I have a new student who is about 10 years old.  She is really chatty and friendly, and I am excited to be teaching her.  We have been working on the bowhold for two weeks now.  I was trying a colleague’s suggestion of making a “bow-doggie” with your right hand.  She came up with the idea of a “bow-pacman” since I was emphasizing how round her hand should be.  However, she kept making her hand into what I called more of a “bow-anteater” which we didn’t want!  She was flattening out her fingers and thumb too much.

About halfway through the lesson, she tells me she had a school teacher the previous year who LOVED llamas.  Even had a sign up that said “Save the drama for your llama.”  And they would sing a song about llamas, complete with hand motions…which included the exact thing she was doing with her right hand–pinky and index finger in the air, middle two fingers touching the thumb, but FLAT, not like a violin hold.   She sang the whole song for me while I cracked up laughing.  Mystery solved!  I told her this was going to be a “llama-free zone” and that I might have to make a sign to that effect.  I still giggle thinking about it.

(9/23 update:  My friend found this video of the song from sesame street!  I had not heard it before, but evidently it is very popular.