Aiken Drum Day

Now that we are done with our concerts for the year we try and cram in a ton of fun things before the end of the year.  One of them I haven't done in years is the great nonsense song of Aiken Drum.  This is a very old folk song that originated in Scotland.  There are many different versions of it, and the possibilities are endless.  

Today my 2nd graders sang the version I had by Music K-8.  They thought the song was hilarious as it's very catchy and easy to sing.  Then I asked students to help us design our own Aiken Drum for their class.  I think we ended up with a watermelon head, cheese body, string cheese legs, apple wedges feet, noodle arms, lettuce leaf hands, green olive eyes (not black), orange slice mouth and spaghetti hair.  My artistic skills are pitiful at best, so I didn't take a picture of him.  Maybe next time.  

Then the real fun began.  I split them up into groups with a simple task: make their own Aiken drum out of classroom instruments.  I gave them a few expectations before turning them loose.

1. Treat instruments with respect

2. Collecting, not playing

3. Work as a team

4. Put them back where you found them

Their creations turned out very unique.  When we do them again, we're going to start working on the correct names of the classroom instruments and what families they belong to (pitched, unpitched, shaken, scraped or hit). Here are today's creations

Hockey Singers

We got the chance to share our hard work at our school assemblies today. The hockey game is this Sunday in Des Moines at 5pm.  These 51 students have given up extra sleep on 12 Wednesday mornings to come practical 7:30am. They are so excited to share their efforts at the game.

 

What a great day we had at the Iowa Wild hockey game.  This was an experience I hope they never forget.  We felt like fish out of water with not knowing how to meet and which door, and ticket issues, but we managed to get everyone where they belonged on time.  Our PR coordinator led us to the lowest point of the arena where we had to wait for the LONGEST time EVER!!!!  A whopping 30 minutes with 50 elementary kids who are excited and nervous did make for an interesting wait, but they did great.  We proceeded to get lined up and watched the zambonis come on and off the ice.  After their last pass, it was time to lay out the green carpet.  When we got out there, they announced the players and they skated on to the ice right up next to us.  Very cool experience.  We led the way with God Bless America and another school group sang the National Anthem. 

We had practiced and practiced and practiced and it all paid off.  They looked, sounded and behaved in an extraordinary manner.  Very unlike elementary students.  I was so proud of them how they performed and how they showed respect on the ice.

When we were done they shooed us back upstairs and we found parents and the rest of the game was ours to enjoy.

This was a really unique experience that I might consider doing again.  Now that I have an idea of how it works I would be able to communicate better to my parents involved and help them through the process of ordering tickets, doors, etc.