Photo courtesy of Rachel McCaig Photography

Tha Spot Halloween Dancers: Chloe Andrade, Celina Ferrair, Bianca Gaetano, Raquel Perri, Amyah Richardson

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Voy a reír, voy a bailar
vivir mi vida,...
Voy a reír, voy a gozar
vivir mi vida,...

I'm going to laugh, I'm going to dance,
live my life...
I'm going to laugh, I'm going to enjoy,
live my life...

• I Need To Know
• Y Hubo Algien
• Hasta Ayer
• Valio La Pena
• Volando Entre Tus Brazos
• Contra La Corriente
• Y Como Es El
• Vivir Lo Nuestro
• Que Precio Tiene El Cielo
• Hasta Que Te Conoci
• Te Conozco Bien
• Mi Gente

Encore:

• Tu Amor Me Hace Bien
•  Vivir Mi Vida

It's okay, Marc Anthony. No need to rush on that Canadian tour you are surely planning. I can wait.

Yesterday, my kids and I met up with some friends in Hamilton. Since the Art Gallery of Hamilton offers Family Fun Days on the last Sunday of each month, my friend suggested we head there for our playdate to enjoy some art-making activities with the kids. It's great because pre-registration is not required and non-members have to pay only $5 per family. Fortunately, they waived the cost (I'm not sure why) and the kids had lots of fun creating their own paintings. The activities run from 1:30 to 3:30 but they also had a children's performer on stage starting at 3, for no additional cost. Score!


The show was put on by a children's education and world entertainment company called Mystic Drumz. The sole performer was the company's founder Lorne Lampert who holds a degree in education. Let me tell you, this guy was so witty and funny, I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. He has an incredible knack for telling stories that engage the imagination and introduce percussion instruments from all over the world to children who hang on to his every word. So as we sat there and listened to The Legend of Marshmallow Island, I kept thinking, "Man, this guy would be great to have at a kid's birthday party!" And sure enough, he's available for birthday parties. I don't usually throw big parties for the kids but I think I might this year. Lorne would put on a great show, I'm sure. I tell ya, he's good at what he does. He really is!


Of all the unusual and cool instruments he shared, my favourite was the gong. Who knew it could make a sound so loud that it was almost deafening? The kids loved it, too. At one point during the story, he invited a child up to the stage and transformed him into an alien with the help of güiro. It was brilliant!


On the way out, we decided to stop by the shop and saw some really unique and handmade items. What caught my eye was a really cool looking purse made with pop can tabs. It also came with a not so cool price tag of $140. I was also drawn to some adorable organic storage bins and caddies by 3 Sprouts. Little did I know that the company belongs to my friend's friend, who I haven't seen in years because she's been working all over in the fashion industry. I'm so glad to see her cute baby and children's items on store shelves!


If you live in or near Hamilton, the Art Gallery has additional Family Fun Days planned on the following dates from 1:30-3:30pm:

2011 - December 27, 28, 29, 30,
2012 - January 3, 4, 5, 6

For more information on Mystic Drumz, visit MysticDrumz.com.

This year, our school will be putting on a Christmas concert. Each class from Junior Kindergarten to grade 4 has been invited to perform a song and of course, I would love to include some performances in French. A number of years ago, I found a site that I still use to this day. They have since improved the design, and I'm proud to say that it is a Canadian site. It contains a number of wonderful holiday songs performed by students from ages 6-12 in the Draveurs School Board choir based in Gatineau, Québec. Their new site is called Noël en chansons.



The reason I love this site is because it contains over 24 songs on their Calendrier d'Avent and even more on Le Train de Noël. You can listen to each song as performed by the choir but the added bonus is that it comes with a karaoke-style video for students to follow along. You can set up your Smartboard for the whole class to follow along. The images are also quite cute. The little ones love it! One of my favourite Christmas songs that I discovered on this site is Noël Jazz. I've taught it from Grade 1-3 and I hope to have a class perform it this year. It really is a lot of fun!


You can still find classic holiday tunes such as the French version for O, Christmas Tree!, Joy to the World, Winter Wonderland, Silent Night and more. If you're not familiar with La tourtière by Lionel Daunais, I suggest you check that one. It has some really fun and silly lyrics and references to typical dishes from all over the world. Portugal is known for sardines and Toronto is known for... margarine? Ridiculously funny, no?


These songs can now be downloaded for offline access and you can even find lyrics to some of the songs. They also have a YouTube channel with some of these and other songs as well. I highly recommend you check out their songs. Their children's choir have beautiful voices. If you're an FSL teacher like me, I suggest printing out the website url for kids to access from home. It's a long one. Hope it comes in handy! And... joyeux Noël!