Patriotic Peace Drum

True confession: I am not the sharpest tool in the shed. Some of you have already suspected that fact. Well now you have the confirmation for your suspicions. Just before we packed up to fly to Auburn last week I had the insight to go on the web & read the description of the workshops that I was presenting there. Much to my chagrin there was a detail in my morning workshop description that said that I was going to talk about making instruments from inexpensive & recycled material. Ooooops. All of those instruments are in my home in Ohio and not with us here in WI where our journey was to originate.

So with less than 12 hours to spare I then had the idea to just make a new peace drum. So here are the 'instructions' for the making of a simple drum. 1. Get some lumber sawed into four sections. This is like a big science experiment. As you vary the width and length of your drum sides -- you alter the sound created by drumming. 2. Paint your lumber. I went patriotic because these were the colors of paint on hand in our kitchen drawer...... and it will be great to have for my upcoming picture book: "Red, White & Blue."

Construct your rectangle of four sides by nailing, or screwing the four sides together. Now here come the actual instructions. To make the drum head use clear 'mailing' tape. Start wrapping your lumber along it's shorter dimention. Wrap one time around the lumber and cut your tape. Overlap the tape by about half, wrap again and cut. Continue with this wrapping, overlapping and cutting until you get all of the way across the drum.

THEN go the other direction, along the length of your drum. Wrap around the lumber, cut. Overlap and continue.

We once made these 'peace drums' at the Childhood League Center. I paid for new lumber and paid a nominal amount for labor to build the drums. Each child at the center painted a drum to take home and one to leave at the center. We created close to 150 drums and spent $200 of our music grant in the process. For a bit over a dollar you've got a great surface for pounding -- musically or therapeutically if necessary. Should your drum head ever need repair it's a quick and inexpensive fix. I first saw this idea when Baba Jubal Harris, African drummer came to the Center. He is a great story-teller/drummer and is part of our Artist in the Schools program.

PRICELESS. Get your drums ready for a parade for the Fourth of July!! Pound away as the band goes down the street. Join the fun.

Fond Farewell

Hugs all around. These are my purple people. The mentors for the providers and the brains to put it all together. They were busy, finishing up the last minute details. Organizing the evaluations. Cleaning up. I saw a whole tunnel of purple and asked them to pose together. I just LOVE this picture. Shows all the hard-workers that are involved in creating such an outstanding event. Now back to Wisconsin. Sunsets and daisies ahead. Until I leave for Vegas in a couple of weeks. It will be full steam ahead on the remaining illustrations for "Red, White and Blue." Happy trails. Happy, happy. Joy, joy, joy!!

Afternoon Antics

Here's a little peek into my afternoon break-out session. There was plenty more fun to be had by the dedicated.

Through the Jungle

Listen for that roar!! Here's my spectacular thrift store find. My one dollar investment from all those years ago has held up to hundreds, maybe thousands of appearances!! Making it's Auburn University debut. One net tutu. One spectacular musical arrangement. Augmentation with sign language. Choreography to the beat of the prowl. Delayed gratification. Anticipation. Silence. Sound effects. All grafted together to teach a lesson in patience, in waiting, in hypothesis crafting.

Dr. Ellaine Miller had the fore thought, insight and wisdom to direct me to include my "Lion Prowl" during my lunchtime keynote. She also had the muscles and resources to purchase a copy of my album "Debbie's Ditties 2 Much Fun" for each & every participant in attendance. These providers really had an amazing swag bag. No kidding: my album, Lisa Murphy's book on "Play" and assorted other goodies. There were amazing "prizes" at every juncture.

If I was a family homecare provider in Alabama, I'd seriously be marking my calendar for next year's extravaganza.

All Together Now

Here are some great shots in action. Now we're singing, "Everybody, All Together Now." They've got the sign for 'together' with flair. They've got enthusiasm on their faces and excitement in their participation. The stage was fun with colorful building blocks on the perimeter, which was a good thing to give me some boundaries. The screen behind me was seriously big. Huge. Enormous. Gigantic. I am so thrilled when all of the technology works well. My boom box was routed thru the house sound system. I had a cordless mic AND a mic on a stand. There was no audible feedback. The power stayed on through out the presentation. Three cheers for the technology!!

Officers & Leaders

Here are the officers & the leadership of the conference. This event was a truly well-oiled machine and that's due to the brilliance and direction of these fine folks.

Fun Faces for Families

Here's a couple close-ups of amazing smiles. I bet you'd feel comfortable leaving your children in these capable hands. I bet you'd feel comfortable leaving your GRANDchildren in these capable hands. Aren't the smiles amazing? Bright & shining.

Get This Party Started

Here are the opening pictures from my luncheon keynote address. I recruited a volunteer photographer to capture some of the fun-in-action. We got started with my call and response number, "Celebrate." We are great. Indeed. I'm fusing the ASL (American Sign Language) with some uptown dance moves and they are following along with enthusiasm and smiles. Short term memory fun.

Auburn Univ: Whooop!!!

I've been looking forward to this day for a very, very, very long time!!! Dr. Ellaine had been emailing me for a l-o-n-g time to come to Auburn University and give the Saturday keynote of their two day conference. How awesome is that? It's pretty seriously exciting with just that much information. The rest of the story?? Their Friday night keynote was the Ooey Gooey Lady: Lisa Murphy!!! For those of you who do not frequent the early childhood universe, she is one of the BIG dogs, petite in real life, but a VERY big dog indeed. I still aspire to be one of the medium dogs.

We arrived just after high-noon, driving in from the Atlanta airport and it was already 99 degrees! That first people-picture is Lisa, the ooey of the gooiest and moi!!! A picture of the two of us. How excited am I? (She looks excited, too!)

At the end of my keynote, one of the volunteers came up and told me that he thought that I was THE BIGGEST of the medium dogs. We had one of the greatest of shared laughs of the conference. His genuine & sincere comment made my day!! I told him to be certain to put that comment on his evaluation form. LOL