Polar Bear Plunge

Do you have people in your life who do cold plunges? Some folks sit in a tub filled with ice water. Others jump into freezing lakes during winter. Here in Milwaukee, we have this thing called the Polar Bear Plunge, where folks gather at the local beach on January 1 and run into Lake Michigan. In spite of all the health benefits one might get by participating in this exercise, John is not a fan. However, in the interest of supporting both sides of the topic, and more important, the comedy, he has written a partner song with arguments for and against.

This is a polka, and not just because we're hearty Wisconsinites! It was simply the right style for the song – upbeat, and not to be taken too seriously! And like all good polkas, the tracks feature accordion, flute, clarinet, banjo, tuba (or at least a bass trombone pretending to be a tuba), and a goodly amount of slapstick percussion. It has woodblocks, a slide whistle, a bicycle horn, a duck call, a siren whistle, and more! See if your students can pick out the various percussion instruments.

Since this is a partner song you'll need to split your singers into two groups: part 1 (anti-plunge) and part 2 (pro-plunge). Part 1 sings the first and third times, part 2 sings the second and third times. It's the combination the third time that really makes it fun.

In performance, part 1 could be gearing up in their winter best, like parkas, snow boots, scarves, ski goggles, and mittens. Meanwhile, part 2 could wear summer gear, like T-shirts, shorts, Hawaiian shirts, sandals, and sunglasses. Inflatable flotation devices like water wings or silly animal vests might be funny additions. The contrast between the two groups should be quite amusing!

You may have noticed that the cover for this issue, created by artist Colleen Schinler, connects to this song. Show it to your students and discuss what's going on. Who likes the cold water and who doesn't? There are penguins watching the activities. Why is this silly? (Besides the personification of animals, penguins and polar bears live on opposite ends of the earth. Just another cross curricular tidbit for you.)