First Grade Sock Hop

I've said it before, I will say it again - I LOVE our elementary school.  It is beyond refreshing to have a school go back to the philosophy that learning should be fun and interactive.  And it is such a relief to have a school that places importance on standardized testing, while not making it the most important thing they do.  We feel extremely blessed to have Joey attending this school and grateful that Logan was just enrolled for the 2013-2014 kindergarten year.  So many crappy things had to happen for us to move Joey to this school, and it is one of the many silver linings we have discovered through the ordeal of the past year.

Yet another example of a super fun way to teach was the 1st and 3rd grade 1950's Sock Hop they just held.  Want to teach kids about the history of music?  What better way than to bring in a live musician to sing Elvis songs and let the kids dance around the cafeteria in their socks?!  Complete chaos? Absolutely! Totally fun and memorable for the kids?  Absolutely! Is this lesson going to appear on the standardized test this spring? Nope!

Joey learned about the clothes and styles of the 50s, discovered the King of Rock and Roll, and heard Elvis songs for the first time.  Priceless.  We also learned that no matter how much hairspray and gel I put into Joey's hair it refused to stay slicked back!

It is so easy to forget to expose your kids to different genres of music, so easy to just have them listen to whatever is on your favorite radio station.  But we have the technology to allow them to listen to a virtual encyclopedia of music!  If anything, this Sock Hop opened my eyes to the wealth of history that can be taught through music.  I now plan to make a more conscious effort to broaden our children's musical horizons.  When will they get to hear Sinatra or Tony Bennet if we don't put it on from time to time? What a shame it would be to have them miss out on years of getting the lyrics "bye, bye Miss American Pie... " stuck in their heads! C'mon you know you are singing that darn song in your head right now!  To be fair, we are just transitioning out of John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt musical territory, but still I am inspired to start playing some jazz on the ride to school tomorrow!
  

I love that Joey wanted to dance with me.  Such a special memory I will forever cherish!