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

[Tom Hunter - The Song Growing Co.]

July newsletter...

Greetings for July and the 4th from where the nights glow past 10:30pm and the first hints of morning come before 4:00am. True, it’s not Alaska, but the days here are long, and beautiful, and soon we in the Northwest will start worrying about rain, partly because we need water but partly because so many days without rain just ain’t right! I hope summer is coming on well for all of you, even as the days get shorter, slowly…

To chew on: From the it-depends-on-your-point-of-view department, connecting Iraq to July 4th… Two hundred and some odd years ago, wasn’t the Declaration of Indpendence written by folks seen as "insurgents" to the occupying powers and "patriots" to those who wanted to get rid of those occupying powers? Aren’t the "insurgents" in Iraq, now fighting an occupying power, seen as "patriots" by those who want to get rid of that occupying power?….. William Crain’s book Reclaiming Childhood has a fascinating theme: We’re not paying attention to who children are these days because we’re more interested in the future and preparing them for it. It’s not just "kindergarten readiness" but readiness for the work force or to be a good citizen or to live a good life. Looking up ahead all the time means we don’t see what’s right here and now, trusting the stages and phases kids naturally and appropriately go through and responding to them.

A recent event: I could go on and on about The Northwest Teachers Conference – ho hum, just another fantastic year! You really did have to be there, and some of you actually were – June 19-24 in a beautiful spot in NW Washington state. A lot of internal reflection this year, original poetry, questions like can we really communicate with each other, what does audacious teaching look like, particularly when it’s built on the capacity to love. Wonderful singing, s’mores, laughter, tears, and another group of teachers sent home filled up. It’s very powerful when the people who do the teaching are taken at least as seriously as what they’re supposed to be teaching… In my wanderings this next year, I’ll see many of you and it’s fun to make the connection between where you live and work, and the time we are together in June. I’ll also see many who didn’t come to the conference (a.k.a. camp) and should!

Upcoming dates: with the slower pace of summer, leaving time around the place for the garden, building a chicken house, putting in new fences and painting the house. Probably should sit around a little too…  (click here for more dates)
7/2 – family concert, noon, Public Library lawn in Bellingham, an annual tradition
7/7-7/11 – national story telling conference in Bellingham, I do closing keynote
7/13-7/14 – seminar with Bev Bos and Michael Leeman, Bureau of Education and Research, Seattle (info and registering: 1-800-736-2136)
7/15/16 – BER seminar (same as above), Portland
7/29 – evening family concert, Hillsboro, OR
8/2-8/7 – Good Stuff for Kids workshops with Bev Bos, Roseville, CA
In Sept. I’ll keynote the opening staff day for the Cypress School District in the LA area, work with Head Start in WA, do an all day workshop at Bellingham Technical College, and be in N.CA for workshops and concerts in Chico, Bing School (Stanford), and Menlo Park. Oct. Dates set for Pocatello, beach retreat for Portland area preschool staff, Houston, and WAEYC in Spokane. Nov. is full, BER in Dec., future dates still open!

Hype: The picture book of the song "Build It Up and Knock it Down" is on sale this month for a mere $8 (usually it’s $10). "Unbelievable?" you say. "Not only that," we say, "but we’ll pay the shipping too." (Can something be doubly unbelievable?) Only in July and only if you add the code word "build" to your order. I’ll sign it if you want and personalize it if you give us the name of someone it’s for. The book is published by Harper/Collins and the song is recorded on the CD "We’ve Been Waiting for You." That’s available too, as are other recordings – just click here to go to the Stuff to Buy page. We encourage you to buy them and send them all over everywhere – the world is waiting…. There’s growing talk about new recordings – stay tuned… That’s it this month from the world headquarters of the Song Growing Co. Cheers to you all until August!



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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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