“Music is a moral law.
it gives soul to the universe,
wings to the mind,
flight to the imagination,
and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.”
~ Plato ~
classic statues Plato sitting
For more wonderful quotations at the end of great posts,
visit Beth at ididnthavemyglasseson.com
Jennie
I stopped by school last week, which is currently in Summer Camp mode. High school volunteers are a welcome and fun part of the group. What happened was delightful:
First I was mobbed by children (always wonderful), then Jess, a new teacher who is spectacular, asked if I wanted to pop into the classroom to say hi to the kids. Of course I did. Her volunteer was Sophie, a former student in my class.
Sophie: “Hi Jennie.”
Me: “Sophie! Jess, Sophie was an Aqua Roomer.”
Jess: “Really! That’s so cool.”
Me: “Sophie, do you remember the God Bless America Quilt? Do you remember Milly the quilter?”
Sophie beamed with shooting stars from her eyes and smile. She kept shaking her head ‘yes’.
Jess: “Who’s Milly? What quilt?”
Me: “We designed a quilt because the children loved singing “God Bless America.” Milly made the quilt and we went on a field trip to NYC to the Intrepid Museum.”
Jess: “A field trip to NYC?” Her stunned face said it all.
Me: “Yup. Tell her, Sophie.”
Sophie did. Her cheeks must have hurt from all that smiling.
Me: “Sophie, I still have the book the Aqua Roomers made of the song. I know which page is yours. I’ll bring the book in to show you.”
Book cover
Sophie’s page
Me: “Jess, we talk about emergent curriculum all the time. I had no idea the song would become beloved. I had to follow the interest of the children. I have a book of the entire year. I’ll bring it in to show you.”
Book cover
On the Intrepid
Sophie is the second child from the right
I go to school again tomorrow for a meeting. I can’t wait to show Sophie and Jess the books. Stay tuned!
A Nice Bit Of History!
(Did you know there are lyrics before the words “God bless America, land that I love.”?)
Frank Sinatra considered Kate Smith the best singer of her time and said that when he and a million other guys first heard her sing “God Bless America” on the radio, they all pretended to have dust in their eyes as they wiped away a tear or two.
Here are the facts… The link at the bottom will take you to a video showing the first public singing of “GOD BLESS AMERICA”. But before you watch it, you should also know the story behind the first public showing of the song.
The time was 1940. America was still in a terrible economic depression. Hitler was taking over Europe, and Americans feared we’d have to go to war. It was a time of hardship and worry for most Americans.
This was the era just before TV, when radio shows were HUGE, and American families sat around their radios in the evenings, listening to their favorite entertainers, and no entertainer of that era was bigger than Kate Smith.
Kate was also large; plus size, as we now say, and the popular phrase still used today is in deference to her, “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings”. Kate Smith might not have made it big in the age of TV, but with her voice coming over the radio, she was the biggest star of her time.
Kate was also patriotic. It hurt her to see Americans so depressed and afraid of what the next day would bring. She had hope for America and faith in her fellow Americans. She wanted to do something to cheer them up, so she went to the famous American songwriter, Irving Berlin (who also wrote “White Christmas”) and asked him to write a song that would make Americans feel good again about their country. When she described what she was looking for, he said he had just the song for her. He went to his files and found a song that he had written, but never published, 22 years before – way back in 1917. He gave it to her and she worked on it with her studio orchestra. She and Irving Berlin were not sure how the song would be received by the public, but both agreed they would not take any profits from God Bless America. Any profits would go to the Boy Scouts of America. Over the years, the Boy Scouts have received millions of dollars in royalties from this song.
This video starts out with Kate Smith coming into the radio studio with the orchestra and an audience. She introduces the new song for the very first time, and starts singing. After the first couple of verses, with her voice in the background still singing, scenes are shown from the 1940 movie, “You’re In The Army Now.” At the 4:20 mark of the video you see a young actor in the movie, sitting in an office, reading a paper; it’s Ronald Reagan.
To this day, God Bless America stirs our patriotic feelings and pride in our country. Back in 1940, when Kate Smith went looking for a song to raise the spirits of her fellow Americans, I doubt whether she realized just how successful the results would be for her fellow Americans during those years of hardship and worry… And for many generations of Americans to follow.
Now that you know the story of the song, I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Many people don’t know there’s a lead-in to the song since it usually starts with “God Bless America …..” So here’s the entire song as originally sung….. ENJOY! Please click the below:
The majestic pine tree,
king of the yard,
finally passed away.
He was mighty in his day.
When he became a shell of himself we had a brilliant idea.
We can save the trunk and turn it into art.
The work began.
Top down, trunk standing.
We found a chainsaw carver.
He began the work of turning the tree trunk into a fish.
We love fish.
Our pool is decorated with fish.
The tree is next to the pool.
“How will you know where to carve?” we asked.
“The tree will tell me.” he answered.
He was hard at work for many days.
The old pine tree has become a beautiful art sculpture.
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
~Albert Einstein~
Jennie
Reading is fundamental to a child’s growth and development in so many ways. The social and emotional benefits are most important. Thank you, Robbie, for this excellent post.
From March 2020 mental health increased world-wide and those affected include children and teenagers. Post-pandemic, mental health issues continue to be prevalent among children and teenagers. Although most children and teenagers who contracted Covid-19 did not experience severe symptoms, numerous mental health problems have emerged among children and teens exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic, including anxiety, stress, depression, panic, irritation, impulsivity,physical symptoms caused by mental or emotional factors, sleep problems,rapid and extreme changes in mood, post-traumaticstress disorder(PTSD), and suicidal behavior.
Reading to your child, or your older child or teenager reading to him or herself, has the following mental health benefits:
Reading is a wonderful form of escapism for everyone, including children. Following the White Rabbit down a hole, going on an adventure with Will Solvit or Percy Jackson or travelling across America in a pioneer wagon with Laura Ingalls Wilder, all help children escape their problems for…
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My friend and fellow blogger, John Howell @ Fiction Favorites posted a terrific story last month on his Friday Good News post about a little dog who went after a coyote and saved the life of his dog pal.
Dogs saves lives. I told John my dog saved the life of my father. He wants to hear the story. But, there’s more. My dog also taught me how to walk when I was 9 months old, and much more. John, I hope you enjoy the story.
It Happened Like This…
My dog and I were born on the same day of the same year. He was a black lab, and he loved me. Rex was his name. He was a hunting dog, as my dad was a fisherman and duck hunter. Rex was his trusty companion. FBI agent during the week, duck hunter and fisherman on the weekends.
Labrador retrievers are trained to have ‘soft mouths’, which keeps them from damaging the ducks. I was the recipient of Rex’s soft mouth in the best of ways. When I was nine months old, Mother would prop me up on the couch so she could go about her housework. Rex would slowly approach me and open his mouth wide. He was patient. I would put my arm into his mouth, as far as my elbow. The distance from my nine month old fingers to elbow was probably less than the size of a duck.
Then, Rex would gently close his mouth and tug, pulling me off the couch, and wait until I got my balance and stood up. The rest must have been like a comedy movie, as he backed up and I walked forward, stopping at every piece of furniture.
Yes, my dog taught me how to walk.
Being a retriever, he also did some naughty things, like getting all the newspapers from the porches in the neighborhood and delivering them to our front porch.
One weekend Rex and my dad were fishing on the Ohio River. There are two stories as to what happened: My dad was wearing heavy rubber waders. Something caused the boat to tip, and my dad and Rex were in the water. Immediately the waders filled with water and pulled my dad down and under. He was an excellent swimmer, but the forces of water were too powerful. Rex bit onto his wader and somehow managed to swim to shore.
The other story is the same, except instead of waders there were decoys in the water. My dad became entangled after the boat capsized. He and Rex took turns going under to release the decoys.
Rex saved my dad’s life.
Dogs save lives. My big brother wrote a story to Field and Stream magazine about Rex saving our dad’s life. The article was published.
The story of my dog doesn’t end there… Rex was more than a hero when my dad died. This will fill your heart:
It’s early Sunday morning. Dad and Rex are headed out to go duck hunting, along with two other buddies. A drunk driver from the Saturday night before hit the car head on. Rex and one of the buddies were the only survivors.
My mother was left with four children. She was a rock. She told me and my younger sister that an angel from Heaven had come down to tell our dad God wanted him to be an angel in Heaven, too. Because of that loving story, I had no sadness.
Rex was living with the survivor, my dad’s best friend….but he would find his way back to our house. Mother knew Rex needed help, particularly swimming in order to heal his injuries from the car accident. Along came Jim, who had a boat, and took Rex out for swimming on the river. He knew Mother, and we all think he was always smitten with her. Jim and Mother married, and he became my ‘father’. Oh, he was a bachelor, and Mother had four children. What a wonderful man.
Thank you, Rex.
Jennie
Heaven
in my own backyard.
Jennie
My final thought today on this Fourth of July
is we are one. No one is alone. We all work together.
History is filled with these moments
that make me proud to be an American.
This song says it all. Really. Enjoy!
Jennie
A wood carver lovingly made us
an American Flag,
just in time for the Fourth of July.
It is big and heavy, and hangs on our porch.
It’s beautiful!
Daytime
Nighttime
Anytime at all, looking at this American Flag
is a beautiful sight.
Happy Birthday, America!
Jennie
Sam was my preschooler many years ago. He always had a smile and enjoyed playing with friends. Sam’s mother was careful about finding the right preschool for her boy. When she visited the public library, she found The Groton ABC Book by the Aqua Roomers (yes, card catalogued) and knew Sam and Jennie’s class would be a match. We were!
Sam’s preschool years were delightful. He adored Gloria, and his mother told me about the day he saw her in the library and was over the moon. There’s more to come on that story.
Sam was in my summer camp group, and we had a blast. My group did play performances for the entire camp, and they were a big hit. Why? Because the children decided on the play and their parts. Really. It would have been far easier to have a scripted play and assign parts…but then children have no say. It’s camp. It’s their play. Let the children do it. Oh boy, did they ever do it!
Sam and his best buddy,
the ‘cool dudes’ in a play performance.
I still have our Brown Bear, Brown Bear classroom book:
The years rolled on, and Sam kept in touch. His senior year was approaching. He wanted to give back to Groton Community School as his Eagle Scout project. His plan was to build a shed at the end of the playground to store bikes and outdoor playground equipment.
Simple? No!
The planning included a concrete pad. Sam had a lot to figure out, plus enlisting help, and getting donors for the materials. I have heard that an Eagle Scout project takes a year, and now I know that is true. I stopped by school one weekend when Sam was busy on his project.
The shed was finally finished. Talk about a labor of love!
And then I got The Invitation to his Eagle Scout Court of Honor.
Since the inception of the Eagle Scout Award in 1912, 2.01% of eligible scouts have earned Scouting’s highest honor. There is only one group where all members are Eagle Scouts – the astronauts who landed on the moon. What it takes to achieve this award is more than hard work; it’s a passion, and the foundation is the Scout Oath, the duties to God and country, other people, and self.
Character.
I have been fortunate to attend a few Eagle Scout Court of Honors. It is a moving, powerful event. The tradition includes lighting candles, each of which is symbolic. Your whole life is in front of you, with stories and awards of what you have done since you were seven or eight years old. Your Scoutmasters and teachers reflect on all you have done in great detail. Your fellow Scouts tell stories.
I was asked to tell a story about Sam. I knew immediately the story I would tell – seeing Gloria in the library. Character at its finest. The best part is I had the original letter Sam’s mother had written. I read it aloud to the audience.
Way to go, Sam! I’m very proud of you.
Jennie
Twilight.
Thunder rumbles in the distance.
I stay outside to watch the clouds.
They are beautiful in darkening majesty.
They move swiftly and change with the wind.
I turn to look at my porch,
beckoning me to come and watch the outside from the inside.
Jennie
A Teacher's Reflections 