show this summer! (an oversight on Mommy's part because it would have been such a cute performance!)

Some of the other performances in the musical included the Chinese Tea dancers, the Candy Flutes, the Toy Soldiers and Mouse King, and the Spanish Chocolate.  The musical is usually performed in the black box theater on Greenhill's campus, but since the new Marshall Family Performing Arts Center was not completed yet, the show was held at the George Bush Elementary School next door and the entire performance was recorded for the children's families!  Click here to view the amazing production!  You will surely be in for a treat!

Mrs. LaMendola's Russian Cossacks!

Ready to watch the show at George Bush
Elementary!

Arjun excited to see Krishbhai after the show!

Krish's Class Boys - The Russian Cossacks!

Krish's Class Girls - The Sugar Plum Fairies!

The Candy Flutes!

Krish and Bobby

Krish with Dada and Ba after his performance!

Mommy and Krish!

Daddy and my handsome, little star!

My dashing Russian Cossack!

Krish eagerly practicing his dance during the school year!

Bug Headquarters in Krish's Classroom!

During the fall semester, Krish and his classmates, along with the help of their teachers, turned their classroom into a Bug Headquarters for parents and other students throughout preschool and lower school to come visit and learn what they learned through this unit of study!

They did an amazing job and as parents we definitely got some insight into how much they are learning at school!

Mommy and her little Hornet!

They even  dressed the part!
Little bats and hornets!

Arjun admiring the work!

The Bee Hive!

Arjun learning about the life cycle of a butterfly!

Bat Cave!

Ant hill!

Colorful spiders!

Daddy and his hornet!

Black light bat cave!

Their resources!

Yay, Dada came too!

Dada and Arjun enjoyed the exhibits!

Krish and his amazing teacher, Mrs. LaMendola!

Krish's Kindergarten Year at Greenhill! (2015-2016)

This past school year was huge for both the boys!  It was Arjun's first time ever to start school, and it was Krish's Kindergarten year where he began his first formal education curriculum!  Neil and I are so proud of both the boys for their efforts in school this year and for how much they learned!

Krish had an eventful Kinder year from his first day of school all the way through his end of year party on his last day.  His teachers were Mrs. Janice LaMendola and her teaching fellow, Mr. Evan Jackson, who currently helps Daddy coach Krish's Kinder/1st basketball team, the Hornet Swarm!  Krish had an amazing experience in Mrs. LaMendola's classroom, and we are so thankful to have had her as a teacher!

The major events of the year were:

• The 1st Day of School
• Bug Headquarters (The first semester theme/unit of study)
• The Nutcracker Suite (A long-standing Greenhill Kindergarten tradition)
• Rainbow Land (The second semester theme/unit of study)
• The Little Red Hen (The Week of the Young Child)
• The Last Day of School

In addition to his classroom curriculum, Krish participated in many extra-curricular activities this year with his KG schoolmates, including fall and spring football, winter basketball, and spring soccer. Basketball and football were among his favorites, and watching him play team sports was really quite a treat!  I had no idea how athletic my little man was until this year!

Needless to say, this year was huge for him and for us as his parents.  It was the beginning of his formal education and his establishment as a student at a school he will attend through high school graduation.  Again, Neil and I couldn't be more proud of how far he has come this year, both academically and athletically!

Krish's First Day of School in Mrs. LaMendola's Kindergarten Class!

Krish with Mrs. LaMendola! September 1, 2015

Arjun's 3rd Birthday Party!

After a year long hiatus, Shah Family News is back in action!  Back in November 2015, we celebrated Arjun's 3rd birthday at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas.  Among his interest in vehicles, planes are one of his favorites!  While everyone enjoyed the flight museum's play area and exhibits, we also had a caricature artist who entertained everyone with his amazing cartoon renderings of all the guests.  Arjun definitely looked like he had a blast celebrating his birthday, and that made us so happy!  It was a memorable event for the whole family.  Arjun, we love you so much!  Your charming and spunky personality keep us forever smiling!