April Newsletter...
GREETINGS FOR APRIL from where the frogs just =
started=20
singing again. It really is amazing how one night it=92s quiet and the =
next=20
there=92s this whole chorus of frogs. And they=92re loud! I=92d love to =
meet the=20
conductor, and know how they pass the word that tonight=92s the night. =
Come to=20
think of it, there might be a good children=92s story book in that=85 =
Thanks to you=20
who have sent notes about this newsletter. Little by little, our numbers =
grow=20
(like the frogs =96 pass the word=85), and it=92s particularly fun to =
hear how parts=20
of what=92s said here get into other newsletters or get put up in =
teachers=92 rooms=20
or read to friends over the phone. Stuff here is to be used, and we=92re =
grateful=20
when it is!
TO CHEW ON... One big satisfaction of =
presenting at=20
so many conferences is being able to hear other presenters. In a recent =
keynote=20
(about first relationships), I heard this quoted from Jeree Pawl (a =
child=20
psychologist, I think): "One of life=92s greatest privileges is the =
experience of=20
being held in someone=92s mind. Possibly though there is one exception =
=96 and that=20
is the privilege of holding another in one=92s own." It=92s a little =
airy, a little=20
esoteric, but it made me aware again of the people I think of regularly, =
maybe=20
even "holding them in mind" =96 people from 8 years of
NW Teachers =
Conference,=20
or people who have sent me notes after conferences, or a teacher whom I =
talked=20
with in a school library after a workshop recently who said the joy she =
felt=20
when she started teaching is gone. Pretty powerful connections in simply =
thinking about colleagues and friends.
RECENT EVENTS... It was fun doing the closing =
keynote to=20
send the National Coalition of Campus Child Care Centers home from their =
early=20
annual conference 3/6 in Seattle. Their theme was "sleep less in =
Seattle," and=20
apparently they did=85 I=92m not sure how many years I=92ve been doing =
concerts for=20
the Parent Child Preschools of Oregon but the latest was March 28, and =
of all=20
the things I do, nothing compares with a room full of kids, parents, and =
grandparents all singing together. The laps, kids interacting with a =
parent,=20
dancing, sitting still for a moment, and all those voices (loud, soft, =
high,=20
low, whispered, old, young) making their own music when so often we =
listen to=20
others. I hope you=92re singing, and organizing school sings and family=20
sing-alongs. It=92s a very good thing to do!
APRIL DATES... more time at home this month =
=96=20
hooray! (more dates available at
www.tomhunte=
r.com/upcomingevents.htm)
4/1 =96 =
UCSB=20
children=92s center (Santa Barbara), CalTech children=92s center
4/2 =96 workshop for teachers of all UCLA =
children=92s centers=20
=96 focus: early literacy
4/5 =96 assembly at Fisher School, Lynden, WA =
(because I=20
forgot to go 3/29)
4/16 =96 workshops for Nevada AEYC, Reno
4/17 =96 workshops for South Sound AEYC, =
Olympia
4/23 =96 workshops for Head Start, Sedro Woolley, =
WA
4/24 =96 keynote for "Childhood Matters =
Conference," Renton,=20
WA
4/28-4/30 =96 workshops, assemblies, concerts in =
Rochester,=20
NY
5/1 =96 keynote and workshops, early childhood =
conference,=20
Palm Springs, CA
Next year=92s travel will be focussed on bigger conferences, =
dates for=20
the Bureau of Education and Research (BER), and a few places I go every =
year. I=20
want to cut back travel and concentrate more on things around =
home.
HYPE... We=92re having conversations around here =
about how=20
to market recordings more effectively. Maybe you have ideas. We can=92t =
help=20
thinking there must be ways we haven=92t thought of yet to get more =
recordings off=20
our shelves and into CD players. Help us figure out how and you=92ll =
receive our=20
undying gratitude (expense-paid, for two)=85
This month=92s =
special for you=20
who get this newsletter: any 2 CD=92s for $25 and we pay =
shipping. What a=20
deal! Just write "April showers" on your order. Go to
www.tomhunter.co=
m/stufftobuy.htm=20
to see what's available=85 Please pass the word so more people =
will sign=20
up for this newsletter =96 wit and wisdom unavailable anywhere =
else!=85=20
STILL ROOM TO SIGN UP FOR NW TEACHERS CAMP =96 the best =
damn=20
staff development event ever. Check www.tomhunter.com/NWTC=
.htm=20
for details=85 =91Til next month=85
THE SONG GROWING =
CO.
1225 E. Sunset Dr., #518
Bellingham, WA 98226
(360) 738-0340
fax: (360) 734-0295
------=_NextPart_000_0011_01C41B03.4533EFE0--
From list at tomhunter.com Fri Apr 30 15:12:44 2004
From: list at tomhunter.com (Tom Hunter - The Song Growing Co.)
Date: Fri Apr 30 15:12:10 2004
Subject: Tom Hunter & The Song Growing Co. Tom Hunter & The Song Growing May
Newsletter
Message-ID: <003801c42ee7$1ef34900$03000004@j7y8f6>
May Newsletter...
GREETINGS FOR MAY as the buds burst out all over! They?re pretty well convinced by now that summer?s coming after all, and the daylight lingers longer to help it come. The first basil starts are planted in our herb garden, and the grass grows way too fast, making our decision to mow a smaller area look smarter all the time? We love hearing from where you are. If you?d like to send us a note, please send it to songgrow@tomhunter.com -- replies to this newsletter will not be received.
TO CHEW ON: It was like taking a new look at an old friend when I recently came across these two lines from a Yeats poem, "He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven":
I have spread my dreams under your feet.
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
I wonder what education would look like if more teachers believed part of their job were to awaken the dreams of their students, and if administrators believed part of their job were to awaken the dreams of their teachers. More of the time these days, tests and longer lists of requirements stomp loudly, and dreaming seems a waste of time. Pretty amazing how Yeats has us think of dreams being spread underfoot? If at all possible, you have to see "To Be and To Have" ("Etre et Avoir"). It?s a documentary of a one-roomed school (5 years old to 12) in France. It?s in French with English subtitles, a wonderfully slow, sweet film that lingers on gorgeous scenes of the countryside, faces of children, and classroom conversations. It?s a place where many dreams are underfoot, and you can watch the teacher tread softly (and firmly) through academic lessons, resolving conflicts, and chit-chat. Amazing how complex simple interaction can be.
A RECENT EVENT: Great conversation with Head Start teachers in Sedro Woolley, WA not long ago. I love the smaller workshops when we can talk with each other. One puzzling issue (that maybe some of you have ideas about): how to get parents more involved when the parents are suspicious and protective of their own privacy ? to hide problems? embarrassment? don?t like authorities?? Funny mix of things mid-month in Reno for the Nevada Early Childhood Conference ? putting a lot of energy into seminars of issues for little kids and then walking out into the hotel lobby full of acres of slot machines at the same time the National Tattoo Association was having its conference. You can?t make this stuff up! Felt like whiplash?
UPCOMING DATES: I?m still committed to traveling less, so priority will be given to keynotes for bigger conferences, seminars, district in-service events. (click here for more dates)
5/1 ? keynote, workshops, concert at early childhood conf., Hyatt, Palm Springs, CA
5/6 ? Millwood Early Childhood Center, Spokane, all day, family concert evening
5/8 ? family concert for kids, Bleodel Donovan, Bellingham, 10am
5/10 ? gathering of co-op preschool folks, Davis, CA
5/11 ? Cobblestone Elementary School, Rocklin, CA
5/11 ? workshop for teachers and parents, Berkeley, CA
5/12 ? concert with Bev Bos and Michael Leeman, Roseville, CA
5/14 ? assembly at N. Heights Elementary, Bellingham (again on 5/20)
5/16-5/17 ? Dallas for church, concert, teachers workshops and assemblies
5/31 ? If you have no other Memorial Day plans, join us in our back yard for the 19th annual (we think) barbecue and sing, any time after 3pm ? wonderful event and some of the best music around!
HYPE: This month we?re focussing on "In the Air," and you can get it (for your family and friends too) for $10, plus we?ll pay shipping. (Just write "air" on your order.) Why? you ask. Because there?s not as much participatory singing as there used to be so people aren?t singing "songs that last" (the subtitle of the CD). "In the Air" really is a wonderful collection of traditional and familiar songs with a few new ones thrown in. A great birth gift, or why not give it to families entering your preschool program. Hurry, hurry! Click here to go to our Stuff to Buy page for more info.? There?s still some room for this summer?s Northwest Teachers Camp ? June 19-24 ? with scholarships available. Tell anyone you know who needs to come to the best staff development event ever?.. There?s other stuff too ? click here for more info on NWTC. And sign your friends up for this newsletter? ?Til next month, the best to you all?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE SONG GROWING CO.
1225 E. Sunset Dr., #518
Bellingham, WA 98226
(360) 738-0340
fax: (360) 734-0295
songgrow@tomhunter.com
www.tomhunter.com
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From list at tomhunter.com Wed Jun 2 14:55:57 2004
From: list at tomhunter.com (Tom Hunter - The Song Growing Co.)
Date: Wed Jun 2 15:00:17 2004
Subject: Tom Hunter & The Song Growing Co. Tom Hunter & The Song Growing June
Newsletter
Message-ID: <000e01c448d3$3e53dfc0$03000004@j7y8f6>
June Newsletter...
JUNE GREETINGS TO YOU ALL from here where we?ve had a string of patchwork sky days ? blue and black and white and gray ? the kind of sky that wants to be looked at and then keeps you looking by changing again into a new pattern. And then it rains and clears up and drizzles and shines clean. Here?s hoping those of you working hard to fit everything in before the school year ends take time to look at the sky where you are.
TO CHEW ON: Interesting article in the NYTimes (May 11) about Carol Burnett. She talks about a conversation she had with a veteran comedy writer, Larry Gelbart: "I told him how predictable TV sitcoms were: set up, set up, joke, laugh track, set up, set up, joke, laugh track. And he said, ?Carol, the writers today didn?t play stickball in the street. They?re writing about what they saw on television when they were growing up.?" And then Carol Burnett adds, "They?re writing about life once removed."?.. Just another reminder about the importance of "playing stickball in the street," not letting life become "once removed" (particularly in early childhood), not letting television determine our reality, and having as many direct experiences as we can. We watch other people do things a lot, and there?s no substitute for having our own experiences, at any age.
A RECENT EVENT: I did a family concert in Dallas in mid-May with pizza, salad, brownies, and lots of ice tea beforehand. It was to raise funds for the co-op preschool in the church there, and a lot of church folks came. Afterward, people commented on how much fun the old folks had singing "kids songs." Exactly! The place was full of hand-motions, laughter, silliness, and enough quietness to know we could do that too. Good kids? songs are for all of us, and children need more events in which they are having fun with adults. Singing songs with parents, grandparents, folks in wheelchairs, babies, surgeons, lawyers, teachers and plumbers is a good way to make it happen.
UPCOMING DATES: blessedly light! getting ready for daughter Irene?s graduation from college June 12 and for NW Teachers Conference June 19-24 (places still open) click here for more dates
6/3 ? family concert, Mesa, AZ
6/4 ? staff in-service, Mesa School District
6/5 ? United Church of Christ Pacific NW Annual Meeting, Wenatchee, WA
6/19-6/24 ? NW Teachers Conference, Camp Brotherhood, Mt. Vernon. WA
6/28-7/1 ? teaching a class for teachers and parents, each morning ? songs as a way to build community, promote participation, and strengthen early literacy skills ? Whatcom Community College, Bellingham, WA ? still room to sign up.
Early July: 7/2 brown bag kids concert, noon, Bellingham Library? 7/7-7/11 National Story Telling Conference comes to Bellingham, and I do the closing keynote
We?re currently doing a lot of scheduling for next year, and limiting travel to big conferences where I?ll do keynotes, to district or regional events for in-service sessions, or to the Bureau of Education and Research seminars.
HYPE: This month we?re offering a "moving on special" ? moving on from one grade to the next, from preschool to kindergarten, teachers into a new school or into retirement, people graduating. Why not give the gift of song? Our CD, "Still Growing," is available for $10 and we?ll pay shipping. You can give it as a gift, and we?ll even autograph it if you want. Just let us know whom it?s for and where we should send it. Also add the words "moving on" on the order so we know it comes from this newsletter?. Other recordings and a book are available from our web site, and you can give them as gifts too! Click here to go to our Stuff to Buy page? Please encourage others to sign up for this newsletter ? it?s easy when you find the web site. And last minute registrants for NW Teachers Conference will have as much fun as people who have been planning to come all year!?.. All the best ?til next month, and don?t forget to look up at the sky now and then...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE SONG GROWING CO.
1225 E. Sunset Dr., #518
Bellingham, WA 98226
(360) 738-0340
fax: (360) 734-0295
songgrow@tomhunter.com
www.tomhunter.com
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