My final assignment

Today, I had to submit my last assignment for The Photographer's Workshop. The assignment was an evaluation of progress, basically submitting a picture before and after.
Well, here's my before:

Notice how it's out of focus? it was shot in full auto mode (the green square) and used a flash.

Doesn't follow the rule of thirds or have any sort of compositional value to it what so ever.

My "after" picture:

Follows the rule of thirds, exposure is good, it is in focus and I didn't use a flash. The only light in the picture is the light from the piano lamp in front of the kids. This is one of my favorite pictures that I took during the class. I just love it.

I took both of these pictures from the exact same spot at my sisters house, one year apart.