KINDERGARTEN
IN THE 50S
Things were
way different back in the 50s concerning relationships, courtesies, knowledge and
language. When I was in the
lower grades like kindergarten and 1st grade, we sang this little 5-finger song
with actions. It was about Thumbkin, Pointer, Tall Man, Ringkin and Pinky. The
lyrics went "Where is Thumbkin, where is Thumbkin," "Here I am,
here I am" and the lyrics were repeated for each finger changing only the
name of the finger. The left-handed finger would ask the "Where is ____,
where is _____" part and the right handed finger would respond with
"Here I am, here I am" while pointing only that finger straight up.
The left-handed finger would ask "How are you today, Sir?" And the
right-handed finger's response would be "Very well and thank you"
while bowing the erect finger down a few times. That was followed by "Run
away, run away" while each arm went behind the singers' backs. What
crossed my mind is how it looked with the class of students standing in a
circle displaying Tall Man (middle finger) while singing in complete innocence,
"Here I am, here I am."
