Today is my birthday. I started my day with a teeth cleaning, enjoyed a calm, long lunch, and caught up on children's television in hopes of hearing the Ting Tings sing the happy birthday song on "Yo Gabba Gabba!"
What I enjoy most about that show (and there are a lot of things I enjoy) is when DJ Lance lets the audience know that it's almost the end of their time together. He then goes over snippets of songs and stories that the TV audience enjoyed while watching that day's episode. The very first thing I learned at NYU while studying Educational Theater was Action, Reflection, Transformation or ART. When working with students or performing a theater piece, the department encouraged us to have the students partake in the action, facilitate a reflection of their work, and allow them to go forth as a changed person because of that experience. Heavy stuff! I not only appreciate that "Yo Gabba Gabba!" provides children with fun and informative songs and stories, I also respect their decision to reflect. This format reminds me of someone I know...St. Fred? Is that you smiling down at us from up above? Mister Rogers always put a "cap" on the end of his program to signify that he would be separating from the audience soon and he appreciated their time together. He sometimes reviewed some of the things they learned together or places they visited. It is a model we try to follow in classroom education as well. It gives the children time to think about how they can express their experiences with other people and sometimes provides them with the language to do so.
Since it is my birthday...
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