Fond Farewell

Do people realize that when they invite me to "come & play" that they are literally changing my life? Over the years I have indeed had participants of one event or another come up and tell me that something I have said, or done, or shared -- has changed their life. I always well up inside when that happens..... but do instigators of fun realize that it changes me to come to their site?

The first picture above is the hard working committee who made all of this happpppppiness unfold. The grant writing. The securing of places. The gathering of volunteers. The involving of other agencies. The buying of cookies & punch and NAPKINS. These brilliant folks are responsible for bringing fun into the lives of all our participants: parents, college students, high school students, children -- the whole entire gamut of the community joined together for fun & education.

For all the pictures that were taken, that first one is the only one that has Lisa Robson with me. Those of you who don't know her, she's the one peeking out from behind me, with one eye showing. That's so typical of Lisa, being behind me 100% of the way, doing all the work and receiving none of the spotlight. I can't believe that I didn't think to pose the two of us together. I guess that means I need to be invited back again! I'm willing!!

Jump, Freeze, Jump, Freeze

Pick me! Pick me! Pick me! Don't ya just love when everyone wants to come up on the stage, get involved and lead the show? I love to get my volunteers involved. It's such a wonderful treat to give children "permission" to act like children. "Come on, let's jump!" Who's attempting to reach the sky? "Now, let's freeze frozen fantastically -- make a funny face."

Fantastic Faces of Fun

Look at these expressions. Look at these emotions. Look at this enthusiasm. Look at these responses. Look at unbridled enthusiasm. Look at the excitement. Look at the energy.

This is what I adore about working with children. They don't hold back. They don't edit their response. It's all right there. Immediately obvious. Completely present. It's a thrill to watch. It's a delight to elicit. It's a tonic to participate & lead all of that energy. I store it up when ever possible. These pictures are great prompts and reminders.

Family Fun #2

Leap back in time.
Lorain County.
Family Fun evening #2.
JVS.
What a great evening.
What delight.
Participants wrapped in enthusiasm.
Leaders of tomorrow.
Happy.
Happy.
Joy.
Joy.
Joy.

Who is Having the Most Fun?

Let me just say right here & right now...... the children of the future are going to be in good hands, if the pre-professionals at this JVS are any reflection of the zest & energy in the pipeline. These teachers-in-the-making obviously have everything it takes to succeed with children: enthusiasm, responsiveness & a desire to engage with a smile of zip!!! Now who do you think is having the most fun? Me? The teenagers? Happy, happy. Joy, joy, joy!!

All Together, Now!

The fun continues.
The laughter mounts.
The learning unfolds.
The dancers show their moves.

Get This Party Started

Lorain County may very well be my favorite county in all of Ohio. Certainly it's gotta be in the all-time top three! Here we are gathered together in the Lorain County Joint Vocational School's department of early childhood education. These are high school junior & senior students brought together with me by a special grant written by their very own Lisa Robson -- great & dear friend plus teacher of wee wonders and zealous energentic teenagers alike. What more can I say? This is at least my third time to return in the last decade, all due to Lisa's diligence, planning, insight and creativity.

If it were possible to harness energy, this is the laboratory where I'd begin. In this very room.

"You're Wonderful" by Debbie Clement

Gold star time! My dear sweet husband and 'roadie-extra-ordinaire' shot this video grande finale on his phone unbeknownst to me. It was fun to watch when we got back to the hotel & relive the excitement..... but then the real trick was figuring out how to transfer it from his phone to my laptop & on to YouTube and then back here to the blog.

Shazaaaam!!! I'm figuring it out! (BTW, we transferred the file onto a disc-drive, which I always call my 'spy-cam' -- which makes me feel like I'm in a thriller movie, attempting to race against the clock & the bad guys. LOL.) Hmmmm. I see that the video picture is somehow 'wider' than the column's available space here at blog-central??? Totally beyond my capability to edit in any way. I'm just over-the-moon happy to get it outta da phone & out here into the 'real' world.

I'm not sure we could do it again, but it worked this time!!!! I think his Droid gets a gold star for it's clarity of both sound and picture. Do you love our animated presentation? How cute is that little unpredictable shooting star? And what about the twirling dirvish star? Listening back, it's fun to have all those male voices singing in the depths. KUDOS to Lisa Robson for running the power point slides of my book's illustrations in the background.

Droid =1 gold star. Power-point-Lisa = 100 gold stars. Shooting star = 1000 gold stars. Twirling star = 1000 gold stars. Allen/husband/roadie/film-man =a million platinum stars & all my love forever!!!!!

*****Click here to see a "Linkie Party" of a fellow friend & blogger who has a blog post asking teachers for some of their favorite classroom songs. Go check out 'Learning Ahoy!!'

Door Prizes & FanClub

Every successful event requires people behind the scenes creating opportunities for children, for families, for future teachers -- and for me! I'm grateful to all who were involved in bringing this event together. What a stellar combination of resources. I won't start naming names because I'm sure that there are dozens on the committee who pulled this together. What better way to end a fun evening than by pulling names for yet more parting gifts! Thanks team!!!!

FREEZING FROZEN

Wow do I seriously LOVE that first shot!!! All of us having fun! My backdrop singer-dancers who have joined me on the stage, all in unison striking a pose. That's pretty awesome. Seeing EVERYone in the audience mirroring our antics is extra sweet. Well done team. Maybe I should have a couple dozen early childhood college students along on every outting? What a delight!!!