I just found out that adoring soccer fans in Mexico (and perhaps in other Latin American countries?) sing a version of “Palo Palo” when their team wins a game. Here’s a YouTube video, and the crowd is singing/chanting, “Palo palo palo palo bonito palo es somos campeones otra vez.” This roughly translates to, “Stick stick stick stick stick is nice we are champions again!” (I’m guessing Google Translate is missing some idiomatic meaning here.) How fun to know that if I ever end up at a soccer game in Mexico, I’ll be able to sing along with the victors!
Archive | November, 2011
Oh, Yeah!
28 NovSTORY FROM A MOM
I teach in a town where many parents take the train to and from NYC for work, and train-watching is a favorite pastime for some toddlers. A mom of an one-and-a-half-year-old took her daughter to pick up daddy from the train for the first time, and while they were waiting the mom sang, “Train is a-comin’, oh yeah…” Once the train arrived and daddy walked off the train, something must have clicked for the daughter about the meaning of that song. Now, whenever the mom sings “Train is a-Comin’,” the little girl chimes in, “Oh, yeah!” The music gives her way to express the emotion she felt seeing her daddy come off the train in a way that she’s not yet able to with language. (My 9-year-old can say, “Oh, I love to meet daddy at the train because I’ve missed him so much and seeing him walk down the platform is so exciting I just want to jump up and down,” but that’s a bit beyond the scope of a toddler!) Whether excitement, or frustration, or anger, or sadness, music is an excellent tool to help a child with developing language process and communicate emotions.
And so now, whenever I’m stopped at a train crossing in town, instead of feeling impatient I find myself singing, “Oh, yeah!” Look at that, music helps even the verbally-developed with emotions, too!
