One of the songs we’ve been singing in the current session of Listen & Learn for Little Ones, our early childhood and preschool music classes, is Thunder & Raindrops. I wrote it a few years ago specifically for rhythm sticks, and it still remains one of my favorites!
Rhythm sticks are always a popular instrument choice among my little ones, because they make a lot of noise and are extremely versatile. This particular song addresses the objectives of playing loudly and softly, and requires everyone to listen carefully in order to play as instructed.
This time of year, we sing and play quite a few songs about rain to mirror the early spring weather, and many of them are designed for use with shakers. So it’s nice to shake things up (see what I did there?) by giving our rhythm sticks a turn.
Between the endless grey skies, frigid air and rampant germs being passed around, this winter has me in a bit of a funk. I know I’m not alone — you’re probably just as ready for spring as I am. Music is my favorite kind of medicine, so I put together 4 songs I’ve written or adapted that make me really happy.
This past week, my kids and I got hit hard with a nasty cold bug. It came right on the heels of our return home from vacation, so 3 extra days off of work, daycare and preschool were not very welcome. BUT that’s real life for you, and we made the best of it.
Luckily my husband took the reins at home over the weekend, so I spent most of Saturday in bed resting. But I did sneak in my laptop and tackle a HUGE project that’s been on my to-do list: I finally added 60 or so songs from my back catalog that hadn’t yet made it to the Listen & Learn Plus! collection.
The songs you see in the image above are just a few of my favorites that were added. Here is a complete listing of the songs, lead sheets, and/or instrumental tracks that are now up for grabs inside of the membership:
A few years ago, I started a video series called Sunday Singalong here on my blog. Every Sunday, I posted a new video of myself singing and talking about my songs, all of which still exist on my YouTube channel.
I really loved making those videos, and now it’s so much fun pulling up YouTube on my TV to play them for my kids :) So I made a new one this week, and I just might be hooked once again.
I’m a worrier by nature; always have been, always will be. So when I sang along to Bobby McFerrin’s original version of this song growing up, I’m pretty sure I was trying to convince myself to heed his advice.
I love everything about this song: the lyrics, the laid-back stye, the harmonies, and especially the way it makes me feel when I listen and sing along. Turns out it’s a crowd pleaser in just about every setting I’ve used it, including my early childhood classes, performances, and music therapy sessions.
If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, then you know I’m a sucker for a good counting song. But little did I know when I wrote “Little Red Apples” back in August for our early childhood class, it would lead to an entire songbook full of them.
That song was such a hit with our young students AND music therapy clients that we continued writing new counting songs like it every few weeks. We also created visuals for each one, and now have a nature-based counting collection to match every season.
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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