Mia and her Speech and Drama

You'll have to forgive me, this is a very proud Mum post!

So last year, Harry passed his Grade 1 piano exam and of course we were all very pleased for him, he had worked hard, and we gave him lots of praise. But Mia was a little miffed at all the attention that he was getting, not least because he received a lovely certificate which I put up in a frame on his bedroom wall. I found her a frame too and we put in an recognition award from school, but she felt that it wasn't quite the same.

So I was on the lookout for an activity for Mia. She's not got the patience for piano lessons yet, she gets very easily frustrated if she can't do something. But one day she came home all excited because lots of children in the school had won awards for speech and drama which had been presented in assembly - some of them even had medals and trophies! So in September we signed her up for a term of lessons, and she absolutely loved them. They take place at school at lunchtimes so she's still full of energy, and they seem to be very small classes so she gets a lot out of them.

I've really noticed a difference when she's reading aloud and I'm sure that this must be from the classes, she reads beautifully with lots of expression and she really seems to have learned how to bring a story to life. She also did beautifully in her school Nativity play at Christmas.

This week she went to perform at the Worthing Music and Arts Festival. I must admit that I didn't really know what this was. I first thought that it was just a show, where she'd perform her poem along with lots of other children. Then I found out that there was judging involved, and so I thought that it was similar to the music exams, where each child would be awarded pass, merit and distinction or similar. It wasn't until we arrived that I realised that it was more of a competition, with 17 children in her age group reciting the same poem (Tarantula by Clare Bevan) and being awarded first, second and third place.

All the children performed the poem brilliantly, and it was lovely to see how they all put their own interpretation onto it. They were all so confident for their age, I know that I wouldn't find it easy to stand up in front of an audience of adults before a judging table and recite something from memory! We were so thrilled when Mia was awarded second place! I'm really glad that she's found something that she enjoys, that suits her little personality, and has given her an achievement that she can be proud of.