‘It’s Lip Dub week!!!’

‘We are pumped up for the Lip Dub!!’

‘Do you know we’re having a Lip Dub on Friday???’

So I don’t know if you know this but WE’RE HAVING A LIP DUB ON FRIDAY.

It’s Wednesday. Wow. My kids are beyond excited for this Lip Dub project. We are supposed to line the hallway near our room, wear colorful or crazy clothes, and cheer silently(emphasis on the silent). As I am talking with the kids, I think hmmmmm….I wonder if they know what a lip dub is……..we are first graders and this will be our first experience with a lip dub…..so I jump off the cliff……

‘Friends, can you tell me what a lip dub is?’ Crickets.

‘Just raise your hand if you think you might know.’ Again, crickets. No hands.

‘Does anybody have any idea what I am talking about?’ More crickets.

Finally, a little guy bravely, albeit timidly, murmurs’ ‘A lip dub?’

17 pairs of eyes meet mine and I realize they have absolutely no idea what Lip Dub is–all they know is that it is happening on Friday. I laugh out loud and announce, ‘Friends. Our day is about to change!’

I busted out You Tube even though I was totally nervous about that MOMO thingymajig and showed them the first 2 Lip Dubs our elementary school has done. They sang the songs and laughed when they saw people they knew and shouted and thought the Lip Dub was the greatest thing ever!

We watched them again and again. We stopped them in the middle, talked about the audience, and watched some more. We had a discussion about the role of the audience in the Lip Dub and we formulated a plan.

Then, I lost my head.

We are using the song “Get Back Up Again’ from the movie ‘Trolls’. It’s a song about getting up again when you fall down, having grit when things are hard and to keep going. We decided we would make posters to shake-n-show when we are on camera.

‘Mrs. Hays, can we use our markers to make this poster?’

‘Friends. We are going to use……(wait for it)……PAINT!!!’

I let 17 kids make posters with paint for a Lip Dub.

And that my friends was why Wednesday was wacky. Oh and the fact that it was Wacky Wednesday for Read Across America week and they were all wearing wacky clothes and EVERY kid crazy hair. And we FINALLY had outside recess.

I let them paint. #justsayin’

**Full disclosure: Our principal is the mastermind behind these Lip Dubs. I just show up with my firsties and act crazy….sort of.