Mrs. Renee Jamison’s first grade class made the long trek to the high school to share their enthusiasm for learning with Mrs. Erica Martin’s pre-calculus class, but by the time the period had ended it was the high school students who were out of breath.

The first graders came to sing, dance and shake to the “Koo Koo Kangaroo,” a song and dance program used by Jamison to help her students have fun while improving their reading and comprehension skills.

“This is the best first grade class in the universe!” said Jamison, “I’ve been a huge fan of Koo Koo Kangaroo for quite some time now; I like them a lot more than normal nursery rhymes because they are more upbeat and catchy. These songs are a great break from strenuous school work throughout the day.”

“My son is in Mrs. Jamison’s class and I was so excited to see the program first hand,”said Martin, “by the time it was over I was more than pleased with the experience to say the least. I even got some great pictures of the dancing.”

Koo Koo Kangaroo is the interactive dance party duo of Bryan Atchison and Neil Olstad.  Described by critics as the Beastie Boys meet Sesame Street, Mrs. Jamison uses their songs to help her students blossom in the classroom.

“There are songs like ‘Pop See Ko’ get the kids up and moving while other songs like ‘Chillax’ get them to calm down at the end of the day,” said Jamison.

The students voice their opinions as well, first grader Braylinne Shaw said, ” I like all the motions, the funny backgrounds and how colorful everything is.”

“I like all the songs that get us up and moving!” said classmate Thadd Campanaro.

The general consensus among the children was that they enjoyed how the songs got them up and moving and have fun during the school day.

“I like all the different songs and how they get stuck in your head, said first grader Ryan Guillaume.  “I like how it allows you to dance and have fun!” added classmate Marshall Martin.

“The first graders were very energetic,” said junior Anna Baran, “It looks like Mrs. Jamison has a great class!  We all had a great time.”

One things for sure, these first graders are on their way to success throughout their academic and social life and those dance moves are sure to help along the way!