Tom Hunter & The Song Growing Co. Tom Hunter & The Song Growing May Newsletter

[Tom Hunter - The Song Growing Co.]

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 at 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…



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THE SONG GROWING CO.
1225 E. Sunset Dr., #518
Bellingham, WA  98226
(360) 738-0340
fax: (360) 734-0295
songgrow at tomhunter.com 
www.tomhunter.com 
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