Our Family Wellness Assembly encourages students, parents and teachers to join together in the active processes of health. The event begins with Dr. Drill educating the group on healthy living essentials: how to eat, exercise, manage stress and work as a team to accomplish the healthy living mission! Next, the group is engaged in Dr. Drill’s Stay Fit While You Sit, a seated workout and motivational session that unites the group around physical activity. Finally, Dr. Drill employs various individuals as assistants, running multiple exercise stations and rallying the team to the finish line. But at Family Wellness Night, we don’t run TO the finish line, but THROUGH the finish line!

Schools are responsible, communities are responsible and now I’m hoping to reach out to the students themselves to take responsibility for their own actions.  My Stand Up! Step In! Anti-Bullying School Assembly will teach kids how to recognize the bully, recognize the victim, recognize the bystander and learn what role each plays in an act of bullying.  The show is fast-paced, fun and informative but offers a new understanding of this destructive process and gives kids the tools to become facilitators for a better school environment

Kids will be kids, yes, but lets make sure that school is a safe haven for our youngsters.

Next up, a complete description of this new, fun, fantastic anti-bullying assembly unlike any other in the schools!

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There are so many assemblies available for elementary school holiday shows, but the David Jack assembly entitled CHRISTMAHANUKWANZAMADAN is one of the only school assemblies in the marketplace to speak to several different ethnic groups and several different religions in a fun, participation packed sing-along program.  The show features holidays such as Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa and Ramadan and not only includes fun singalong songs from each holiday, but also focuses on interesting facts about the holidays that the kids might find worth remembering.  For example, of course everyone knows what holiday the song JINGLE bells was written for…right?  WRONG!!  It was NOT written for Christmas!  Jingle Bells written in the year 1896 was originally entitled One Horse Open Slieigh and was written to commemorate THANKSGIVING — not Christmas.  So its just little fun facts like that that make this program especially memorable and fun for the kids in your elementary school assembly.  Check it out and book it before all of the dates are GONE!  You can find us online at elementaryassembly.com

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after the attack on the World Trade Center I was moved to create a school assembly that I thought might instill a new sense of patriotism in a new generation of children. Most of the kids that are seeing that assembly today, are too young to remember how it felt when our country was attacked. I hope that the spirit of America with the focus on patriotic songs and the history of the composers in the framework in which the songs were written have an impact on the kids so that a sense of patriotism will be carried through the rest of their lives. There’s no reason why our kids shouldn’t be proud Americans like we were proud Americans growing up in the 60s and 70s. The show features songs sung in a concert theater style venue along with lyrics for the kids to follow with. It is my hope, that the kids won’t need to use the words on the screen. That will be up to the Principals and the music teachers and the social studies teachers to teach their kids these songs which will make them better citizens and better members of the American Society. There any questions about the spirit of America program, please direct them to my e-mail.

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you remember when you were a kid? And the weather forecast said it was going to be a huge snowstorm? What Was the first thing that came into your mind? No school? Playing outside? Sledding down the hill? As parents, our thoughts go elsewhere. We think about work, we think about not being able to get out to the supermarket, we think about shoveling the driveway… Things like that. The one thing that typically happens though is that these days, the days that try our patience, are often the most memorable days of our lives. It just so happens that today we are in the crosshairs of one of the largest storms ever to hit the East Coast… At least during my lifetime. Hurricane Irene is scheduled to make landfall in about 18 hours and the one thing that comes to mind for me is the fact that my kids( who are grown now) are fortunately in town. Having my kids home and a storm on the way reminds me that these times when the luxuries of everyday home life could possibly be taken away, should be looked at as opportunity to reconnect with your family. During those snowstorms that I mentioned earlier, we would often have great family times together. During hurricanes, there’s a good chance that power could be lost. So why not take the opportunity to spend quality time with your kids when there’s no TV, no iPhone, and no computer to get in the way of forging relationships that are sometimes forgotten during the course of life.

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This was me and Jay during our recent performance of Hairspray. I’m the one NOT wearing a dress. I just wanted to post this to show you that regardless of the weather conditions (it was about 90 degrees that night — which during the weekend we performed this show — outside — was frigid!) (sorry for the over-use of parenthesis), we had committed to doing this show, and that’s what performers do — we perform. It’s something that starts early in your life and can carry throughout your life (see: me as a 50 year old). The reason I’m writing about this though is that I feel sorry for those people that still say…”I wish I would’ve done that –” “I wish I would’ve kept up with the piano lessons, or the dance lessons, or whatever….” There’s no excuse. Do it know, before you can’t do it. Wouldn’t that be a good rule to follow in life? Never say “I wish I had done this or that….”

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The presidential election is upon us… Not really. But all of this news from Ames Iowa is starting to make me crazy. The presidential election is not for almost 2 years but we are subject to the follies and foibles of the Republican presidential candidates on a daily basis. There is constant chatter about Michele Bachmann and her cover or Mis-cover of Newsweek magazine and the nonsense about Tim Pawlenty and his apparent lack of backbone when it comes to handling the press and the other Republican candidates. What is the straw poll mean anyway? Apparently, nothing. The last winner of the straw poll was Mitt Romney. As you might remember John McCain became the Republican presidential candidate. Prior winners have included such memorable names as Rudy Giuliani, Pat Robertson, and Bob Dole. None of whom have been president. So why do they do it? The way this thing runs is, each candidate sets up a tent serves dinner, and has some entertainment. There is a ticket price charged, but typically the candidate pays for the people to come into their tent. Once they’re in their tent there held hostage until the straw poll is completed. Is this buying votes? Of course it is! Why do they do it? Frankly, I have no idea. This is the American political system at its best. It’s a wonder why when I go into schools with my Spirit of America school assembly, kids typically don’t know the songs that I’m doing. The same songs that you and I grew up with. The same songs our parents hammered into our consciousness. Songs like America the Beautiful, or even the Star-Spangled Banner. Not only has Congress and politics gummed up our system, but it has given nationalism and patriotism a black eye. It’s time to get back to our basic American roots and that starts on our children are in elementary school. Spirit of America is a great place to start.