It's finally December! Yay! And of course you know that means it's almost Christmas! I really love this time of year. The air's a little colder, people are a little nicer, and everything has that Christmas-y feeling. (Is Christmas-y a word?)
There's a lot to do to get ready for Christmas and that includes school. We have to start practicing for our Christmas concert. On Tuesdays and Thursdays after recess, Miss LaSalle has something called "prep period". That means she prepares lessons and grades papers and we get to go to fun classes! On Tuesdays, we have Art and on Thursdays, we have Music. Mrs. Taylor teaches both classes, and since I also have Baton Club on Thursdays after school, I spend a lot of time with Mrs. Taylor on Thursdays! She comes by our class at 1:15 and walks us down to the auditorium.
For our part of the concert, each 4th grade class gets to sing 3 songs, and then we'll sing one together at the end of the program. Mrs. Taylor chose "Deck The Halls", "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear", and "Go Tell It On The Mountain." Jason told Mrs. Taylor that he really wanted to sing "Jingle Bells", and then he started singing "Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg..." Mrs. Taylor warned him that if he didn't knock it off, he'd spend recess tomorrow helping Mr. Coleman, the school janitor, clean the lunchroom. Jason's OK, but sometimes he can be a real goofball!
Mrs. Taylor asked Cheryl to hand out the sheet music, and told everyone to sit down so we could get started.
I love singing Christmas carols! It's so much fun to learn new ones. We really needed to practice because Mrs. Taylor says our timing is off. We have to learn to sing the same thing at the same time. And some of us wanted sing more loudly than the rest of us. And Jason has kind of a raspy speaking voice, so it makes reaching the higher notes a little harder, but Mrs. Taylor says that all these things is what practice is for. She said it would also be a good idea for us to practice at home with each other sometimes, too.
I think my favorite one we're learning is "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear." My mom likes that one, too. I can't wait to sing it for her when I get home today.
Music class was fun today. I can't wait for our Christmas concert! I hope people still sing Christmas carols in the future. Right after Thanksgiving, my mom and I pulled out all our Christmas records and we like to play music we're cleaning up, cooking in the kitchen or just relaxing. She likes the classic carols, and I love my Jackson 5 and Partridge Family Christmas albums. Both kinds of music are groovy, don't you think? Fa la la la la, la la la la!
Until next time, future readers,
Your friend,
Julie Newman
Hi Julie,
ReplyDeleteSadly, kids in the future are not permitted to sing religious Christmas carols in public school or to even wish someone a "Merry Christmas". This is a case of legislators disregarding the wishes of the majority in favor of the minority. For most of us, the new rules are silly and we refuse to abide by them, however a teacher risks loosing their job if they do so. I am so glad you get to celebrate the birth of Jesus with joy.
Your future friend,
Fawn
I'm not exactly sure what all that means, but I think it's crazy you can't sing Christmas songs in school or even say Merry Christmas! I'm glad I live in the 70s where Christmas isn't against the law!
DeleteSinging in chorus for the holidays was one of my favorite things!
ReplyDeleteI really dig music class but especially at Christmas!
DeleteJulie,
ReplyDeleteI should clarify, celebrating Christmas is not against the law. However, public schools which teach children of all faiths or no faith at all are not allowed to show favoritism toward a Christian holiday. So instead of saying Merry Christmas, teachers must say Happy Holidays. In public school children can sing songs about snowmen but not about Jesus.
Fawn
I still think that's ridiculous! Oh well, I can be happy that I can wish my family, friends and teachers a MERRY CHRISTMAS!
DeleteI agree with you Julie. Good luck with your Christmas concert. I'm sure your Mom will be very proud of you and might shed a happy tear when she hears you sing, "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear".
ReplyDeleteFawn
I love singing Christmas songs. I agree that it is silly not to be able to sing all the songs for the holidays in school. There is another way to this and that is to incorporate songs for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza as well as secular songs.
ReplyDeleteOh, and that "batman smells" version of Jingle Bells is still around. :-D
~Xyra, Melody's momma
Hahahaha! Wow...people still sing "Jingle Bells, Batman smells"? That's pretty funny. I wonder who started that? Probably some goofy boy, like Jason!
DeleteMolly: I am homeschooled so I can say merry Christmas! I didn't know that public kids couldn't! Julie, I can't go to my homeschool group play because of the flu!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you too, Molly! I'm so sorry you're sick! Get better soon!
DeleteWe live in South Texas and our local school district still allows Christmas carols in school, thank goodness, but I do know that some schools are fearful to let the kids sing about the real meaning of Christmas1 With that, I'll say MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU ALL!!!!
ReplyDeleteWell, that's good, anyway. I don't think I'd want to go to a school where I couldn't sing Christmas carols or wish my friends or teachers a Merry Christmas! That would be such a drag! Have a very Merry Christmas, Linda!
Deletehere's the rest of the Jingle bells Batman smells song here goes.
ReplyDeleteJingle Bells Batman smells Robin laid an Egg Batmoblie lost's it wheel & Joker got away.
I sometime anoy my Mom with it. We still sing it in the future.