Posts Tagged ‘music’
We were listening to our Bari Koral station on Pandora today when Brent said to me, “I’m so excited for Bari’s new album to come out! When is that again?” “Why it’s Valentine’s Day, dear!” I replied. It’s a cheesey intro, I know. But it was a real conversation. So if you, like us, love Bari Koral, I thought I’d share her news with you.
We’ve loved Bari Koral since our first listen through of Rock and Roll Garden in 2009. We even had an interview with her on the release of Rock and Roll Garden in Jan 2010. Then we adored her first music video for The Backpack Song. We never tire of Bari Koral’s music. And so we’re really excited to receive an advance copy of her CD soon so we can share our review. To whet your appetite, here’s a sneak peak at her new album with the song Anna and the Cupcakes:
We can’t wait to hold the new album in our hands! Yeah, Bari Koral. You rock, girl!
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I happened upon this song by Jenny Phillips (LDS singer/songwriter) and loved the message of the song. Also, the kids at the beginning are precious. She asked them how they know God is real and they gave the sweetest answers.
Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for My Memories Suite. It ends tomorrow night.
We were inspired by Silly Eagle Books’ Rapunzel tower earlier this week. The timing was perfect as we finished a roll of paper towels and I found another one hanging out in the office. Once the towers were underway, Sammi wanted to recreate as much as she could from movie, so there was a pond, a castle, a path and a slew of floating lanterns.
While making our Tangled diorama, we took turns retelling parts of the story to each other. This flowed particularly well as Sammi chose what she wanted to add. Then she told me about that part of the movie. She has a better memory than I do for this show so my forgetfulness made her ability to retell the story all that more important so I could get the details right!
My favorite part is the mobile of floating lanterns. Sammi really wanted to launch lanterns and included the “pond” as she called the large lake in the movie. She was also very adamant about the lanterns having suns on them. After I put them together and punched the hole, then she drew sun flames around it.
Of course we had to end the evening with another viewing of the movie. And see what else we might add tomorrow…
Other Rapunzel things we love:
Green Golly and Her Golden Flute by Keith Torgan and Barbara Siesel
Rapunzel from Little Golden Book
At the beginning of this year we introduced you to Aaron Nigel Smith’s album “Everyone Loves to Dance.” It is still a favorite at our house. Aaron has just released a holiday song that he recorded with his two sons and Rhythm Child. We’ve had fun groovin’ to it!
Aaron Nigel Smith – Happy Happy Holiday featuring Rhythm Child
Happy Holidays from Because Babies Grow Up and Aaron Nigel Smith!
Looking to update your Halloween music selection for this year? I have just the thing for you!
And the best part: 10% of proceeds from sales in October will go to The Children’s Hospital to help children battling cancer. You can purchase Count Crowe’s Halloween Spooktacular on iTunes and Amazon.
If you’re looking for ideas for the perfect Halloween party, check out this post on armelle. She’s got everything from party invites to goody bags. She’s also got my creative juices flowing. I’ll be sharing some of our craft projects during the week.
Your creative juices are flowing now, too, huh? She’s compiled all the links to these great projects and more so check out her ideas for a Halloween party.
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So the other day Brent came home from his test telling me that he had The Backpack Song
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.
Please check out this week’s giveaway for Green Golly and Her Golden Flute.
I’ve asked readers several different questions that have been answered in the same way. I found it pretty interesting that a favorite rainy day activity, a favorite pre-dinner activity, and a favorite boredom-buster activity is cranking up the music and dancing!
Dance for little ones, basically, is moving to music.
Just about every young child I have watched listen to music instinctively moves to the beat. Moving to music seems to come naturally to little ones. But somewhere along the growing up path, dance becomes an anxiety-inducing word. Somewhere most of us develop a complex about how well we can move to a rhythm.
Over the last year I’ve posted about various ways to encourage dance through different movements. We’ve used rhythm ribbons. We’ve chosen songs with lyrics that guide movement and dance. I even put together the ebook Laptime Songs for Mommies to help you share music and action with your little ones.
You’d think maybe I’d be done with this topic, but I’m not! Last year I attended a training for laptime and storytime tellers at the Orem Library. One of the presenters focused on helping young children develop confidence in dancing. She gave me a new perspective on dance as well as some great tools for helping little ones move to music.
It’s not Dance; It’s Movement!
Her first piece of advice was to never call it “dance” because it affects children so immediately and often turns them off. She was talking specifically about elementary school age boys, so decided if that’s good advice for you and your little ones. Second she talked about focusing on movement. She guided children to move all the parts of their bodies and to move them through three sections of space around the body: high, middle, and low.
While the music was playing she gave suggestions of how children could move, e.g., sway arms high above your head. Then prepared them to make a choice when she said freeze. She’d give a rule like one arm and one leg need to be in the middle. Then when she said freeze the children would choose a pose that followed the rule. After hearing her presentation I was able to watch her program in action. It was fun to see how engaged the children were in trying to move their bodies following the rules and suggestions she gave.
Helping little ones have a positive experience with dance is another way to help them appreciate the performing arts. I love watching Sammi and Elli and envisioning them as ballerinas or contemporary dancers or ballroom professionals. At this young age the possibilities are endless and they have so much joy feeling the music and moving in response to it.
How do you and your little ones dance?
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