Singalong at Good Old Sandhills Farm Life

I don't have pictures to post from yesterday's singalong, so I'll just tell you about it. Okay? Okay. Well, I've had a standing invitation from Pam Cameron and Lisa Dumas to come have a singalong with their second graders. I've had some schedule conflicts and knew of some more upcoming conflicts, but I was determined not to put them off until after Christmas. The year just gets away too fast, and I'm hopeful of joining them for more singalongs before year's end (the school year that is--June 2010).

I don't believe in "fate," but that said, Lisa Dumas just happens to be in my old classroom, where I spent about the last decade of my career, and where some of the sweetest memories took place. I may not have a KEY to the room any more, but I felt right at home there. Part of that is the enthusiastic welcome the students and teachers always give me. I'm glad I'm still part of the family. The Grandpa, I suppose.

I brought along my old pal Chipper. Some of you know that Chipper is my stuffed monkey (once Jennifer's). During my last several years of teaching he became my class mascot, dressing up for every season, holiday, or special event that came along. Hmmm. . . maybe Chipper will get his own post someday.

Anyway, Chipper and I recognized many familiar things. The wonderful carpet from J.B. Short Carpet One (don't say I never did anything for you Tim and Renee), The Invisible Bookshelf (thanks Amanda!), and hundreds of books that I donated when I retired. Technically, we didn't see the bookshelf, just evidence that some mysterious force was supporting books in mid-air.

Back to the singalong. I was delighted that Pam had prepared the kids by introducing some of the favorite songs before my arrival, notably The Desperado and Boom Boom, Ain't it Great to be Crazy. There were also some students who were siblings of children I taught, and they had requests ready from songs theirs brothers or sisters had taught them! That's how it should work.

So we started with The Cat Came Back. The humorous, if not politically correct tale of how a man tries all means to get rid of his cat, but it ALWAYS comes back. We sang She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain, Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Titanic, It's a Small World, and several more. We also sang several Christmas favorites: Rudolph, Up on the Housetop, Feliz Navidad, Silent Night, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

I like to have the students stand for a lot of songs, especially those that have motions. Even a singalong could get boring if you just sit in your seat for an hour like in Math or Reading class. And there's no reason to stay in your seat all the time even for those classes. We all know that "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" (if you've seen Jack Nicholson in The Shining).

So we did Jingle Bells with motions, acted out the desperado with "a big sombrero and a gun beneath his vest," and provided sound effects for the Titanic when "that great ship went down--HIT the bottom!"

We sang songs that were from 40 years old to well over 100. And it was proved to me over again that children always love a good song if it's presented to them properly. Us old folks certainly get tired of the same old songs. When we saw Doc Watson, that's why he didn't sing "Deep River Blues," he just played it. And he didn't do "The Tennessee Stud," probably because he's done it till he dreams about it. But it's incumbent upon us adults, especially those who have a role in teaching children, to pass along some of our musical heritage. Believe me, they're not born knowing these songs, and they get just as excited about a fun tune or humorous lyrics as children did 35 years ago.

35 years ago. Hmmm. In 1975, I began teaching at Farm Life. There was an old clunker of a piano in the cafeteria. But on Friday afternoons, I would take my fifth graders in there and lead them in some of the songs that would remain on my song sheets for my entire career. Zelda Blue and her kitchen staff would be doing their Friday cleanup, and my students were raising the roof, singing at the top of their lungs. We got some smiles from Zelda and the others. That's the power of music, you know.

That's not to say that things never change. That old cafeteria, which seated only about 80 students at a time, is not a cafeteria any more. It was saved from demolition because a visionary art teacher, Cheryl Stuckey, thought it could be renovated. When New Century Middle School was built, and the sixth graders moved out of that renovated building, Principal Nora McNeill allowed me and Betty Lou Stewart to move in with our third graders. We didn't ask for it, and almost every other teacher had asked for it.

It was perfect. We called it "The Outback." I was able to create my "Adventure Classroom" there, for singalongs and much, much more. So you see, my very FIRST singalongs and my LAST singalongs were all in the same building!

But I don't believe in "fate." Should I? Do you?

This picture is from a Christmas singalong before I retired.

And Chipper still loves the part of "Santa's Helper."

For those of you who love the old songs of your childhood or want to recapture that love, the lyrics to ALL the songs of my class songsheets are found at this web address: http://schoolcenter.mcs.k12.nc.us/education/staff/staff.php?sectionid=309.

Thanks to our wonderful media specialist, my old school website, with some fun stuff, is tucked away in Farm Life's website, under "Classrooms and Special Areas." I'm in "Resources and Special Areas." Pay me a visit.