Nothing happens in March, and February is the time during which we prepare for all that nothing.
I think that there is a common misconception that scheduling things in March is a good idea because it's such a "dead" month--after the holidays, and before spring hits. The truth is that everything seems to hit in March because around here, it's the month with no holidays. We don't even have a 3-day weekend in March.
In addition to the regular school activities, there will be a choir concert in March (end of the quarter), play rehearsal (Punkin has a line in the play!), dance exams, piano adjudications, and piano Chapter Honors Competition.
Play rehearsal is 3 days a week--the days when the activity bus runs. So far, Punkin hasn't had to be at all of them, but as we get nearer to the peformance dates, I'm sure there will be more rehearsals, too.
Dance Exams are a Big Deal around here. Dance is one of Punkin's big challenges. She works HARD for her dance exams, because dance is difficult for her. And because we make her work hard ;-) Usually, she has 2 hours of dance on Tues and 1 on Thurs. Now she has 2 on Tues, 2 on Thurs, 1 on Sat and 2 on Sunday afternoon. In addition to doubling her dance hours, she also started P.E. at the end of January. She's gone from 3 hours of directed physical activity a week to 11 hours. Yay! (note to self: buy more groceries). Also, because I spend more time watching during exam preparation, I have more knitting time. I am getting some serious knitting time in on my Philosopher's Wool Sweater. I have high hopes that it will be done by next March in time for Expo. I've been saying that for 3 years (4 years?), but maybe this time. . .
Piano Adjudications are a big deal, too, but although piano is a challenge for Punkin, it's challenging because she's really good at it. She'll be playing 2 really well-prepared pieces for Adjudications (a Benda Sonatina, and an Etude by Nakata) and then playing the same two pieces for the Chapter Honors Competition a week later. This will be her first time playing in the "playoffs," and it's more like a warm-up competition for her. The students who win will be HS age and playing incredibly advanced literature. I'm excited to have her play, because lots of my piano teaching colleagues will be hearing her for the first time. (No pressure, honey! Luckily, she doesn't read my blog--I think.)
This year, for the first time, Dance Exams and Piano Adjudications don't overlap. This is a great relief for me. One year, Punkin played her adjudications with her hair still in a bun from her dance exams (they cement those buns in--she needed a full shower to get that gunk out of her hair).
So that's what's happening in my neck of the woods. We have a school break the week of Presidents' day, so I'm looking forward to getting a few things off my to-do list that week. Usually, "sleep until noon" is the only thing that Punkin and I accomplish, but small goals are good ;-)