My recent post on Goodnight Moon, a classic book and certainly a staple in my classroom, was well received.
Fellow blogger Beth I didn’t have my glasses on… has her school’s Spanish teacher read the book aloud to her Pre-K children in Spanish. What a wonderful thing to do… and of course my wheels began turning. In March we begin to prepare for our annual Art Show for the community. This year we will be studying France, their great artists, and styles of painting.
I can read Goodnight Moon to the children in French!
I am so excited! I already have this planned out. My fellow teacher will have the book in English, and I will have this book in French. We’ll be side-by-side in front of the children. She will read the cover in English, and I will read the cover in French. That alone will take ‘forever’ in a huge conversation with children. Oh yes, ‘forever’ in the best of ways. I have no idea what will happen, but I know it will be wonderful. Then, she will read the first page in English, and I will read it in French. And so on, throughout the book.
Fellow blogger Pete Pete Springer asked me why I hadn’t included his favorite video of ‘Rapper Jennie’ reciting Goodnight Moon. I thought about that, but I didn’t want to steal Harry’s thunder in his wonderful video reciting the book to Gloria.
And then I was reminded the rapper video is more than fun; it is music, beats, rhyming and rhythm. It’s pretty much what children love and need. The backstory of this rapper video is a good one:
It’s April, 2020. School has been closed and doing fully remote learning for a month. I had immediately started a YouTube channel for children to hear me read aloud every day. I had to keep that constant going.
By April, we were pulling out our hair as to how to keep children engaged with Zooms. I was on a Zoom with my fellow teachers, and we talked about Goodnight Moon because it was so important to the children.
“Wait! I have our African djembe at home. I could do the beats to the story.”
“Jennie, I have a better idea. You could do the beats like a rapper.”
“Me, a rapper? Well, I’m game for anything. I have sunglasses. I need a hat.”
At this point we were all beyond excited. I found my sunglasses. Then, I tried on different hats. This was not a pretty picture. We never laughed so hard! At last I grabbed my husband’s snow blowing hat. Somehow it worked.
And that is the story behind me, flying by the seat of my pants, and somehow doing a rapper version of Goodnight Moon.
I will always champion for books and the many ways we can read them to children.
Jennie
A Teacher's Reflections 
I loved that and the kids did too. What fun! 👏👏
Hooray!!
Jennie, you are amazing! Anything for books and anything for those kids. That was great!
Thanks so much, Dan!
You are a champion, Jennie. Never stop.
I will never stop. Thank you, Norah!
You are welcome, Jennie. 💖
I LOVE the rapper version of Goodnight Moon and the touque is the perfect headgear. I sent this video to a number of children being homeschooled at the time, in Canada, Ireland and the UK. They all loved it. I think you should be nominated for a Grammy award for the best rap song!
It was so fun to do this rap! Thank you, Darlene. I wish you had been a fly on the wall as I running around in the house to find a hat, while on Zoom with my fellow teachers. How wonderful that you sent this video to homeschooled children all over the world. If they loved it, that says it all. Thank you for doing that! Hey, if I get invited back to The Kelly Clarkson Show, I can do the rap! Who knows, maybe a Grammy! 😀
Exactly!!
Once again you were introducing the children to something new. Another language, another culture. I wonder what it will spark? You are so very good at doing that.
Pam, I often wonder what it will spark. If I just keep on doing, sparks just might happen within children. 🙂
I’m sure they are happening every day.
Aww… that’s so kind!
The rapper version of Goodnight Moon is a personal favorite. Have you started a trend with rappers’ wearing the uber-cool snowblowing hat? You’ll record the French reading of Goodnight, Moon for us? I don’t want to miss that!
I’m so glad you like this, Liz. I just told my husband as I’m reading and typing this, how cool it would be to do the Jennie Goodnight Moon Rap on The Kelly Clarkson Show, and then talk about reaching children with literacy. Hmm… Yes, I will absolutely video the book reading in French and post it. It will be in March, and I’m so excited!
Will you pitch your idea to the show? (I think you should!)
That idea felt great after a glass of wine, but I’d better be sure I can back it up with other good stuff. Maybe…
😀 I have faith you’ll be able to pull it off.
😀
How fun!
Thank you!
That rapper video made my day when you first showed it.
I’m so glad! Thank you, Elizabeth.
Love it!
🥰
Bonne chance avec la version française du livre, chère Jennie.
Meilleurs voeux, Pete.
Merci beaucoup, mon ami.
A great rap, Jeannie Lots of fun. 😁
I’m so glad you liked it, John. 😎
Made me smile a lot!
I’m so glad!
love the rapping video! but if you do an operatic version, I might skip that one 🙂
Haha! I’ll stick with the rapping version. 🙂
it’s a good one to stick to 🙂
😎
There it is. Of course, I like that you not only get into character to make things for the kids (Part of the job is to engage kids, and you are a master with your voice and body language), but you teach them about the drum and how it makes different sounds based on where you play it.
Exactly! That’s how we engage children in learning. Thanks for asking about the video, and for your lovely comment, Pete.
This is so awesome. Of course French is the second language in Canada, so I am for that. I had seen that video before, but it made me smile again.
Thanks so much, Carla. Let’s hope my French won’t be too bad. 🙂
I remember when you did this and thought how much the kids were going to enjoy it. A person would think you have read that book once or twice. 🙂 You know it by heart. Zoom made us more creative but it can’t substitute for the real thing or a real hug.
Nobody in teaching likes Zoom with children, especially young children. But, we have to get creative and make it work. I’m glad you enjoyed the video. It was really fun to do.
You’re your own meme … Next I suppose it will be the grime version of Charlotte’s Web or at least a slightly grubby one. Delightful
Haha!! Thank you, Geoff.
Jennie, you’ve made my day! 😀 You’re a natural rapper and I loved your performance of Goodnight Moon! I remember my son had a drummer come into school once a week for a whole term and the whole class played together in the hall – I’ve never seen such an animated and excited group of children as after these lessons! Have a great time with your dual linguistic reading of the book – you and your students will have a ball!
Thank you, Annika! Music makes the heart sing. It’s a natural for children. I love the story of your son! We had to get creative during the Covid lockdown. I hope my French isn’t too bad when I read the book in March.
What a neat idea of reading it the children side by side in two languages! Your rap is awesome!
Thanks so much, Deborah!
hehe that video was such a treat!!! Can I just say…. the children must love you… you have such an aura about you… I feel like you bring so much comfort but also authority at the same time… I imagine I would feel completely safe in your class as a young child and be totally enamored with you! 🙂
Awww… thank you! I’m so glad you liked it, Jen! Yes, the children love me…because they know how much I love them. My co-teacher gave me an academy award for my many spontaneous ‘moments’.