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Faster is Better
When I was a child, I loved songs that sped up as I sang them - songs like John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt and The Song That Never Ends. I found a great song in the "Learning Through Music" songbook called I Don't Care if the Rain Comes Down, which my students...
What’s Big and Orange?
A hint: you've probably seen them cropping up in your neighborhood, as they are in high demand at this time of year. Pumpkins, of course! There are pictures of pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns lining the halls of my school, and I just might have to go pick one out this...
iPod Bingo
I use my iPod at work on a daily basis. I just plug it into my handy dandy speaker, and then I have my entire library of tunes at my fingertips. Most of the time, I use the iPod to play songs to accompany instrument or movement activities - circumstances where playing...
Today it is October
Wow! Fall is in full swing, and today we begin the 10th month of the year. 2008 has flown by so quickly...is it just me, or does time speed up with each passing year? October is almost synonymous with pumpkins, scarecrows, harvest, cool weather, and of course,...
School Spirit
I've been blogging for about a month now, but I haven't talked much about the school where I work, the Hope Institute in Springfield, Illinois. I've been fortunate to serve as the music therapist there for the last year and a half, and it has been an extremely...
Tunes I Like
It would be nearly impossible to use only my own music in my work with children; besides, I wouldn't want to! There are so many great singers and songwriters who are producing top-notch children's songs - it would be a waste not to take advantage of such resources....
Pitter Patter, Pitter Patter
The sun has finally taken a day off, and it's been replaced by storm clouds and raindrops. As much as I love sunny days, I am looking forward to singing a different weather song today. "Rainy Day" hasn't had much airtime since the spring, so it will be fun to dig it...
Where Are Your Manners?
Yesterday it was all about appropriate language...today we'll continue in that vein with a song about using good manners. Children receive constant reminders to say "hello", "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome", so after a while, they can start to tune them...
Friendly Words
An issue that comes up frequently when working with children is the use of appropriate language. I wrote this song for a student who had a habit of saying "pee-yew, you stink!" whether the person did or not (and most of the time, luckily, it was the latter). Now we...