“We have you today Mrs. Bush!”  “I’ll be there!”, I answer as they smile, give me a hug or a high five.  I get this mostly from the younger crowd, especially the Kinders and 1st graders.  Today was no exception as I walked into the gym for before school duty where five fairly straight rows of five year olds sat on the floor waiting for their teachers, backpacks larger than they are on their backs, looking more like a recliner than a book bag.  Super heroes, mermaids, princesses and Star Wars grace the covers of these bags, along with one I noticed today that said “Bows are my super power”.  Whatever floats your boat.

One little boy last week couldn’t remember my name or the art teacher’s name, so as he walked by he just said “Hi Music!  Hi Art!”.  Worked for us.  This whole class of kindergartners is fun.  Some years are just like that, like there’s something in the water.  Some years you wonder who spawned these children and other years you’re just grateful they’re not like the other class.  Today during kindergarten, the kids reminded me that I had promised them a new animal, a new instrument and a new color.  And so I had.  The puppet hen introduced the new instrument, a tambourine (ooh, aah) and our new color was yellow, for jogging.  We sang our song, played our game, learned how to hold and play our instrument and the difference between jogging and running.  “We want to do it by ourselves!”, so I said ok, just playing piano while they sang “Listen to the hen go cluck, cluck, cluck!” “Are you sure it’s not moo, moo, moo?” I ask.  “Nooooo!” as they topple over laughing – they are sitting on the floor of course.

“Can we do the steady beat song now?”  Great segue, it was in the plan to review so off we go.  I have one little guy who is just standing there while the other kids are singing and moving to the beat.  I go over to him and encourage him to try.  I don’t know these kids very well yet, so it’s hard to know if they’re obstinate or just shy.  This one was shy, but after some encouragement and silly faces from me, he did great.  Then we introduce the Chicken Dance.  It’s a theme, after all.

Most of the kids have heard of the chicken dance, but have some motor skill struggles as we try to go from movement to movement.  Have you ever tried to teach elbow swings to five year olds?  Some years are really a struggle, but this group does not disappoint and are swinging away without someone going backwards.  It’s a miracle!  Of course you have the one little guy who is quietly singing to his buddies “I don’t want to be a chicken, I don’t want to be a duck, so shake my butt, clap, clap, clap, clap”.  I give him the look and inform him that it’s not a butt, but tail feathers since we’re talking about a chicken.  Sounds logical to him.  Wish my 5th graders could be swayed that easily.

Then there are times where I am in wonder of a child, especially one who struggles with special needs.  This little guy is adorable and at the beginning of school really struggled with any kind of transition.  The anxiety was very real and he reacted out of fear, needing to be taken from the classroom to calm down.  The first time he came to music, I had heard about him and decided rather than have him go through all the transitions with the kids, I would keep him in one place, give him the gong and he could hit it anytime the rest of us had a transition.  It worked like a charm.  He told him mom his favorite thing that day was playing the gong.  Today he came to my room, sat down in the circle with his new friends and proceeded to play the new instrument, move to the colors (with help), sing his song, clap to the beat and try the chicken dance.  It was an absolute joy to watch the power of music in this child’s life. It makes what I do so worth the exhaustion I feel at the end of the day, definitely a good tired.

In a few years, as they get older and more “cool”, I won’t get the excited hugs like I used to (especially from the boys), but I’ll know I made a difference as they begin taking lessons and join band, strings and choir, understanding hopefully that music is work, but music is also fun and a part of who they are.  And that’s ok, as I’ll have another batch of Kinders to work with as well.