Week of Music

This is why I've been able to catch up with three weeks of blogging. Bo and Graham are here! Yay for the Week of Music! If you're new to the happenings of our school, every Spring we have two guest musicians who come and stay for a week (a week and a half this year) and do intensive music instruction that culminates in a performance for the community.
In between writing songs and playing instruments, the kids do some dancing.
And laughing.
And, uhhh. Drinking.
The person in the middle calls the dance, and chooses the next victim.
This picture kills me. Johnny was a dancin' fool. Look at that hip action! He couldn't stop jitterbugging.
Graham played the fiddle as the kids did the line dancing and Bo called the dance.
Nobody was having any fun at all. Definitely not.
Again. Johnny doing some crazy moves.
So much giggling, so little time. Can't wait for the performance!

Iditarod on Frenchboro

Can you believe this? Ken Anderson, musher of 11, count them, Iditarod races, could go to many different schools in Maine, but he chose Frenchboro to visit and do his demonstration. Why on earth was an Alaskan musher coming to Maine in the first place? Well, he just so happens to know and work with Meg Burden, a musher herself, who lives on M. D. I. Meg has been trying for a while to coordinate a visit out here to our little school, and she finally made it and brought along some friends! One 45 minute boat ride later, they arrived with gear and dogs. DOGS! Wooohoo!
They were. a. big. hit.
And they certainly knew how to bring on the lovin'. In fact, I think this dog is saying, "Why did you stop petting me? I want all three of you kids petting me."
Awwwwww. Doesn't that just melt your heart?
Soooo sweet!
Check out the mushing gear. The feedback: It was really hot. Ken gave a presentation on mushing and shared pictures and stories and answered questions. Gee! Haw!
And of course the sled. Though not typically what you would find on a sled, the kids sure didn't mind. What do you think...future Frenchboro school bus??

Huge thanks go to Meg, Ken and their cohorts for coming out to visit us. What a great day. Come back any time!

STORMS Finale

Posters: finished. Information: memorized. iMovie: ready to go. Time for Orono!
It was so great to see all the other schools during our trip to the University of Maine for our STORMS presentation. I think of all the things that could have convinced the kids to go to college, the all-you-can-eat dessert bar was probably number 1.

First Aid and CPR with Sonja Philbrook

Ta da! Heeeeere's Sonja! We were so excited to spend the day with Sonja Philbrook on May 6th. She came for the entire day to teach first aid and CPR. A few parents came in for the training as well, so we had a full house.
We started with First Aid. There was a lot of watching and talking happening.
Then we learned the proper way to take off soiled gloves.


Next up: how to deal with a victim. Check to make sure the area is safe, first!


"Dada, are you okay?"
While we were busy with First Aid, Becky was busy baby sitting for one of our visitors. Cute little Gage is welcome any time!

Choking!

Do you know what to do if someone is choking? Sonja finished up the morning by teaching how to remove an obstruction from someone who is choking. Dylan could not stop laughing.
They paired up after the demonstration and began to practice.
If you have ever been someone who yourself is choking, it must be a frightening thing. Thank goodness we all know now what to do to help save someone.
Some pairings were working better than others.
I rest my case.
Then it was time to practice with the epi-pen. Though it was a fake one, Cadin was certain that his leg felt "weird" afterward.

CPR

After lunch it was time for some hard core work out, CPR style! The kids took turns with the annies, keeping the correct rhythm for compressions and breaths. They did such an awesome job!
From the youngest all the way up to Cody and Dylan, and even us adults, everyone got a shot on the annies.
They were all business.
First step, tap the victim to see if they respond, then check for breathing. Seth knew the drill perfectly.

After the CPR training, everyone learned how to combine the CPR with AED administration. We took particular glee with Seth's admonition of "Back off!" instead of "stand back!" when the shock was about to be delivered.
Since we have an AED here in Frenchboro, it was heartening to know that so many of us could now properly step in and help in the event of an emergency.

Baby CPR

The last order of the day was CPR on a baby...one year and younger. A lot of fun to be had with these little dolls. We tried to stay on task.
Again, everyone could follow along with the video to make sure their pace was correct.


We also practiced the dislodging of a choking hazard on a baby. Flipping the baby from arm to arm proved more difficult than you might think. Cody was a pro. Helps to have three younger siblings.
Soooo, there was a little banging of baby heads on desks. They may be concussed, but they aren't choking any more!

Thanks so much to Sonja for coming out and spending a whole day with us at Frenhboro School! What a great opportunity and such important information for everyone. We're ready to save lives over here!!!