MY MOM IS SPECIAL

WASILLA — A mid-day summon to school is rarely good news for most moms. That their children had a pleasant surprise for them Friday may be why the dozens of parents in Iditarod Elementary School’s gymnasium were beaming and even shedding a few tears of happiness.

The mothers — and a couple of rogue fathers — smiled, clapped and cheered as the school’s three kindergarten classes performed their annual Mother’s Day Spring Program. The gym was decorated with butterflies, bugs and rainbows, and the students wore colorful paper hats while singing and performing for their moms. Between songs and poems, some of the youngsters told why their moms are special.

“My mommy is special because she loves me.”

“I thought it was great,” said Jessica Cox, who was there for her 6-year-old daughter Kaci. “The kids are super excited to be here.”

The program was a “wonderful” Mother’s Day gift, she said, adding her daughter practiced a lot, but tried to keep it under wraps.

“She tried to keep it a secret. She tried not to tell me too much (about the play),” she said. “I asked her to sing a little bit at home and she said it’s a secret and that I have to wait for the big day.”

The program began with a performance of the play “Storybook Lane,” where kindergartners played the roles of the Three Little Pigs, the Three Blind Mice and the Three Little Kittens (who had apparently misplaced their mittens).

Backing up the ensemble was a chorus of enthusiastic — and at times even in tune — students. One of the most animated was 7-year-old Colton Ewers. And watching from the audience with a video camera glued to his face was his dad, Lance Ewers, who admitted he was crashing the Mother’s Day program on a directive from his wife.

“Mom works, gotta bring home the bacon,” he said. “I had direct orders to (tape) the play.”

Colton said he likes his mom “because she brings me to my favorite place to eat, Chili’s.”

He also has a message for mom on Mother’s Day: “Thank you for caring and helping me learn other stuff.”

“My mommy is special because she makes my favorite food.”

After the 20-minute production, students treated their mothers to a tea in the classrooms of their teachers, Rachelle Bates, Louise Ralston and Molly Young. Students made edible flowers for their moms out of cookies and candy, and presented their guests of honor with gifts.

“I got lots of stuff,” said Sara Goff, who was enjoying the party with her 6-year-old son Nate Loken. “There’s flowers and he made this cute little questionnaire. They asked question like, ‘Why is your mom special? How old is she? What kind of little girl was your mom?’ He said, ‘My mom is as pretty as a rose,’ that my favorite thing is ‘to play games,’ that my favorite thing to eat is chicken.”

As to what kind of little girl she was, Loken said he answered, “She was a sweet girl. She liked to play games and play with toys.”

Loken said he practiced for Friday’s performance “maybe every day,” but wasn’t nervous.

“My mom is special because she bought me a hamster.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.