Monday Morning Motherhood: Rockin’ & Learnin’
July 5th, 2007 by Melissa Brannen
In this column, I have often exhorted the pleasures and benefits of being a parent. One that particularly enthralls me is getting to relive certain things from my childhood that I enjoyed. My daughter has many of the same toys I did when I was her age — the 1980’s, my friends, are back. Strawberry Shortcake, Cabbage Patch Kids, Fraggle Rock (there’s a new Fraggle slotted for 2009), the Gloworm, and many others have reappeared, and our children are now enjoying the same toys and characters we did.
I find it pretty cool, if only for the fact that it gives my daughter options for toys other than a doll that looks like a dominatrix or stripper. Well, that and the fact that I don’t have to learn the names of the other 8 bazillion toys out there. This is much simpler.
This weekend, since I’m still a bit under the weather, I decided to get a few movies and have some stay-at-home time with Grace. While searching for something that looked interesting, I discovered something that brought back a flood of memories and practically made me giddy: Schoolhouse Rock, the 30th Anniversary Edition DVD! When I saw this, I actually jumped up and down in the store, whooping. (I’m not sure I’m allowed in there again….) I grew up on Schoolhouse Rock and memorized the songs: I’m still able to sing them at 20-something years old. The songs are not only catchy and enjoyable, but they always impart a lesson of some kind, teaching children and allowing them to have fun while doing so. “Conjunction Junction, What’s Your Function?” is one of my all-time favorites: “Conjunction Junction, what’s your function? Hooking up words and phrases and clauses.”
I bought the DVD, hoping that Grace might enjoy it as much as I had (and, okay, because I really, really wanted to hear the song “I’m Just a Bill” again). What I didn’t expect was how relevant the songs still are, even after 30 years. They’re grouped into categories — America Rock, Grammar Rock, Science Rock, Multiplication Rock, and Money Rock. One song in particular grabbed my attention: “Energy Blues.” Here at Progressive Wednesday, we’re outspoken proponents of energy conversation and finding alternative sources of energy. If you’ll allow, I’d like to show you some of the lyrics to make a larger point:
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