Ahh, just another day in the life of a midwesterner heading to work in the winter. My husband managed to capture this oh-so-flattering shot of me around this time last year…a fashion statement that will become all too familiar over the next few months. Can you tell how much I LOVE winter?!
Don’t get me wrong — I enjoy a white Christmas just as much as the next guy. But the never-ending cold and snow just isn’t my thing. I have to look on the bright side, though: the change of seasons gives me an excuse to write a new song!
Winter’s here, the first season of the year.
From the end of December until April’s near.
The birds have gone away, the cold is here to stay,
Day after day.
Brrr, the wind is blowing.
Brr, put your earmuffs on.
Along with your coat, scarf, hat, and gloves,
As we sing this wintery song.
CHORUS
Brr, the snow is coming,
Brr, my nose is red.
Gotta stay inside where the heat is on,
And get warm from my toes to my head.
CHORUS
As thrilled as I am to be off of work for Christmas break, I’m a little bummed that I didn’t have the chance to introduce this new song to my students before we left. However, the fact that we’ll have three long months to sing it when we return makes up for it. Oh, winter.
I’ll be spending the first day of the season doing last-minute shopping, wrapping presents, and writing thank-you notes to my students (they were quite the gift givers this year!). How will you spend this wonderful winter day?
Today is one of my favorite days of the entire year. It started with the entire school gathered together for The Hope Institute’s 4th Annual Holiday Singalong, a tradition I started way back in 2007.
And it’s not just me standing in the front of the room, strumming my guitar and leading the singing….oh, no. We go all out around here, with a full band (guitar, bass, keyboard, drums) made up of Hope employees and lyric sheets for everyone in attendance. This year, the Singalong included 16 of our favorite holiday songs and lasted a little over a half hour. Lots of singing, dancing and merriment for all!
Now that the Singalong is over, there are just a few more hours until I walk out the door for Christmas vacation. Two whole weeks of it. This is one of those times of year where my husband is VERY jealous of my teacher’s schedule :)
So how will I spend my vacation? Thankfully, both of our families will be here in town for the holidays, which means no traveling for us. Just lots of quality time spent with our nearest and dearest, including hosting our first Christmas…yikes!
And as much as I LOVE my students, I’m very ready for the down time I’ll have — especially during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. But of course I’ll be so ready to see everyone again come January 3.
With less than a week remaining until Christmas, I’m squeezing in every last holiday song I can around here! This one comes to you by request, though the coordinating outfit was completely my idea :) I mean, how often do I have the opportunity to wear a ridiculous hat in my videos?
“Red & Green” has been around for the last couple of years, and lends itself very well to all sorts of color-centric activities. Here is the original post I wrote about this song.
And now I’m off to perform an entirely different genre of holiday music: Handel’s Messiah. My church choir is joining forces with another church’s choir to sing the Christmas portion of this masterpiece, and wow, is it glorious. Hallelujah, indeed!
I absolutely love giving gifts. In fact, I have a special savings account for Christmas money to which I contribute all year round, just so that I’m sure I can give everyone the “perfect” present come December.
However, I am not opposed to DIY gifts — I actually prefer making things myself rather than buying them. I flex my crafty muscles each year when it comes to gifts for my 30+ students. This year’s gifts are pictured above; I’m giving them music note or treble clef ornaments (gold for the boys, silver with sparkles for the girls) with handmade initial tags tied with ribbon.
Last year, I had special postcards made and wrote an individual note to each student. Then I laminated it and wrapped it up with candy and a cute little reindeer. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures to illustrate :(
Two years ago, I made ornament magnets for each student with his or her initial. This was quite a labor-intensive process, which involved gluing the magnet to the back of the ornament, tying and curling the ribbon, and placing the initial on the front. Of course, I had to make some for my husband and I, too:
My husband and I also do DIY gifts for family members and friends. Zach is the photo book expert of our family; he uses Apple’s iPhoto to create beautiful photo books of various events, which he gives frequently as gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas.
We’re trying something new this year for my Grandma’s gift: she lives in Florida, so we are going to make a DVD wishing her a Merry Christmas and also surprising her with the news that we are coming down to visit her next month (she has no idea!). I know she’ll love it more than anything we could possibly buy her.
Throughout the holiday season, I encourage my students to talk about giving more than receiving. I use the song If You Could Give a Gift to get them talking, and they always have extremely interesting and sweet gift-giving ideas.
What about you? Do you DIY your gifts (I’d especially love to hear about creative student gifts) or stick to store-bought goodies? Please share!
Frosty is a popular guy around this time of year, having his own holiday-related song and all. But did you know that there are several children’s books based on the familiar tune? I own this one, and it is a staple throughout December. In fact, I’ve discovered quite a few singable stories that are perfect for the winter months; here are some of my favorites.
Snowmen at Christmas tells the story of how snowmen spend Christmas (while the people who built them are sleeping, of course). It’s actually a spin-off of this wintery favorite…
Snowmen at Night was introduced to me a few years back by my friend Lisa Casciola (who has pointed me to countless wonderful resources!) and I have included it in my rotation ever since.
If there is one thing I can’t resist buying, it’s a great new children’s book to add to my collection. My husband can always tell when I’ve gone on an Amazon shopping spree…the big brown box and guilty look on my face are tell-tale signs. But I always stand by my purchases, because I know how much my students will enjoy them!
Now it’s time for you to chime in: what are your (and your little ones’) favorite singable stories for this time of year?
Welcome! I’m Rachel Rambach, board-certified music therapist and creator of Listen & Learn Music — educational songs and musical materials for children. I love sharing my work with you, along with my behind-the-scenes creative process, adventures in business ownership, and life as a mom of two.
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I absolutely love giving gifts. In fact, I have a special savings account for Christmas money to which I contribute all year round, just so that I’m sure I can give everyone the “perfect” present come December.
Snowmen at Night
