Sway Like a Tree

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

sway-like-a-tree

As much as I enjoy fall — the changing leaves, the cooler temperatures, and the beginning of the holiday season — it always makes me a little nostalgic for summer (my one true love when it comes to seasons).

This song came about as the result of a brainstorming session for new movement activities.  I have these cool ribbon rings that remind me a little bit of palm fronds, so that was the visual I had in mind as I wrote and recorded the song.

Come on and sway like a tree,
So tall and free.
Sway with me, oh sway with me.
Sway like a tree, so tall and free,
Sway, sway along with me.

Come on and sway like a tree,
So tall and free.
Sway with me, oh sway with me.
Sway like a tree, so tall and free,
Sway, sway along with me.

Come on and flutter like a leaf,
Falling from the tree,
Flutter with me, oh flutter with me.
Flutter like a leaf falling from the tree,
Flutter along with me.

Come on and fly like a bird,
Landing in the tree.
Fly with me, oh fly with me.
Fly like a bird landing in the tree,
Fly, fly along with me.

Come on and wave like a kid,
Sitting under the tree,
Wave with me, oh wave with me.
Wave like a kid sitting under the tree,
Wave, wave along with me.

I really got into the breezy island spirit of this song — as you can tell by my voice! I must have been channeling the St. Lucian friends my husband and I made on our honeymoon a couple years ago :)

Singing a duet at our resort's piano bar in St. Lucia

Singing a duet at our resort's piano bar in St. Lucia

Now that I’ve gotten this song out of my system, I think I’m ready to leave summer behind completely. We’ve got lots of Thanksgiving songs to get to next week, but if you still need a last minute Halloween song, browse my collection here!

Orange & Black Are All Around

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

orange-black-halloween-colors

During this last week leading up to the 31st, I’m squeezing in as many Halloween songs as possible — both here and with my students.  “Orange and Black” is one I wrote recently and have been singing all month.

Since so many of the classrooms are decorated to the nines for Halloween, we play our own version of “I Spy” and add all kinds of orange and black items to the list I’ve got going in each verse.

O-R-A-N-G-E is the color that you see
On Halloween, on Halloween.
Orange is all around,
Left and right and up and down,
On Halloween, on Halloween.
Candy corn, and pumpkins,
Decorations too,
Orange is everywhere on Halloween,
It’s true.
O-R-A-N-G-E is the color that you see
On Halloween, Halloween.

B-L-A-C-K is the color here to stay
On Halloween, on Halloween.
Black is all around,
Left and right and up and down,
On Halloween, on Halloween.
Witches’ hats, cats and bats,
Spiders too,
Black is everywhere on Halloween,
It’s true.
B-L-A-C-K is the color here to stay
On Halloween, Halloween.

O-R-A-N-G-E spells orange.
B-L-A-C-K spells black.
Orange and black are the colors that you see
On Halloween.

We also look for orange and black in some of my favorite Halloween books for kids, including Ten Timid Ghosts, Skeleton Hiccups, Dem Bones, and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat. (I’m a huge fan of the “Old Lady” books, and already looking forward to pulling out this one next month!)

What kinds of Halloween songs, books, and activities do you have up your sleeve this week?  I’m already working on my list for next year, so please share!

Sunday Singalong: I Like Halloween

by | Uncategorized

The title of this post is a bit deceiving, because as I’ve stated — oh, a thousand times or so — I don’t really like Halloween at all!  But I put on a happy face for my students this time of year, and sing “I Like Halloween” with plenty of (believable) enthusiasm.

Lisa Casciola, MT-BC (owner of Kids Sing Studio) is my former internship supervisor who turned me on to this song and Cathy Bollinger’s music in general.  Cathy was a huge inspiration to me as I began songwriting, and even responded to an email I sent her a couple of years ago asking for some advice.  Her words of encouragement went a long way, and now my music is listed right alongside hers on Songs For Teaching.  Pretty amazing!

Anyway, getting back to this song.  I love its versatility, not to mention that it’s short, memorable, and catchy.  A nice one to have in your bag of tricks, for sure.  I’ve learned all kinds of new things about my students through this song, and I now know what each of them are planning to dress up as for Halloween and what kind of candy they are hoping to receive.  So much Halloween fun, so little time…only one more week until we move on to Thanksgiving.  Thank goodness!

Friday Fave: Sticky Productivity

by | Uncategorized

online-sticky-notes

My favorite method of staying organized and on top of my life is making lists.  But sometimes it’s just so much more convenient to scribble a note on a sticky pad and stick it somewhere I know I’ll see it later…like on my computer.  I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that my computer screen at work looked nearly identical to the one pictured above, with just a little more visible screen space, until I discovered the online resource I’m going to share with you today.

Lino It provides a virtual blank canvas to which you stick post-it type notes — simple as that.  You can color code the notes, like I do for different areas of my life:

online sticky notes 2

That’s a snapshot of part of my current to-do canvas.  When I complete a task, I simply click the little checkmark and the sticky is “peeled” off.  It’s much more satisfying to see a sticky disappear than it is to cross an item off of a paper list :)  I set Lino It as my homepage so that each time I open my browser, the first thing I see is my to-do canvas.  Let me tell you…it is quite effective!

Another cool thing about Lino It?  Not only can you post sticky notes, but you can also post pictures, videos, and documents right to your canvas.  I have another canvas that I use as an inspiration board; I post my goals, pictures that motivate me, and anything else that boosts my happiness level just by glancing at it.  I look at my inspiration board throughout the day and add new items all the time.

This “Friday Fave” isn’t music-related, but hey, everyone needs to stay organized!  Have you tried Lino It or another online tool to boost your productivity?

Peanuts Pumpkin Carols

by | Uncategorized

peanuts-pumpkin-carols

I have a Halloween tradition with one of my classrooms at school, and that is singing Peanuts Pumpkin Carols the week leading up to the big day.  What are Peanuts Pumpkin Carols, you ask?  They are a group of cleverly penned Halloween songs set to the tune of traditional Christmas carols.

So “Deck the Halls” becomes “Deck the Patch”, “Silver Bells” becomes “Pumpkin Bells”, “The 12 Days of Christmas” becomes “The 12 Days of Halloween” and so on.  The teacher of that classroom found these songs online, and you can get them for yourself right here.

I absolutely LOVE Christmas music, but I usually try to hold off until November 1st to start listening to it.  Preparing and singing these pumpkin carols is an excuse to start dusting off the familiar melodies I’ll soon be singing and listening to throughout the holiday season :)

In addition to the Peanuts Pumpkin Carols, you can check out my own original Listen & Learn Halloween songs.