Maggie's preschool program

Friday, December 18th, Maggie had the opportunity to perform in her preschool program. I knew that they were doing certain songs because they were the only songs I heard her sing for about a month.

I don't think I'm ever prepared for how adorable the program actually is. My heart beat a little bit faster as the children filed into the gymnasium and the teachers lined them up on stage.  Maggie got up on stage, scanned the crowed and waved at us. She was so excited. Once the music started, our dancing girl got her groove on, swaying to the beat and going along with all of the hand motions. I was overcome at how small yet big and young yet mature she seemed up there on that stage. She was completely unaffected by the crowd or by the children around her that had stage fright and forgot the songs and the motions they had practiced for so long. It always surprises me that my children are able to perform so easily since I am very bad at preparing them for what the program actually entails - getting up on stage in front of about 100 or so people and singing and dancing.  I'm so glad that they seem to enjoy performing and do so with gusto.  I'm very proud of how hard the practice and how much they want to please.

Maggie just melted my heart yet again that night.  That's such a great feeling.  I'm so grateful to have been so blessed.

I wish that for the preschool portion of the program the school would leave the house lights up so we could get good pictures. Unfortunately, the ceiling of the school gymnasium/auditorium is painted a dark blue gray, so there is no chance for my external flash to be of any help in lighting the cast. The first song was Jingle Bells followed by Away in A Manger, God Made Me, and the grand finale was Skidamarink.

Many family members have asked questions about the origins of the song - I remember hearing it on a TV show my sisters watched called Sharon, Lois and Brahm. Here is a little information I found on Wikipedia on the song.

Skidamarink is a very popular children's song with a long history. It was originally the grand finale song of the 1910 Broadway musical, "The Echo". Since the title is gibberish, it has had various spellings over the years.

Though the original musical only lasted a few months, the song endured and was re-popularized in the 1950s by Jimmy Durante.

The song began appearing on many song collections for children's shows in the 1980s. The most popular versions were by the Australian show, Bananas in Pyjamas, and the Canadian show, The Elephant Show.

Several years after the conclusions of The Elephant Show, in the late 1990s, the original performers on that show, Sharon, Lois & Bram, briefly had their own show entitled, Skinnamarink TV.

[edit]Typical Version of Lyrics

Skidamarink a dinky dink,
Skidamarin,ky doo,
I - love - you!
Skidamarink a dinky dink,
Skidamarinky doo,
I - love - you!

I love you in the morning
and in the afternoon,
I love you in the evening
and underneath the moon;

Oh, Skidamarink a dinky dink,
Skidamarinky doo,
I - LOVE - YOU!

I love you, Maggie May!