MIDDLEBURY — The gym at Mary Hogan Elementary School in Middlebury was jumping this past Monday morning as preschoolers got a taste of the blues. For an hour, the whole class got down and danced to a real blues band.
It was all part of a week of social events to mark “The Month of the Young Child,” designated by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, explained teacher Kim Forbes, the director of the pre-school program at Mary Hogan.
LOCAL BLUES MUSICIANS play for preschoolers in the Mary Hogan Elementary School gym on the morning of Monday, April 8. Shown, left to right, are Tom Caswell (guitar), John Wallace (drums), Dave Mitchell (harmonica) and Michael Emilio (bass).
Independent photo/Steve James
Michael Emilio, whose grandson Logan attends the school, said they asked him to play guitar for the children as part of the week’s activities.
“But I play bass, and that’s a little boring for the kids,” he said. “But I told them I knew some other guys to play with me!”
MADELINE SMITH DANCES in the Mary Hogan School gym in Middlebury this past Monday morning during a performance by a quartet of local blues musicians that included a classmate’s grandfather. The preschool staged the dance party to mark “The Month of the Young Child.”
Independent photo/Steve James
He rounded up his friends who all play in various local bands and regularly jam together. Performing for the impressionable young music aficionados along with Emilio were lead guitarist Tom Caswell of Middlebury, drummer John Wallace of Cornwall and singer/harmonica player Dave Mitchell of Shelburne.