Retiring teacher's students perform this week

 As a farewell to her teaching, the Yuma County Honor Choir performance last week was dedicated to Marion O'Dell McLeod, a music teacher at Carver School.

  The Yuma County Music Educators Association organized the annual event at Cibola High School featuring the best choirs from all elementary schools in the county.

  McLeod had singers in the program and will have students participating in the Desert Band Festival at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Post Auditorium, 400 W. 5th St.

  "These events are the final ones for the school year, and I'll be hanging up my baton and fiddle bow to retire," the musical teacher said.

  "I'm completing about 30 years in the profession. I was a counselor in Dallas and Houston before moving to Yuma. I taught one day a week at Price School at the Yuma Proving Ground for five years, then full time at Carver, where I've been able to continue music - both vocal and instrumental."

 Getting to use her musical talent, McLeod plays the violin and other instruments.

  During a recent interview with the teacher, two different kindergarten classes came into the music room.

  "I studied and am a specialist in the Suzuki method of teaching these young children," McLeod said. Explaining the process, she used a disc recording to involve the youngsters in singing about the pictures she pointed to on an easel.

  "They are learning to read the words describing the pictures while they are singing and feeling rhythm."

  Examples of learning were the songs about food for each day of the week. They sang that the menu was string beans on Monday, spaghetti on Tuesday and exaggerated "soouup" on Wednesday. Roast beef was the Thursday choice, fresh fish on Friday, chicken on Saturday and ice cream on Sunday.

  With each day's song, McLeod pointed to the pictures and the printed words with each.

  The kindergartners were not ones to sit still in the chairs and enjoyed clapping their hands to "Mi cuerpo a musica" (there's music in me) and enjoyed the story about a teddy bear, physically demonstrating the words.

  They also were animated and vocal with interpreting "The Double A Farm" counting and in step to the tune of the "Yanks Go Marching On."

  McLeod said she has fifth- and sixth-graders in choir. "They learn jazz chant that is literacy-based. It helps with fluency and reading. By singing with books, they learn rhythm, notes and reading, all supplemental skills.

  "We've had special programs, combining the music with physical education. That's how I met the love of my life, Gerald, who is also retiring this year after teaching 20 years at Carver. He also has about 10 other years teaching.

  "This has been a great experience and a challenging one, but I'm retiring. Gerald and I want to travel, then go to Anaheim in Orange County. I want to start writing fiction. And, it will be good to have time to do more cooking."

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Pam M. Smith can be reached at psmith@ yumasun.com or 539-6856.