Thursday, 09 July 2009

• Sing-a-long

  I've always sung to my kids, and I try to get them to sing along with me. 
  
  This is partly because I just enjoy music, partly because I feel responsible (as the one adult in the family who can carry a tune) for teaching them how to sing, and partly because it's just one more way to brainwash them.  (I always sing "Jesus songs.")
  
  When Isaac was two, our sing-a-longs went something like this:
  
  Me: Oh worship the . . .
  Isaac: . . . . . . . . . . . . King
  
  Me: All glorious . . .
  Isaac: . . . . . . . . . above.
  
  Me: Oh gratefully . . .
  Isaac: . . . . . . . . . . sing
  
  Me: God's power and God's . . .
  Isaac: .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . love.
  
  See?  I would sing all but the last word, and he would chime in with the missing last word at the right time.  He got to be very good at it.  And then when he was four or five, I started focusing on hymns that had choruses, and I would make him sing along with the chorus, while I sang the verses alone.  Very tidy, very organized, very effective.
  
  It's hard to represent graphically what singing with Theo is like.
  
  But I'll try.  Each pair of lines represents a single time period, like above, with dots where there's no singing and words where there is.  So, if we were singing in unison, it would look like this:
  
  Mom: Jesus loves me,
  Theo: Jesus loves me,
  
  Mom: This I know,
  Theo: This I know,
  
  If I were singing by myself, it would look like this:
  
  Mom: For the Bible,
  Theo: . . . . . . . . . . . .
  
  Get the picture?
  
  Okay.
  
  Here's us singing This Is My Father's World
  
  Mom: This is my Father's world, . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
  Theo: Dis . . . Fah-guh WORGUUUUUHHHHH!!
  
  Mom: And to my listening ears, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
  Theo:  . . . . . . . my years . . . ears, Mommy, ears, ears, Mommy
  
  Mom: All nature sings . . . . . . . .
  Theo: MOMMY, I HAVE EARS
  
  Mom: Yes, Theo, you have ears. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
  Theo: Ears, mommy, mommy, ears, ears, have ears . . . okay.
  
  Mom: All nature sings and round me rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
  Theo: . . . Nay-chur sings . . . . . . . . . . ROUN' MAY RINGGGGGGG
  
  Mom: The music . . . . . of the years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
  Theo: . . . . . . . . . . MOOOOOOSIC YEEEEEEEERS.
  
  
  Jesus loves me is his new favorite.  It goes similarly:
  
  Mom: Jesus loves me, this I know, . .
  Theo: . . . . . Love mayyyy . . . know,
  
  Mom: For the Bible tells me so, . . . . . . . . . .
  Theo: Bible bible bible . . . SOOOOOOOOO
  
  Mom: Little ones to him belong,
  Theo: Little ones are STRONG,
  
  Mom: They are weak but he is strong, . . . . . . . . . . . .
  Theo: Day are . . .  Isaac is strong.  ISAAC is strong.
  
  Mom: Yes, Jesus loves meeeee,
  Theo: Isaac is strong, Mommy,
  
  Mom: Yes, Jesus . . .
  Theo: MOMMY, ISAAC IS STRONGGGGGGGGG.
  
  Mom: Okay, Isaac is strong, Theo. . . . .
  Theo: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yup.
  
  Mom: Yes, Jesus loves me,
  Theo: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
  
  Mom: Yes, Jesus loves me, . . . . . . .
  Theo: . . . . love MAAAAYYYYYY
  
  Mom: The Bible tells me, . . . . . . . . . .
  Theo: Bye-buh TELLL MMEEEEEE
  
  Theo: SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
  

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