Posts Tagged ‘kids’ music for grown ups’

So the other day Brent came home from his test telling me that he had The Backpack Song stuck in his head all day. He said even after that, and trying to take a test while it was running through his head, he still liked it! Yes, it’s that great of a song. You may remember when we reviewed Bari Koral’s new album back in November. It’s one album that we still listen to frequently.

Not more than a day later I got an email from Bari Koral saying they had just made their first music video. And the song they chose was none other than The Backpack Song! I shared it with the girls and they were wild about it. It’s a fun video for a fun song. Check it out!

Don’t forget, you can also get Bari’s album on Amazon.com.

Thanks to everyone who entered for a chance to win Recess Monkey’s newest album, The Final Funktier. This album is available June 15. Now for the winner:

Catherine, whose favorite space-themed something is Battlestar Galactica, won her own copy of The Final Funktier. Congrats, Catherine. Please look for my email today and respond quickly

Hello, Energy!

The Final Funktier by Recess Monkey is one of the most creative albums I’ve ever heard. From the lyrics to the music to the elevator in the middle of the album, it’s a creative feast from beginning to end.

For our family, this album made really great background music. We enjoyed listening to it while we did craft projects or cleaned up the kitchen. In contrast, some albums for our family take center stage. Listening to them IS the activity. These are albums geared toward very young children with action-oriented lyrics. The Final Funktier is definitely geared toward the elementary age range with clever lyrics and plays on words that would be comical to children slightly older than my own. A lot of that was lost on the girls, but Brent and I enjoy the lyrics and the crazy song titles.

There was one song that really snatched Sammi’s attention. Track #11: Booster Seat. It starts, “I’m not a toddler, not any more. I’m forty-two pounds and half-past four.” Sammi loves categorizing baby, toddler, and preschooler so this song resonates with her. She always shouts, “That’s me! I’m not a toddler and I’m almost four!” She’s obsessed with counting down to her birthday and starting preschool. 8 weeks till her birthday and another 6 weeks after that till preschool. As she informed me, that is one long paper chain!

Fortunately, it’s not quite that long till The Final Funktier is released on June 15th. But, if you’re excited to get your hands on a copy sooner, I’ve got a deal for you!

The Final Funktier Giveaway

We have one copy of The Final Funktier by Recess Monkey to give away. The giveaway is open until 11:59 pm Eastern time on Monday, May 24th.

Required entry: Leave a comment sharing your favorite space-themed book, movie, game or TV show (or anything else space-themed)

Additional Entries:

• Visit Recess Monkey’s site and listen to the songs from The Final Funktier. Leave a comment telling me which one you like the best.
• Tweet about the giveaway: “Win Recess Monkey’s latest album from @ajpassey. Great music for the whole family! http://bit.ly/a5qC7X” Leave a comment with a link to the tweet.
• Share the giveaway on Facebook: “Win Recess Monkey’s latest album from Because Babies Grow Up. Great music for the whole family! http://bit.ly/a5qC7X” Leave a comment telling me that you shared it on Facebook. No link required; this one is on the honor system.

Good luck! I’ll announce the winner and contact them by email on Tuesday May 25.

Thanks to all who entered. I loved reading your ideas on why classical music and the performing arts are so important for little ones. Green Golly and Her Golden Flute is a great introduction to the performing arts and I’d highly recommend it for any family collection.

Heather won the giveaway from her second entry (that she’s a fan on Facebook!) Thanks Heather! Please check your email for details on getting your copy of Green Golly and Her Golden Flute.

We’ll have another giveaway on April 27 so please check back for your chance to win one of three copies of Motherhood is Easy…As Long As You Have Nothing To Do For The Next 50 Years.

When we were offered the chance to review a CD whose purpose was to expose children to the world of classical music in an engaging way I was thrilled. Since one of the ways to help little ones appreciate the performing arts is exposure to them and since I feel rather under-educated when it comes to classical music, I was looking forward to this album at least as much as the girls were.

Magical moments happen when interests and opportunities coincide. Sammi recently became enthralled with the story of Rapunzel and we’ve read several variations of the story. When we received Green Golly and her Golden Flute Sammi recognized Rapunzel on the cover immediately. She was definitely ready to give this album a go. In just a few days of receiving the CD we had listened to Green Golly’s story three times!

Green Golly and Her Golden Flute

The first 12 tracks are a dramatized retelling of Rapunzel (named Green Golly, for the golly good greens that in the witch’s garden did grow) along with clips of classical music woven seemlessly into the story. Keith Torgan is the narrator of the story and does an amazing job of appealing to young children. He has a grand storytelling voice and says the silliest things with such majesty that it’s hard not to be completely captivated.

Then there’s Barbara Siesel on the flute and as the voice of Green Golly. She does a marvelous job going from a newbie on the flute to an accomplished flutist. Siesel’s performance was inspiring. She’s bound to inspire children to want to create music. I want to learn to play the flute now!

One thing that sets this introduction to classical music apart from others I’ve seen is how the music is woven into a story. Each moment when a song is played highlights the meaning and feeling of that piece. My favorite feature is that the name of the composer is given for each piece. I loved that I didn’t have to keep looking to the CD case to see which song and who composed it. That info was included in the storytelling. Well done. After the story, tracks 13-22 are the complete version of each song included in the story. It’s a terrific collection of classical music for using with little ones in a variety of ways.

A final thought on the story. You’ll never believe the twist at the end! Not your typical Rapunzel ending, at all. But fitting for Green Golly, her independence and desire to see the world and perform.

Giveaway!

Keith Torgan and Barbara Siesel are excited to share a copy of Green Golly and Her Golden Flute with one BBGU reader. We are excited to host this giveaway for them and know you’ll just love this storytelling/classical music combination. The giveaway closes Monday, April 12 at 11:59 Eastern time and the winner will be announced Tuesday, April 13 and contacted via email.

Required:

• Leave a comment telling me why you think it’s important to expose children to classical music/the performing arts.

Additional Entries:

• Subscribe to Because Babies Grow Up (if you’re already subscribed, leave a comment saying that)
• Become a fan of Because Babies Grow Up on Facebook (if you’re already a fan, leave a comment saying that)
• Tweet “@ajpassey has a #giveaway for Green Golly & her Golden Flute, a combo of classical music and storytelling for children: http://bit.ly/9HPb4L” (Leave a comment with a link to your status)
• Post on Facebook “Because Babies Grow Up is giving away Green Golly and her Golden Flute, a great album introducing children to classical music through the story of Rapunzel: http://bit.ly/9HPb4L” (Leave a comment saying you posted on Facebook)

I know we just got back from a trip and you’d think that a 3 hour flight and a 4 hour drive would be enough to cure me of the travel bug, but it wasn’t. I was listening to Missy Higgins yesterday and my favorite song, Don’t Ever, totally makes me want to go on a travel-adventure.

Don’t Ever by Missy Higgins

Her accent, her voice, her music all stir emotions in me. I feel nostalgic and dreamy. At the same time I feel a longing for something just beyond my reach that I can almost identify. I love her music because it helps me be reflective and opens a creative channel for me to bring in ideas and hopes then inspires my plans to make them happen.

Here are a few other songs that really inspire me to travel.

Train: Save Me San Francisco

Barenaked Ladies: Never Is Enough (“I can go to Europe, travel with my friends…Buy a giant backpack. Sew a flag on the back”)

Milkshake: Travel Far (I didn’t know this was the title of the song, but it does inspire me to want to travel far)

I have a Travel Accessory for you!

When I went to Blissdom in February I made several luggage tags to hand out as gifts to bloggers I wanted to meet or connect with. I found a few yesterday that I hadn’t handed out. I thought I’d share them with you! I have four to send out (one has already been claimed by my mom). Aren’t they cute? They are decorative so you can tell your black bag apart from other people’s black bags.

Here’s the deal.

Send me an email at becausebabiesgrowup@gmail.com giving me your name and address. The first four emails I get will received a luggage tag in the mail. I will send you an email in return letting you know if you should be checking your mailbox or not for one. I promise that I will guard your personal information with my life and never solicit you through your mailing address.

Hope to hear from you

What inspires you?

We had our Music Makers playgroup yesterday. At the last minute, I had the brilliant idea to make egg shakers to go along with our book and craft.

Supplies for Egg Shakers:

• Easter eggs
• Beans
• Super glue
• (Duct tape)

I filled an egg with beans, spread the super glue around the bottom piece’s edge, then snapped the top on. I let them dry for about an hour and did a test run with the girls. When dropped, a few of the eggs opened. So we pulled out the duct tape and taped them up. I checked the super glue I chose and it said the liquid kind is the best for plastics and I had the no drip gel, which was okay. I’m guessing it had a long set up time. 10 kids played with them and none of them opened up so the gel super glue/duct tape combo worked for us! I’d recommend using an epoxy or liquid super glue to secure the egg pieces together.

We practiced shaking them high and low, fast and slow, loud and soft. We also practiced starting and stopping. Then we rocked out to Mahna Mahna by Cake from For the Kids. The shakers were  a big hit and a super easy, fast instrument to make. So, after Easter when all your plastic eggs are hanging around, you can turn them into a musical instrument to enjoy the rest of the year!

Book:

I showcased this book last Friday, but I’ll mention it again since it inspired the craft and instrument. We read Clifford’s Happy Easter. It’s a fun book about dying eggs and an egg hunt. It doesn’t go into any reasons for celebrating Easter which is okay with me because I’m kind of picky about the religious books we read. It had silly illustrations that got a laugh out of the kids. It would be a great companion to any egg activities you may do.

Craft:

We decorated our own eggs. I set out a bunch of supplies and let the little ones choose how they wanted to decorate their eggs. We had leftover cut paper from Valentine’s cards, zigzag ribbon, jewel stickers, tissue paper squares, crayons, markers, and buttons (Sammi’s favorite!) The kids had a great time gluing everything on. The older ones enjoyed cutting their eggs out after they were finished. I downloaded the egg image here, but they also have larger versions (1 or 2 to a page. I did 4)

What alternative uses for Easter eggs have you found?

So I slept a lot this weekend. I think I’m fighting off the cold that Elli developed last week. Her poor eyes were so goopy all day Saturday. She’s finally clearing up, but now I’m stuck with a sore throat and a runny nose.

I’ve definitely got the Monday Blahs!

So I thought I’d beat them with a fun song today from our Sponsor Aaron Nigel Smith. His album Everyone Loves to Dance was released earlier this year and has been a wonderful addition to our family’s collection of music. Here’s the title track, Everyone Loves to Dance. It’s sure to get you moving and grooving and soon you’ll forget it’s Monday at all!

Everyone Loves to Dance

What do you do to beat the Monday blahs?

Disclaimer: The above links are not affiliate links, however, Aaron Nigel Smith is a sponsor of BBGU. Our contract does not include posting about him or his music. I chose to do that because it’s what I needed today!

We are so excited to have Aaron Nigel Smith as a new sponsor of Because Babies Grow Up. We received Everyone Loves To Dance a few weeks ago and it has been a lifesaver! I turn in on every day while I’m making dinner and it gets the girls moving, singing, and most importantly, out of the kitchen! I love to listen to it while I’m cooking, too, because it’s just so fun.

Aaron Nigel Smith has been quite busy recently touring with the Ziggy Marley Family Time Tour, Between the Lions Live, NEA Read Across America Tour. Let me tell you, after all that, he has got kids down pat! His voice and inflection, his lyrics and the energy of his music all appeal to the youngest of listeners, and even on up to grown ups. His music has also received the NAPPA and iParenting awards. When I showed Sammi this video, she loved it instantly. Grab your little one and enjoy!

By far my favorite song is the title song, Everyone Loves to Dance. But we have also really enjoyed Simon Says. We used the song to teach Sammi how to play the game. We had so much fun. Aaron Nigel Smith will be touring later this year and I bet he’s a show worth taking your little ones to. I’m hoping he comes somewhere close to us so we can go see him (Please! Please!)

Giveaway!

Aaron Nigel Smith is offering a copy of his new CD Everyone Love To Dance to a BBGU reader as part of the Winter Wonderland Carnival. This giveaway is open until January 31 at 11:59 pm EST. You can enter to win on the Join the Winter Wonderland post. For additional entries, you can comment on this post as well. Everyone Loves to Dance is also available on iTunes and on Amazon.

How do you survive making dinner with little ones clambering about for your attention?

Thank you to EVERYONE who entered the giveaway for Roger Day’s new album Why Does Gray Matter? …and other brainy songs for kids! I absolutely loved reading all the smart things you and your kids do. Seriously, wasn’t that the best bragging session ever!

The winner is Donna. Congratulations, Donna. Check your email for info from em about how to claim your prize. If I haven’t heard back from Donna by Wednesday, we’ll choose another winner.

If you’re bummed you didn’t win and would love to get an autographed copy of Why Does Gray Matter, then head over to his site where you can purchase it. If you’re in love with Amazon, like me, then you can head over there and grab Why Does Gray Matter?

Don’t forget to enter this week’s giveaway. It’s my new book. Read the post where I bare my musical soul. Then please leave me a comment. I’d so appreciate some love for my book!