SPRING it on!!!

Jonah and Micah's first grade musical performance was the last week of April. Their program was called "Celebrate Spring", and it was about all things spring.

Now that I'm the elementary music teacher, it's my responsibility to be in charge of the music programs. I started working in February, and I had to direct 4 different grades' programs after that point because the previous music teacher had only done the 4th and 5th grade music shows. It was stressful to take on the job right before spring and have to get all the programs written, practiced, and performed in such a short amount of time before the end of school.

The 1st grade program was my first brainchild: I came up with the concept for their program and saw the whole process through until the performance. I thought it would be fun for them to do something about spring, but I wanted their willful participation, so I needed their input. I asked each of the first graders to write answers to 3 questions on a piece of paper. I asked them what happens in the spring, what they like to do in the spring, and their favorite part about spring. And then I formed the entire program around those answers. I divided the programs into sections and picked a song to go with each section. I chose one answer from each child for them to memorize and recite during the section of the program that directly correlated with their answer. There were 9 different sections & 9 songs that they all had to memorize. There are nearly 60 first graders, and they all got to say one line into the microphone, and hold a prop during their section of the program. 

Jonah's phrase was "I like fishing", and he recited it during the "animals in spring" portion of the program. The prop he got to hold during the song about fish and birds and turtles was a fishing pole.

Micah's line was "I like to catch bugs" and he recited it during the section all about bugs. During the song "Ladybugs Picnic", the props he held were two ladybugs on sticks.

There were also sections in the program about rain, sunshine, kites, playing outside, seeds, flowers & grass, and farm animals. It went really well, and lasted for about 25 minutes. I'd really struggled with the first graders during their practices because out of 60 students, 45 of them are boys! They were a rambunctious, wild bunch! But the students did a fabulous job during the parent performance, and I was so proud of them!

I was especially happy to see my own two sons during the performance, because neither one of them especially likes to be in front of people, but they both said their lines clearly and sang all the songs! Micah's favorite song was "Seeds of Love" and Jonah's favorite song was "Hop! Chirp! Moo! Happy Springtime Day!".

I received lots of positive feedback after the program, because it was different than what the audience was accustomed to seeing and they really liked it! It was such a huge relief for me, and it gave me the courage and confidence to go forward with the other grades' programs that I still had to do in May! And it helped me realize that even though my job is sometimes difficult and stressful, it's the perfect job for me at this point in my life!