* By Guest Blogger Chuck Cheesman

Bookmans' Music in the Classrooms (MIC) is off and running again this year. We're bringing music to Head Start classrooms in Flagstaff, and I want to say that I am very grateful to be working with these children again.

In these early weeks of MIC, I try to get to know the children's names and establish a classroom environment that is welcoming and fun. I want the children to feel safe and confident so they will participate in the singing and dancing we do. I've learned after a few years of doing this that an ukulele is often a better instrument to get the ball rolling. It's a little bit quieter than my guitar. Plus, it's fun to teach the children to say ukulele. Say, "oo-koo-leh-lay" like the Hawaiians.

Coincidentally, the ukulele I use is a beautiful, mahogany ukulele I got for store trade at Bookmans. I use this instrument at almost all of my children's music gigs.

We are in our third week of classes already. Our most recent class also happened to be National Talk Like a Pirate Day, so we sang a special pirate song: "Pirates are we! We love to sail the seas!" It's a great one for getting the children up and moving. We clap hands, stomp feet, jump and spin as we do our pirate exercises on the deck of our imaginary ship. I warn the children, "Don't fall in the water. There are sharks in there. They ordered a pizza and it never showed-up. They might think you're a pizza!" At the end of the song the pizza arrives and I assure them that swimming will be safe now.

Next week we'll pass out Bookmans' MIC shirts to all the children. Then on Saturday, October 6 we host our annual MIC Kickoff at the Flagstaff Bookmans.