Sailing and Ukulele 85 Years Ago

This is a combination of my two favorite activities. At first glance I
thought that the girl was playing a ukulele, on closer inspection I
see that it is a banjolele or banjo uke. They must have been very
popular and appear in a lot of photographs from this era. I've never
had a chance to try one.
Next week I will be sending out letters to all incoming fifth graders
to see how many are interested in joining the Cal-Mum Uke Club. I'm
not really ready to give up on summer vacation yet...

Gearing Up

Summer is here and time for me to start thinking about how to manage
next year's uke club. I was stretched a bit thin last year and felt
like I hadn't been able to give 100% to the kids in the club.

We are in a very small town with a pretty active downtown - two
antique shops, cafe, library, and a coffee shop. I'm hoping that the
coffee shop could play a role in getting kids to have fun playing
their ukuleles. I'm going to see if we can set one night a month aside
for an open mic. It would be great for the kids and the coffee shop.

I also received an email from Jim D'Ville telling me that he was
coming to see our club in October. That is really a special event.
It's great timing for the kids because they will have only had their
ukes for a couple weeks prior to Jim's visit. Their minds will be open
to the great information Jim can share. I am so excited about this
that it has really motivated me to start preparing early for next
year's group.

I'm thinking that we have to get t-shirts with our club logo like we
have had in the past - nothing like a shirt to make one feel they are
part of something special (I always feel special in a club t-shirt).
I'm trying to come up with a slogan for our club. If you happen to
read this post and know of a good one that you could share, please let
me know. Right now I'm thinking I might use a play-on-words like
"Where Uke Can Be You" maybe. That one may be used already, I'll have
to Google it to see.

I'm off to read playukulelebyear.blogspot.com

Photo by allanimitchell flickr
Awarded Nikon Flickr Best Photo 5/1310

End of the School Year Song

Thanks J for suggesting I create an end of the year song. One day I'll have to see what kind of music I could produce if I wasn't strapped for time. My classroom is torn apart with boxes and books everywhere, but I was able to clean a spot of on my desk to record this quickly written song.

Image by rcvernors "Ghosts os Schoolyears Past" Flickr

Falling Fast

The end of the school year is fast approaching. Not really the best
time to reflect on the year because it will be an emotional time. As
in the past, I have witnessed young ukulele players' fledgling
attempts blossom into real musical abilities. I have also watched the
day-to-day learning of math and language arts taking place. But, these
practices require much effort from teacher and student. It is really
the natural attraction we all seem to have, to greater and lesser
degrees, to and for art, that reveals a clear self motivation in
people. When I see kids working on anything without a constant
prodding by me, I know that magic is taking place - the perpetual
thinking machine - the mind - is aggregating information and making
conections without the restriction of my lens. The world opens up. If
there is said to be "an art" to anything, it implies a measure of
mystery and magic. I'm not sure I can teach that, just as a farmer
doesn't teach the wheat to grow. As in teaching, farming is the art of
keeping fertile ground where the stage is set for growth. I'll think
some more on this as I go play my uke.

Poem for the Class of 2017

Class of 2017

Our classroom at the top of the stairs
messy desks and busy minds
with questions to answer
ukuleles to play
lessons to recall in future times.

We made our history together
although the records won't tell
of the small moments
and quiet triumphs
that in our minds will dwell.

With warming of days has brought a sign
our parting is ever near
the closing of books
and saying goodbye
bringing an ending to our year.

In the spanning of eternity
this time we will call our own
however far
or ever near
to Caledonia, our home.

By Kyle Leonard
Grade 5 teacher

I was inspired by my students to try and capture the bittersweet emotion that takes place every spring in the hearts of all teachers and students at Caledonia-Mumford Elementary School.

Image by kawasu29 Flickr

The Brown Ukulele

This poem was handed to me neatly folded just before lunch on Friday
without a word spoken - a gift. Working on poetry that
describes a place or thing, one student took the time to make
everything in school feel all the more special. I'm as flattered by these
words as anyone would be, but more than my flattery is my awe in the
deeper concepts of life that can be expressed in the words of one who
is only ten years old. The power of music and thought.

Poetry and Ukulele

In the waning days of the school year I have been invited to have my class work on a project that will combine student poetry with the accompaniment of ukulele music. If you are a teacher you may know what the end of a school year is like. I think of it as a runaway train heading down a steep mountain. There will be a wreck at the end, but the pieces will all be picked up and put in a box. When I open the box in September I will be mad at the "me" that threw it all in there in June.

Info about the poetry/ukulele project: http://buylocalbuildafuture.com/amylv/

The ukulele club will be playing the blues along with the band for our Spring Concert. I hope to have a decent recording to post here.

The Night Owls

All of Me

The Boswell Sisters


Old songs are alive and well in my classroom as can be heard in this recording of "All of Me" by a couple of my students. The recording was made during snack time, in between math and reading.