Focus on TUSD - December 2007

Music for the Mind
Beekeeper/Singer Entertains at Menlo Park Elementary
Beekeeper Fred Terry left his bees home when he came to sing and play his guitar at a pre-kindergarten class at Menlo Park Elementary School.

But his December 6 visit still created a lot of buzz. Children in the dual language PACE class clapped, snapped their fingers and danced to the toe-tapping tunes. They sang along, too, in both Spanish and English.

That's what Terry does when he gathers children around him – he teaches them two languages in one session. The Oro Valley resident has two CDs out: "Songs for Learning Spanish" and "El Gringo Vikingo."

Outfitted in blue jeans, a print shirt and sandals, Terry folded himself into a child-sized chair, a cowboy hat perched on his head. Picking up his guitar, he asked the children what they had been doing. When he found out that Santa Claus had flown in on a helicopter earlier that morning, he promptly launched into a lively "Feliz Navidad" sing-along.

He moved onto songs that counted numbers, as well as others that named the days of the week, fruits, U.S. and Mexican states and animals. He wrote many of the songs, but admitted that Bob Dylan got the credit for the animal-naming song.

Terry's finale was "Happy Birthday" to Luis Alberto Ayala. "I felt happy when they sang to me," Luis said after the program. "I'm five now."

The student's teacher, Carlos D. Todd, said he would use Terry's CD in class. "Fred has good rapport with the children. They liked the song about the colors. It's a very old folk song and they knew that one."

Terry said music is the best way for children to learn languages because it is the universal language. "They never forget the songs," he said "It's all over the brain. Even brain-damaged people remember the songs."

About the PACE Program

-- By Sharon Dunham
Communications & Media Relations

TUSD - Proud Supporter of Small Classes

Photos in the December issue by Jes Ruvalcaba of Communications & Media Relations, unless otherwise noted.

The deadline to submit material for the January Focus is Friday, Jan. 11. The Focus will be published Monday, Jan. 21. Email submissions to Chyrl Hill Lander or Sharon Dunham in the Communications & Media Relations Department or use the online Tip Sheet.