Student Blog: Attempting To Introduce 1st Graders to Jonathan Larson

This summer I took a job at my high school’s summer camp that is open to kids who are going into Kindergarten through 6th grade. It is not a ‘stay away’ camp, thank God, but it is a day camp where kids enjoy both indoor and outdoor activities and go on two field trips every week– one being to the pool. About 75-80 campers attend each week and they are split into four groups according to their age. While I am a returning camp staff member, last year I was only a helper. In contrast, this year I am a group leader, the red group leader– meaning that I am responsible for a group of sixteen five, and six-year-olds. Sixteen doesn’t sound like a lot– I didn’t think it was going to be a lot– but when you are at the last activity before lunch or trying to line up so that you make it out to the bus on time, it feels like a lot. 

To help quiet down our kids and get their attention, each group leader was asked to come up with a cheer for their group. And instead of heading straight for “1, 2, 3. Eyes on me,” I decided that we were going to try to be a bit more creative. I was going to remix Jonathan Larson’s “Boho Days.” It sounded fun and simple enough for my band of 1st graders to sing along to. The main lyric “This is the life,” would change to “This is camp life.” And it so happened that the summer camp’s name had the same amount of syllables as ‘bohemia.’ I even rewrote the roommates' rap including each of my camper’s names. All they had to do in the cheer was sing bo-bo, bo-bo-bo.

But let me tell you, this was not a “School Of Rock” story. 

When the time finally came around and we decided it was time to make a cheer, I pulled up the party scene from Tick, Tick…Boom! and played the intro of the original song. I then sang the beginning to them with our camp lyrics and had them repeat the bo-bo, bo-bo-bos. But soon enough I got a “This is boring!” from my group. I asked if we could just try it, but the bo-bo, bo-bo-bos got whipped together and five ‘bo’s’ turned into eight. Recognizing the lack of unity in the chant, my campers reinforced their dislike for my idea, and my group declared that our first try was our last. They didn’t even let me sing the rap for them. 

After failing Mr. Larson, my co-leader, suggested we try The Muppets’ “Mah Na Mah Na.” But similarly to the “Boho Days” attempt, the cheer was labeled as ‘boring’ and the ‘do’s’ came out the same as the ‘bo’s.’ 

After many failed attempts of introducing pop culture sing-alongs, one of my campers raised their hand with the suggestion for a cheer that goes, “I say ‘let’s go,’ you say ‘red group.’ And after the first camper made their suggestion, many other “I say…You say…” cheers were pitched… and those were the cheers that were liked. 

While my heart sank and my rap got canned, I had to remind myself that my group is not just of a different generation, but also that they are only five and six years old. 

Lesson plans for next week: Menken and Schwartz. They are five and six-year-olds who know Disney.