GROUP HUG!!!

You know you're with kindergartners by the sophistication of their response. As soon as we finished singing together and signed, "Thank you, for singing, today" a big brown eyed monster came directly up to me and gave me a big bear of a hug. Then he turned around toward his peers and much to his dismay, realized that he was caught in the act of hugging. So his response? In his biggest, most mature, grown up voice he shouted, "GROUP HUG!!" I seriously thought I might get bowled over from the response. This is me attempting to keep my balance in the face of unrequited love.

Here It Is!!!

After five years of working on these 16 quilts in the privacy of my own brain, my own imagination, my own storehouse of fabric, my own studio, my own blog, it is with absolute joy, absolute glee, absolute delight, absolute amazement -- that I am now able to take the quilts into schools, libraries and conferences and share them. There's a whole, beyond amazing, story about the journey of the quilts between the time the book was printed and this photo being snapped.... when they went off on their own rogue adventure. That's a story still too amazing for me to think about, cuz it gives me shivers. It's all too-happy an ending-to-imagine, is the type of conclusion that you'd catch on an episode of Kweezletown. Let me just say, at the moment this picture was taken -- (I chose this little smile from the front row, because his red t-shirt had a picture of the flag in silhouette of our country's map) -- this was truly one of the top-ten happiest moments of my professional career. I'm so grateful to have it captured for posterity. It makes me smile from the top of my hair to the tingles of my toes.

This school is very close to the Wright-Patterson Air Force base. As I was preparing for the kiddos to arrive, it was amazing to see several children being dropped off at school by a parent in their complete military uniform. Having a husband who served our country in the Navy and two sons-in-law who are currently sporting their branch's respective uniforms, and with SIL Scott at this very moment deployed, away from his family who love & miss him daily, I have an ever deeper respect for all that goes on to protect what we love about our country. It's mornings like this one that make me mindful and appreciative -- all at the same time.

Opposites: Freeze & Jump

Get those funny faces ready. We're ready to see what-you've-got, in the funny face race. Always a crowd pleaser. Always a good way to get the crowd up & moving..... in preparation for some focused sitting to follow. In my experience, it's the balance of movement and then focused sitting that make for a good performance. In a crowd this size, I am certain to pick several team captains to lead the fun. It's easy to put the classroom teachers on the spot to make the selection process fast & easy. I ask each classroom teacher to choose one boy & one girl to join me on stage. Voila. We're ready to jump.

Diva Mic & Speaker System!

Back to Ohio. It's always fun to get a 'return' invitation. The last time I was at Beavercreek it was in the midst of a monsoon of a downpour of rain, the kind that makes an impression. This time my visit was during a wind-warning advisory, the kind that can blow a small dog down the block. A lot has happened since my last visit. For one thing I have a blog!! For another I am now the author of THREE picture books. It's awesome to arrive and be led back to the gym that is wired for sound AND has a DIVA mic!! The kind that seamlessly wraps around your ear and allows the last child in the last row to hear me whisper from the stage. I just LOVE that type of setting. It's fun to return to friends.

Next, Marcia-the-director, tells me about all the times they've used my first book, "You're Wonderful" in the interim of my visits. What a joy to hear that it has become their standard performance number for their annual kindergarten graduation -- complete with sign language. Seriously a joy to have this year's kindergarten class sing it with strength and commitment.

First though we fill the gym with enthusiastic kindergartners and some eager PreK kiddos and turn on our imaginations for a "Lion Prowl." Having that sort of microphone allows for all sort of antics from the stage, engaging the children is as easy as breathing.