On April 16th, 2025 Fair Grove held their First Grade Music Program and Art Show at the Elementary school. This event included a music program in the gymnasium where the students dressed up in 50’s clothing and sang 50’s songs, as well as an art show in the cafeteria.
The event is composed of songs that the First Grade students have been singing for around 13 years according to the Elementary Music Teacher Heather Lumley.
Lumley stated, “This year the children learned the songs “Lollipop,” “Chantilly Lace,” “Rockin’ Robin,” “Splish Splash,” “Purple People Eater,” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” “It’s My Party,” and “Hound Dog.” The kids dress up in poodle skirts, white t-shirts, jeans, and leather jackets.They seem to have a lot of fun and put on a great show.”
The Art Show is added along to show parents what the children had been working on alongside their school work. Some of the projects consisted of line sculptures, abstract lions using oil pastel, watercolor, hippopotamus’s, and many more creative art works.
The Elementary School art teacher Ryan Seybert said, “I feel these were exciting projects for the year that allowed first graders to explore different mediums utilizing children’s literature.”
This event serves as a milestone for the kids. To show and celebrate the musical and artistic growth throughout the year. It starts a connection and love for the performing arts. It allows the parents to see their child’s progress and creative setting.
According to the first grade teachers, the children learn a lot from this event. It allows them to see history and culture from the 50s and 60s such as what kind of music and clothes they wore. First grade teacher Sara Jenkins stated, “It builds massive confidence and public speaking skills at a young age. Beyond just music, they learn teamwork—understanding that the show only works when everyone hits their cues together.”
The first grade students prepare for this event months in advance, learning the music word for word along with learning the melody. The weeks leading up to the event, students practice in the morning running through the whole program. On the day of the program, they perform the show for the elementary school as a rehearsal before the real performance.
Jenkins added, “They are so proud of each other and themselves. They work so hard to learn the songs, actions, and speaking parts!”
