RAINBOW: Special Guest!!

It's always a welcome treat to enter the classroom to find original rainbows drying on the drying rack from open-ended art explorations. After I had so much fun yesterday with the second graders, it only seemed fitting to get myself invited back to the preschool for Finn's crew and buddies. We planned just a tad further ahead and so my visit got to be incorporated into the "Message of the Day." Special guest indeed!!

There will be so favoritism shown by the morning's photographer. Absolutely none. If there are 'extra' pictures of a little boy in an orange t-shirt, that is merely a co-incidence. If he happens to look a lot like our grandson, Finn, that is just a small world serendipity!!

In thinking through what I could do with the two classrooms worth of young-preschoolers without my prop box of goodies, I decided it would be a lot of fun to start with some guitar led favorites.  I appropriated my stepson Brian's guitar for the opening numbers which worked perfectly. Here we are showing our happy-face smiles for all of our assembled audience to appreciate.

                                             Get those wheels going around!!

                                                    The door goes open + shut!!

Here we are gathered in my first ever of "Debbie's Ditties.' The combined classes are cavorting on "Goldie's Goldfish." This is the part where we just about begin to s-h-a-k-e!!!!

Now's the time to launch into the 'author/illustrator' portion of our time together. Mrs. Nelson joins me up on stage in the spot-light and leads the children in their favorite, to the tune of the 'Farmer in the Dell.'

• The author writes the words.

• The author writes the words.

• Hey, ho! Did you know?

• The author writes the words!!!

• The illustrator makes the pictures.
• The illustrator makes the pictures.
• Hey, ho! Did you know? 
• The illustrator makes the pictures.  

"I think you're wonderful. I think you're marvelous.
I think you're beautiful and magical and filled with curiosity....
... and dreams." {Click here for a YouTube video of the tune.}

Now it's time to share, "Tall Giraffe" and the sign language for its rhymes.

Everyone's favorite part: "Happy lappy, tongue so slappy." Today Megan is wise to my antics and gets a close-up, while everyone chuckles together.

And one final grand finale, group participation, up and moving, ever watchful, focused, sing-a-long, jump-a-long, freeze-a-long jamboree of delight and amazement.

Can you believe the staff says that I'm welcome back? Chances are good for a return as we have young Duncan in the wings, to be followed eventually with Missy Maisie-Daisy.

Thanks for the invite to visit...... I'll look forward to my next colossal Colorado chorale!

Lorain Co. Comm. College

One of the best things about having a dream and pursuing it is watching seedlings planted previously coming to fruition -- right before your very eyes. As I finish up year #15, I ponder all of the truly amazing opportunities that I've had and those hovering on the horizon ahead. What I LOVE doing is getting to return to sites where we have had fun & games in the past, where I know the folks in charge & what they are capable of pulling together.

Here we are on the campus of Lorain County Community College. A special grant was written to create this evening of fun on behalf of families from across the county. The evening is an evening of parent education and I am one piece of the puzzle. We get underway with a brief sing-a-long with families all together. Then once everyone is comfortable, the parents depart for two workshops on topics of their choosing. That leaves the children with me in the lovely conference room, under the direction of college students from LCCC and visiting college students from Ashland University, a tad down the road.

We have enough college students in preparation to pair up with the children one-on-one. Take a look over our shoulders at the fun prior to the parents return.

New Lexington Library

Fall Family Fun -- family fun for everyone.
Let's get this party started!!!

Luggage Carousel: Austin

We've landed safely in Austin...... through a whole series of amazing serendipitous bits. We left Sister Bay at 4:10 a.m. and were at the Green Bay airport at the stroke of 6:00. We got our boarding passes, and our luggage went through security lickity split. The ticket agent gave us our gate number and we turned to go. Rather nonchalantly I said to her, completely off-handedly, "Does it look like our flights are running on time?" She went back to the screen to look and she said, "Whoa! Your crew has been timed-out. Your flight won't be taking off till mid-morning." Whoa, indeed. Our flight outta Chicago would already be in the air, before our flight in Green Bay was even getting organized.

The ticket agent did a heroic amount of work and tracked down the luggage from security, got us onto a whole new airline and changed all of the paperwork........ long story short, we got the last two seats outta Green Bay, thru Minneapolis.... and made it safely to Austin. Our baggage arrived on the carousels -- surrounded by VERY large guitars. We got into the shuttle and the skies just opened up. I mean POURED. Torrential downpour, Texas style. Our driver had to s-l-o-w down, to manage safely, but we eventually made it to our destination, the Hyatt. And then I was expected to manually manipulate my own window coverings, no remote for the draperies here. OIY!

WonderBoy on Stage

Here is the documentation of a "first." This is the first time for my own grand-children to be in the audience of one of my performances. This occasion is the year-end, Family Fun Fest at my grandson's own preschool. I had long ago volunteered to be a part of their end of the year festivities. We kept my participation loose to see what the weather would dictate. Thunderstorms. So all of the outside bouncie stuff had to be rescheduled for next year and it turned into an inside activity instead..... and suddenly I was a featured event.

Here is my very own WonderBoy thru his mommy's camera, with him seeing me, his GeeGee on stage for the first time. I just wonder, wonder, wonder what was going thru his head?? Needless to say he wanted to join me up front. I made the flip decision to invite him aboard, with the hopes that he would then settle into an audience member mode more easily. It could have exploded in my face, but after he sang, "Twinkle Twinkle" for an adoring crowd and then played the guitar to get us warmed up, he then joined his friends on the floor for the rest of the show.

Again. This is his first time for him to see me in my Lion's mane tutu. He stood up and started to come toward me...... maybe to rescue his grandma from the lion??? Then he just stopped. Completely still in his tracks. Didn't move a muscle. Sure wish we had a picture of his face, from over my shoulder, behind my mane. That was seeing him spell bound for sure.

Seriously huge fun time!! You'll have to ask him for his impressions, but I think it's safe to say that he'd give me a 'two thumbs up' rating, from his vantage point.

Winding Up: Teenies

Here's the last visit of this year --

to my very first on-going site.
Children's Hospital Childcare.
How many years has it been?

I think, it's been 14 years.

How is that possible? One month at a time.
I've gone every month.
Have watched the wee ones turn into big siblings.
That's a lot of growing up together.
Each visit starts with a short little hop with the teeniest.
By the end of the year, they are strumming my guitar.
Eager & excited!!

Same director.

Same assistant.

Same music lady.

Some things just never change.

Oh happy day!!

The Wee Ones

Let the Fun Begin