GAY GEISER-SANDOVAL -- Educationally Speaking

My friend Kelly is in kindergarten and can’t figure out why someone

other than moms and dads of those in kindergarten would want to go to the

holiday program. But, she said it would be all right if I went to see her

and her schoolmates perform.

If you have ever been to a kindergarten performance, you know why I

was wangling for an invitation. Just watching them get on stage was worth

the trip. Many of this group had never been the stars of the show before,

and there is some amount of audience gazing to start. In fact, the

principal had to instruct the audience not to wave or take pictures until

the end, so the students could focus on their teachers and the

performance.

Many moms had spent the month asking for paper, not plastic, but I

could not guess that groceries had once been carried in the bright

costumes. The upside-down bags transformed their wearers into presents,

decorated trees, candy canes, toy soldiers and dreidels. The performers

didn’t just sing. They did all sorts of movements to visually illustrate

the songs they sang. So, as they lifted their arms overhead to make a

peaked rooftop, half of their faces were lost to the bag costume. It

added to the ambience.

The great thing about the kindergarten group is the various level of

singing and motions provided by members of the group. Some have every

syllable and hand signal nailed, while others spend quite a bit of time

staring at their neighbor or checking out the ceiling.

The next singing group had different costumes and songs to sing. They

sported big paper collars and reindeer hats. The hats were construction

paper headbands with antlers made by tracing the children’s hands. One

little girl’s hat got lower and lower until just the bottoms of her eyes

were visible. However, she never missed a beat with her motions. Another

little boy’s hat fell off with one very vigorous motion, so his retrieval

took most of the next song.

One boy’s forte was obviously “We Wish you a Merry Christmas.” He

hadn’t been singing much before that song. But, I could hear him above

the other 45 kids when it came to that song. In fact, he sang a

half-verse by himself at the end, before he realized the others had

stopped. It was not for lack of teacher signals. They sat on chairs at

the foot of the stage and mimicked all of the hand motions that I am sure

they spent a lot of time devising.

Although it has been 10 years since I had a child in kindergarten, it

brought back all of the memories of their performances. Kelly and her

schoolmates gave me a special holiday gift that I couldn’t buy at the

mall. It was the joy that only a small child can have in the pride of a

special moment when the world smiled at what she did.

Last week, Kelly helped with our annual caroling trip around the

neighborhood. We gather friends and neighbors for a night of spaghetti,

Santa and singing. The 30 carolers traveled from house to house singing

the songs that our group from 1 to 60 years old can handle a cappella.

Singing is such a joyful method of communication; I think we should carol

at every holiday. Let’s sing from house to house for Valentine’s Day and

St. Patrick’s Day. In this age of electronics, we would all appreciate

the live entertainment.

* GAY GEISER-SANDOVAL is a Costa Mesa resident. Her column runs

Tuesdays. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].