March 19, 2024

Musical mix

Musician Roger Day visits Clarke elementary as artist in the school

Dream big.

That was one of the messages Nashville-based singer and songwriter Roger Day was telling Clarke Community Elementary students during a performance at the elementary school Tuesday, Dec. 9.

As for Day’s message, it came across loud and clear.

“During that show, I sing a lot of the songs that I’ve written that just encourages the kids to use their imagination and look at the world a little differently. It’s fun stuff,” Day said in an interview before his first performance.

Last school year, a couple of third grade classrooms Skyped with Day through the program “Skype in the Classroom.” This meant he had already met many Clarke students online as a guest presenter.

Through the success of Skype, Clarke Area Arts Council decided to invite Day to the school district and sponsor him as “artist in the schools.”

Day has performed in 43 states, but this will be his first trip to Iowa.

Performances

At Clarke, Day had two performances for the elementary students. The first was his “Dream Big” show for students in kindergarten through second grade.

The program for the younger children encouraged them to sing loud, jump high and dream big, while also incorporating life lessons that are also found in the school’s Leader in Me curriculum.

The second performance about songwriting was for the upper-elementary students in third through sixth grade.

“What I do is demonstrate the creative writing steps that I follow as a songwriter, and hopefully, what the kids will see is that it’s the same thing that they’re doing,” Day said. “We brainstorm, we get main ideas, we have to edit. I do the same thing as a songwriter that they do as new story writers.”

One of Day’s important lessons is to show students what they are learning now can be used when they become adults.

“I always love to throw in vocabulary words and, so while they might not realize it, they’re learning as they’re performing and getting involved in the songs,” he said.

Upbeat energy

As for delivering the right message across to children in an entertaining manner, Day said the key is getting them involved — hand motions, dancing, engaging their imaginations.

“If you can engage their imagination, and you can get them kind of physically involved in the song doing motions, then it’s amazing. They’ll remember these songs,” he said.

For Day, every show he performs feels new to him.

He might have sung the same song thousands of times, especially since he’s been performing for 15 years, but one of Day’s talents is his ability to interact well with students and always keep the energy level up.

“Every time I play for a group of kids … it’ll be the very first time that they’ve heard it,” Day said. “To see that excitement and that sense of discovery with kids, it never gets old. It’s always fun.”