Terrible Two's

At preschool I teach music to 2, 3, 4, and 5-year-olds. Today was one of my 2-year-old class days. There are three classes of 6 students going on at once, and this is the only age group where they combine classes for music. Do the math...yes. 18 2-year-olds for 1/2 an hour. It's fun, but keeping them entertained is a challenge. And sometimes the only way I can keep them on task is by letting them have a little wiggle room within my plan to do what they want to do.

For this group, I try to find songs that allow the kids to make up their own verses. Some of them are still learning how to talk, let alone sing, and this keeps their interest a lot longer. Since it's January, we've been singing "The Snow is Falling Down."

(To the tune of "The Farmer In the Dell")
The Snow Is Falling Down,
The Snow Is Falling Down,
The Snow is Falling everywhere,
The Snow Is Falling Down.

After we've sung the first verse (with snow-fingers), I very enthusiastically ask them, "Where else do we see the snow when it falls?" Inevitably, they all yell their ideas at once over and over again until I pick one out of the air and we sing that verse.

"The ROOF!"

Okay....

The Snow is on the roof,
The Snow is on the roof,
The Snow is Falling everywhere,
The Snow is on the roof.

"Where else do we see the snow when it falls?"

"The CARS!"
"The SLIDE!"
"The SWINGS!"
"On an ELEPHANT!"
"On our NOSE!"
"On our HEAD!"

So we proceeded to sing through all of these verses, each one with it's own special motion. We had to put a moratorium on the use of body parts, however, when I asked "Where else do we see the snow when it falls?" and one little girl stuck her chest proudly in the air and shouted:

"Our BOOBIES!"

Mr. Goodbar's Little Brother

Alright...not even a day after I posted the blog about Mr. Goodbar, his new little brother showed up in their driveway:


No, no. That isn't just a shadow. That is a sweet fade from burnt orange to royal purple. This one looks like it's not quite as refined as Mr. Goodbar, as there are a few dents and dings. BUT, the wheels are certainly very special.

I suppose I can't point too many fingers because Lord knows the car I used to drive wasn't nearly as nice or fun as these guys. Mine was a mint green '78 Oldsmobile with a dent in the back door which included a lime-green paint scrape. And honestly, I wouldn't turn down a chance to take Mr. Goodbar around the block. :)

Mr. Goodbar

This car has been living down the street from us for the past few months, and I just had to share:

I didn't know what to think of it at first, and still don't, really. I just look at it and think, "why?" Everything about it...the paint job, the ginormous wheels, the make and model. Was this intended to be some sort of a race car? How much money was put into restoring this gem? And he drives it! To real places! Does he ever forget that he's two entire feet above the earth and fall out of the car? Does it have hydrolics? Or nitrous? Maybe the engine takes chocolate instead of oil.