Clarice.

This afternoon, as we watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer on our Smart Board, I was grateful for the mix of high-tech wizardry (the Smart Board) and low-tech magic (the stop motion animation of the 1964 classic). Sitting in Mrs. D.’s rocking chair and looking out at our sprouts, finally calm in front of a video after a day of pre-holiday activities, I was calmed by the tranquility of the group.

And then the part of the program where Rudolph meets Clarice arrived. For the uninitiated, Clarice is a doe who, naturally, has ridiculously long eyelashes that never seem to stop batting at her new beau Rudolph.

After a few moments of speaking, Clarice, overtaken by her love for Rudolph, breaks out into song. As she opened her tiny stop motion mouth to belt out the tune, ‘There’s Always Tomorrow’ suddenly the quiet of our room was pierced.

Betsy, who herself spends an awful lot of time batting her eyelashes, was singing right along with Clarice… every single word. I was surprised she knew all the words and was able to match the high pitch of the doe. As the song reached it’s climax, Betsy reached out her hand for dramatic effect. It was quite a performance.

Tomorrow is the last day before our holiday break. The pre-Santa energy is reaching a peak in the classroom. As the children filed out at bus time, someone mistakenly wished me a premature ‘Merry Christmas’ a day too soon. I reminded them we still had school tomorrow and then began singing, ‘There’s Always Tomorrow’… Betsy, never one to miss her cue, joined right in and made for a wonderful duet partner. And with that, I leave you with this: