Earthworms Make America Great!

On February 7, Collin auditioned for the Hillcrest K-2 musical, Earthworms Make America Great, from Bad Wolf Press. The little actors performed twice today, once at 2:00pm for their classmates, and again tonight at 6:30pm for their parents and relatives.

We wouldn't have probably signed him up except for the fact that play practice was from 3:30 to 4:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the same days he normally attends Kid Safari. Not only did it provide him with another opportunity for some musical instruction from someone other than his mother, but we noticed an unintended benefit after the second full week of practice.

On Saturday, February 25, we watched the Anderson kids, and when Chris and Kelle returned, Collin asked if he could perform a couple songs from his play for the group. He went to his backpack, located his lyrics sheets, and used them to sing all the words to his favorite songs. At the beginning of the school year I attended a lecture at Oak Grove Middle School by Dr. Tim Rasinski, who developed the Fast Start reading program. He noted that one of the best ways to help children learn to read is to provide them with the lyrics to familiar songs, because reading becomes a compulsory process when combined with singing or viewing (subtitles on movies, for example). It was rewarding to witness Collin employing this strategy.

"Earthworms Make America Great"
So much is great about this land
The mountains, plains, and desert sand
America is flying high
With Uncle Sam and apple pie.
But the things that really make her
Are the worms in every acre...

Earthworms make America great
Earthworms!
Earthworms make America great.

They make the soil for me and you
I think they bleed red, white, and blue
No, they're not fuzzy, warm and cute
But when they crawl by, I salute.
No bald eagle, bear or turtle
Makes our fruited plains so fertile...

Earthworms make America great
Earthworms!
Earthworms make America great.

Look up at the flag
Proud as you can be
Its lovely stripes:
They're earthworms,
Earthworms flying free!

Earthworms make America great
Earthworms!
Earthworms make America great.

Collin's favorite song of the performance was "Eight Foot Worm". This video clip sums up Collin's participation in the entire musical. He begins by staring at Paige (a special friend from school). He re-engages in the choreography in time to realize that if he keeps his hands over his eyes he's able to see past the stage lighting into the audience. He begins searching for people he knows, maybe trying to spot Mom and Dad? While panning the crowd, after a hesitant wave, he re-establishes eye contact with Mary Beth Weibel, the director, and finishes with a smile!

"Eight Foot Worm"
Down, down, down in Australia
With the kangaroos
They've got a creature who's been making news.

There, there, there with the wombat
And koala bear
They've got an earthworm that will make you stare.

One foot
Two foot
Three foot
Four
I hope that's all but I think there's more.
Five foot
Six foot
Seven foot
Eight
And foot worm and it¹s learning to skate.
An eight foot worm learning to skate.

Down, down, down in Australia
With the platypus
They've got an earthworm who's as big as us.

There, there, there all the robins
Have a heart attack
Pulling an earthworm that can pull right back.

One foot
Two foot
Three foot
Four
I hope that's all but I think there's more.
Five foot
Six foot
Seven foot
Eight
And foot worm and it's learning to skate.
An eight foot worm learning to skate.
Here it comes!

One foot
Two foot
Three foot
Four
I hope that's all but I think there's more.
Five foot
Six foot
Seven foot
Eight
And foot worm and it¹s learning to skate.
An eight foot worm learning to skate.

"The Little Earthworm that Could"

"Oh, I think I can, I think I can,
I think I could, I think I could,
I'm the little,
earthworm that could!"

Collin's favorite part about the actual performance, "the stage make-up!"