Saturday, August 30, 2008

Forever Summer

Wish it could be. . .Forever Summer. . .wish it could be. . .forever summer!

Melanie attended a two week drama camp this summer at her school. At the end of the two weeks they put on an entire musical production entitled Forever Summer with 7 songs and dance routines they had learned. Each child of the 20 3rd-5th graders had a speaking part as well. I recorded the whole show, but at 28 minutes, it's too long for YouTube and I haven't figured out how to compress it. So below you will see the final song and curtain call of the show. Melanie is in a pink skirt and jacket and starts out in the middle.

The play was the perfect theme to our summer. I also wish it could be forever summer. In the play the teacher on the first day back at school is asking her students what they did over the summer. Melanie's lines for the play sum it up pretty well:

If it's proof you're after, let's flash back to the past
To a one room school house and a sad sack class
It was the first day back to school you see
And school was the last place they wanted to be.
The answers for the teacher were everything from going to a baseball game (Take Me Out to the Ballgame musical number), to going to the beach (By the Sea, By the Sea), attending a 4th of July parade (When the Saints Go Marching In), going fishing (Crawdad Hole) and visiting New York (The Streets of New York). Very classic ways to spend a summer vacation.

It got me to thinking. . .what would Melanie say if her teacher on her first day back on Tuesday asks her those same things. What did she and Kylie do this summer?
1. Trip to Vermont
2. Trip to Kansas
3. Learned to play classic games like Pick up Sticks, Marbles, Dominoes, the Game of Life, String Games (Cat's Cradle, Cup and Saucer, Eiffel Tower, Jacob's Ladder - just Cat's Cradle for Kylie)
4. Read 6 Magic Tree House books (Melanie)
5. Had a ton of sleepovers, playdates and beach days!
6. Took swimming lessons, drama camp, jump roping, Vacation Bible School and doggie camp (Princess Ballerina camp for Kylie)
7. Finished summer workbooks
8. Dressed as a firecracker for the 4th of July
9. Survived a wild and crazy 4th of July cookout at our house
10. Said goodbye to a very good friend


And what did I do this summer?
1. Numbers, 1,2,3,9 and 10 above count for me too!
2. Got my throat stretched and started on a myriad of medications
3. Got reacquainted with an old friend
4. Added several new words to my vocabulary - tomtom GPS, iPhone, Pandora, Shazam
5. Started Facebook and have acquired 49 friends
6. Read too many books to count. . .probably 2 or 3 a week
7. Taught Vacation Bible School
8. Huey Lewis concert and a few other fun nights out with friends
9. Finished writing another novel
10. Watched the 2008 Olympic Games

All in all a very good, complete and busy summer. I will be sad to see it come to an end. But I think we feel fulfilled and are ready to dive back into our school year routine. Melanie starts 3rd grade on Tuesday, Kylie has one more week and starts kindergarten officially on Sept 9th.

Wish it could be. . .Forever Summer. . .wish it could be. . .forever summer!

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