We are approaching the end of the first month of Music in the Classroom (MIC) program, and it has already been a wild and wonderful ride! Head Start classrooms all around Flagstaff are now benefiting from the musical skills and personal charisma of Mr. Chuck Cheesman, the children’s musician who Bookmans has hired to teach free music and movement classes in local Head Starts.

Cheesman, a former Chicago school teacher who once had the Obama girls in his music classes, is always a huge hit with the kids. When he opens the door of a classroom, there is a chorus of “Mr. Chuck, Mr.Chuck!” as all the little ones squeal in anticipation of the activities to come.

Chuck’s classes are filled with focused energy: from the quiet work on the xylophone at the beginning and end of class, through the ABCs and 123s (in English and Spanish) of the middle parts, all the way through the energetic crescendo of the wild rumpus. And the amazing thing is that 4-6 year-olds stay engaged throughout!

The classes encourage lots of wonderful learning, since the children are working on everything from language to counting, sharing to dancing, rhythm-making to physical coordination. Even the teachers are challenged when asked to hop on one foot while spinning, or to sing their ABCs backwards!

Watch for updates, as Chuck will be teaching 100 hours of classes over the coming couple of months, and Bookmans in Flagstaff will be having a fun-filled January Jamboree, free and open to the public, as a culmination of the pilot program.

If you are a principal, teacher, or parent interested in hosting Chuck in your Head Start classroom, please contact Kate at flagevents@bookmans.com. To learn more about Chuck Cheesman and the classes he provides, visit www.dancingwithnoshoeson.com.