I was lucky that the second school was only a half-hour away, a 2 pm RockRoots in Whippany, NJ at Bee Meadow ES. Great name for a primary school. It was strange that it was for only 100 kids but, as I found out, it’s parent/teacher conference day so these kids were in the lunch room with a few teachers and aides, playing board games, etc. So, we were the baby-sitters for this group of kids today. Show time!
We set up on the floor with the K – 2nd graders on the floor and the 3, 4 and 5 graders at the lunchroom tables, an uncomfortable way for those kids to take in the show. It proved hard for them to maintain focus sitting perpendicular to the band. The kids were pretty talkative without their normal teachers in command and it was rather amazing that they didn’t know how to clap along. (??!!)
After awhile, we dropped into “play the show” mode and we rolled along, getting the kids up dancing and didn’t worry too much about the educational aspect. But, for this situation, it was for the best. The head teacher said we did a great job balancing the smarts with the movement and thanked us for the gig.
This is one of two Whippany gigs this week (snow on Thursday?) and I assume this will be another afternoon parent-teacher day-care type of gig. That’s okay and it’s good to know what we’re in store for. November gigs are scarce.
It was a long day but a productive one. Cold and grey on the road.