Jumping for Joy- A Day of Song
We sang our way through this day. We always look forward to Beauty’s P3B class, as jubilant children serenading is a near certainty. Today is no exception. We share stories from Dr. Painter’s 3rd graders in Augusta, Georgia, turning the classroom into a virtual theatre. Kelvin and Amy enact the stories with the puppet masks, and the children, and volunteers alike, infuse the room with laughter and giggles. We draw the attention of a passerby in the back alley, no more than 3 ½ years old. He peers in, eventually bravely inviting himself in fully. As we complete the play, the room still in soaking-it-all-in silence, giggles from this little one lift the room even higher. The children give the encore, with songs they will put into storybooks of their own.
We move onto Veronica’s P5 students that will be writing letters Mrs. Calhoun’s 5/6 chorus at St. Andrew’s School and sharing a song. They stare half captivated at the screen, and with anticipation following along with the words. We spend the majority of our time together singing this song. Learning it verse by verse, repeating the lyrics again and again, from the top. As they become more comfortable, they split the final lines into two groups in the room. Just call me – when you need a friend. Call me – when you need a friend, adding movements and elevated firmness – pride crosses faces and rings in our ears.
We close at EP with the new leaders group, with familiar eager faces excited to join us. We share the multi-part Wonderful World projects created by Cliff Valley School 6th graders. I am struck like lightening as they sing the words, joy tears rise, but I choke them back – the wonder of it all. This began with a conversation with Cliff Valley 6th graders in music class talking about the possibility of music changing the world. They reflect. Share with their families. Thea profoundly shares her reflection, "To me it is about how we don't just live in the world, we are the world, and we should, and can, make it a better place." They collectively choose this beautiful song, with images of the wonderful things they see, now being learned across the ocean to share together. It is making this world a better place, in this very moment. We see … joy. We see… connection… and we think to ourselves, what a truly wonderful world it is.