Pam Dudding
Contributing writer
Even though many people arrived 30 minutes early for the Spring Concert at the Craig County School Auditorium, very little parking was available in the front of the school.
Many people thought that the crowd attending the ballgame took up most of the spaces until they walked into the auditorium where over 300 people were seated. Parents, families and friends anxiously awaited for the concert to begin.
McCleary Elementary Principal Gerri VanDyke thanked everyone for attending and sharing the evening event.
A few minutes before curtain time, little feet started appearing from under the curtain as families pointed and recognized their own kids’ shoes.
Smiles and laughter were abundant amongst the crowd. Many cell phones were ready to capture those special moments as soon as the curtain opened to approximately 75 little kids from kindergarten through second grade. They were all dressed in their finest, with big smiles that would warm even the Grinch’s heart.
Their music teacher, Alyssa Shulke, introduced each of the five songs: Spring, Everything Spring, Mr. Sun please Shine Down on Me, Swimming, Down by the Bay and What ya Think About That?
With each song, students performed motions that went with the words. Many of the kids were happy to move and show their excitement of performing while others were a bit shy and chose to just sway or stand and look cute.
During the songs, cell phones popped up out of nowhere like a miniature jack in the boxes all over the auditorium. Shulke commented between the songs, “Aren’t they amazing? They have been working so hard for this night!”
Though they seemed to enjoy every song, Shulke said, “Their favorite was definitely, ‘Down By the Bay’ because of the silly rhymes in the lyrics. They enjoyed singing that one a lot.”
Moreover, it was obvious in watching the faces of each child and their motions which were so vivid.
One line of the song was, “Did you ever see a whale with a polka dot tail?” The kids seemed to truly get the significance of holding their hands together while making swimming motions. Others proudly sang, “Did you ever see a Llama wearing pajamas?” and “Did you ever see a kangaroo using the loo?” Everyone seemed to laugh and smile with the kids as they sang each song.
After the last song, the children received a standing ovation with lots of hand clapping and hoots and hollers to go along with it. The kids smiled, and some playfully punched others in sheer excitement.
One lady giggled and said, “I want to know how she got all those kids to stay in one place for 30 minutes.”
Shulke added, “We’ve been working on our songs since February every day during music class. They enjoyed learning all of the songs and were able to perform all the different styles. I am so incredibly proud of them.”
As everyone gathered their children to leave, the atmosphere was almost electric with love and sweet pride. Parents were complimenting other children as well as the kids themselves were giving high fives and hugs.
One lady commented, “It’s times like these that make you forget about all of life’s problems and brings such joy to your heart that it feels like it’s going to burst with so much happiness! I love it and hope that Mrs. Schulke does more of these.”
