Merry Christmas!

As musicians, December can be the busiest time of the year.  It's easy to get caught up in the stress of concerts, parties, and other commitments, and lose the fun that they are intended to be.  So take a moment to stop and remember why you started  doing this in the first place.  For me, it's JOY.  Music brings joy to my heart, and sharing it with others multiplies it exponentially.  Let go of your inner critic, and let yourself enjoy the spirit of the season and the heart behind the harmonies.   I hope you enjoy a restful, rejuvenating break with your family and friends.  Have a very Merry Christmas!

The Beiber Flip

Today my first graders and I learned the orginal "Twelve Days of Christmas" song.  After singing it, I asked them if they thought they would like to receive those gifts...yeah, NO!  So we wrote our own version, with gifts they wanted to get for Christmas. After putting our list together, we created movements for them and performed the finished song for their teacher when she came to pick them up.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, dear Santa gave to me:

12 toy swords

11 iPods

10 Monster High dolls

9 blue flutes

8 PS3s

7 Skylanders

6 new computers

5 ballerina dolls!

4 3DS

3 chihuahuas

2 toy cats

and 1 Justin Bieber doll!

The best part was when we got to the Justin Bieber doll.  I asked what we should do when we sing that, and a little boy (with total Bieber hair) said, "I know!  The hair flip!"  Then he did it.  Perfectly.  So we ended our performance with 27 first graders doing the Bieber flip and singing into imaginary microphones.  It was awesome.