Sunday, July 31, 2011

Love is a nursery rhyme


Were you ever in a bell choir? Ever want to be? Well, today we played the bells (at least my friends did!). Miss Paula brought six different-colored bells with corresponding color-cards. She would hold up a card and you had to play that same-colored bell. Sounds easy. Then it got harder. She held up two cards and you had to play both bells at once. She called it "harmonizing".

And my friends did it. Not only that, they did it well! Miss Paula was amazed. Miss "J" and Miss Bass were amazed. And I was amazed, too. Even my friends were amazed because I think that up to that time they didn't know they could do it!

Einstein was five years old when he first learned to talk. Former slave Frederick Douglass learned to read and write when he was a teenager. Deaf-mute and blind, Helen Keller learned to speak when she was ten, and graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College in 1904. Others have uncovered abilities late in life they never knew they had, such as playing the violin, signing words, or even speaking Japanese. And it's truly a beautiful thing when they use their new-found knowledge to help others.

Some call that love. Composer Arthur Siegel once wrote a song called Love is a Simple Thing. One line goes like this..."Love is a nursery rhyme, old as the tick of time". With that definition we could say that a nursery rhyme is love — for example: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Why not? It's old and it's a nursery rhyme! We all know the beginning: "Twinkle, twinkle, little star…", but how many of us know the next few lines?

When the blazing sun is gone
When he nothing shines upon
Then you show your little light
Twinkle twinkle all the night





I learned to cook when I was in my 70s. I didn't know I could do that either. Just lazy I guess. How about you? Like that nursery rhyme, does your little light shine too?

Friday, July 22, 2011

“If I Were a…”



“Good morning class. Welcome to Camp Frankie Lemmon. My name is Miss Jamie. This is Miss Sarah Grace. Today, let’s play a game called ‘If I were.’ Sarah Grace will show us how and then we’ll take turns. Sarah Grace, what would you like to be today?”














See Marlon Rap...


Sunday, July 3, 2011

Letters from Summer School

Dear Mom, Having the best summer ever! Too busy to write, but it's Red Letter Day, so I had to. Got to show my fireman suit to Mister Pat. Love you! I’m homesick. —Kanaan

Dear Mom, Camp is O.K. Every morning we sign our name on the whiteboard. Now you see it—now you don’t! —Thomas


Dear Mom, Today we made sandals. We all get to choose what we want to drink. I drink Classic Coke. By the way, can you make pretzel food? I'm getting used to it now. —Ben

Dear Mom, yesterday we ran around and around and ate lunch. And then I played outside and then I killed a bug with my shoe and then we went back and had lunch. It was the best day of my entire life! —Noah

Dear Mom, Don't worry. We do regular camp stuff. We told ghost stories. It was real neat. My glasses aren't real. Everybody wears them. I'm okay, really. —Marlon


Dear Daddy and Mummy, Sorry I haven't written. I've been learning a lot. I'm real good at getting onto my ipad. It's really easy! I’m trying to fit in. Gotta go, it's time for the playground. —Camden

Dad and Mom,
Yesterday I went on the merry go round with Kanaan for a long time and when I got off I was all dizzy!!! Kanaan almost threw up! It was the most fun ever! –Kaden


Life is a merry go round! See for yourself...



P.S: What do John Wayne and David Letterman have in common? Funny you should ask! They are two alumni of Sigma Chi’s brotherhood. And for over thirty years, the brothers of NCSU’s Delta Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Chi, along with their sorority sisters, have hosted the weeklong Derby Days as a way to raise money for children ages 3-6 who have developmental delays. Recently, they donated over $5,000 to cover the cost of the Promethian interactive whiteboard mentioned in last week’s blog. Thanks Sigma Chi and a big tip o’ John Wayne’s hat!


Happy 4th of July!