Silly Songs and Flagpoles

Last night our boys performed at their school. The kindergarten and first grade classes had been hard at work on some silly songs to sing for their parents. The boys were so very excited and literally sang to us. By that I mean they constantly looked at us to see our reaction and to make sure we were paying attention! At this particular school they have a kindergarten theme song. Ethan learned it last year and Caleb sang it with his class last night. After the kindergarten class sang it through once, the music teacher invited the parents down to sing the song with their child. This began a lively debate between the husband and I about who was going to make a fool out of themselves in front of 100 people. I won (I guess?) and stood next to my son. The look on his face when he saw me was worth every ounce of embarrasment I felt. I'm pretty sure on the awesome mommy meter, I am currently off the charts. Here are the words of our silly song:
Tootie Ta
(chorus) A tootie ta, a tootie ta, a tootie ta ta
A tootie ta, a tootie ta, a tootie ta ta
Thumbs up, elbows back, feet apart, knees together, bottoms up, tongue out, eyes shut, turn around...(chorus again)
**Yes, I did all the motions...no cheating for this awesome mama.**

In other news, this morning was See You At The Pole. This year was the first time my boys attended. It was, I pray, the first of many meaningful flagpole moments. Now, I realize we live in the Bible belt but my boys school went above and beyond the normal on this day. In the school newsletter there was a 1/4 page write up on SYATP and an invite for parents to join in. Last night at the concert the principal spoke about it and invited everyone's participation. We explained SYATP to the boys last night and they were excited and hopeful that all their friends would be there. A few of the older students ran the short service along with one of the teachers. First order was the pledge of allegiance, then a scripture reading from Matthew. The most meaningful part for me was the prayer time that followed. The teacher who directed this had broken out the Lord's Prayer into sections and written a prayer for each section. These were read by the students. These were not your cookie cutter, "Lord bless our school" prayers. These were prayers that "everything we do in this school would glorify You.", "Protect us from the influence of the evil one." "Let Your presence be evident in our classrooms and hallways." I was overwhelmed with gratitude that my boys attend a public school where there are some strong Christian teachers. A school where the principal not only allows this to happen but also participates and fully supports it. What a blessing.