Free Download: “Little Red Apples”
This is one of many counting songs I’ve written, which focuses on counting both up to 5 and down from 5. I created simple apple visual aides (using red construction paper and then laminating) which my students can then manipulate as we count.
Click here to download the mp3 and lyrics/chords.
P.S. If you want access to my entire collection of over 200 songs (mp3, lead sheet, and instrumental track), videos, tutorials, and visual aides, plus ALL new releases from Listen & Learn Music, consider joining me over at Listen & Learn Plus!
Sneak Peek
Two weeks ago, I spent some time in Kimberly Smoot’s photography studio with my buddy, Jake. Kimberly donated her talents to my CD (the one I will be giving away to families of children with autism and other disabilities) and I just couldn’t wait to give you all a sneak peek. This is the only picture I’ve seen so far, too; it will be so much fun to go through all of them and pick which ones will be included in the CD art. More to come later!
Costumes on Parade
I still remember the costume parades from preschool and elementary school, and my mom even has pictures! I love the idea of using this song to accompany such a parade – it would be so easy to substitute the costumes I used for those that the students are actually wearing.
And even if you aren’t having a parade, you can still sing the song; just ask the students to suggest the costumes to be included. They could even draw pictures of them as an art project!
Come one and all,
Big and small,
Gather ‘round for the parade.
We’re dressing up,
On Halloween,
So many costumes to be seen!
Costumes on parade,
Ghosts and witches walking by,
Mummies, vampires, Frankenstein,
And Batman, me oh my!
CHORUS
Costumes on parade,
Clowns and cats are walking by,
Princesses and firemen,
And Elvis, me oh my!
CHORUS
Costumes on parade,
Frogs and monkeys walking by,
Hannah Montana and Harry Potter,
And ninjas, me oh my!
CHORUS
All the Candy I’ll Eat
When I was a kid, the best part of Halloween was coming home from trick-or-treating, dumping my bag of candy on the floor, and taking inventory of all the goodies. My brother and I would sort out our candy and make trades, and then I usually proceeded to eat way more candy than one should ever consume in a single sitting.
Well, apparently Tip Top Tom and I had a lot in common as children, because this is what he had to say:
This is a simple idea that can bring lots of cheer. Counting candy! As a kid that was one of my favorite activities on Halloween.
His simple idea just happens to be winning song topic #2! It didn’t take me long to come up with a song based on it; in fact, I had to leave out a couple verses. I could feel my sweet tooth aching as I sang this:
I just got home,
It’s Halloween night.
My costume gave my neighbors a fright.
But it did the trick, because I got a treat,
Just look at all the candy I’ll eat.
Ba-doop-a doo,
I see some Snickers bars,
Butterfinger, Hershey’s and Mars.
So much chocolate, what’ll I do?
I guess I’m gonna share with you!
CHORUS
Ba-doop-a-doo,
I see some lollipops,
Gummi bears and lemon drops.
So much sweet stuff, what I’ll do?
I guess I’m gonna share with you!
CHORUS
Ba-doop-a-doo,
I see a toothbrush there,
And a lot of toothpaste to share.
I think I’ll need it and so will you,
After all the candy we’ll chew!
CHORUS
Sound-Off: SleepPhones
Remember when I first told you about sleephones? Well I received my own pair in the mail a couple of weeks ago, and I am addicted! The picture above is a reenactment of pretty much every single night since I got my sleepphones; they are so comfortable that I completely forget I’m wearing them. I plug them into my iPhone, which charges on my nightstand while I sleep, and the music puts me to sleep almost instantly. Of course, my extremely long days working with kids might have a little something to do with that, but I’ll give most of the credit to my sleepphones. Several readers have told me that they ordered a pair for themselves, and I’d love to hear what you think of them.
I can tell you that Sadie is a HUGE fan :) If you want to order a pair for yourself or your child, you can do so through their website.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a few new Halloween songs to write. The two remaining contest winners will be announced tomorrow, along with the songs they inspired. Enjoy your Sunday!
My Grandma
I want to thank you all for the thoughtful comments and emails I’ve received over the last couple of days. As I mentioned in my previous post, my grandma passed away this week. And as difficult as this has been, it really is a blessing that she is at peace now.
My grandma was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease thirteen years ago, just as I was beginning high school. She was only in her early sixties, and had to move into a nursing home a couple years later. As time went on, her memory became worse and so did her ability to recognize me and my family. But the one thing that she never lost was her love of music.
It really was amazing how she came to life when she listened to Frank Sinatra, Neil Diamond, and anything else she’d loved before she got sick. In fact, I was so blown away with the effect music had on her that I began looking into music therapy, even though I was less than a year away from graduating college with a degree in voice performance. After shadowing a music therapist for a couple of months, I decided to graduate early so that I could get started in a music therapy graduate program. My first practicum took place in a nursing home, and I knew I was in the right place from day one.
Even though I had always planned on working with seniors (specifically, those with Alzheimer’s) I ultimately decided that I wanted to specialize in music therapy with children. But I have my grandma to thank for sparking that interest in me. It was so neat being able to share that with her; I will never forget the transformation I saw when I started playing my guitar and singing familiar songs to her. She sang along to every single one of them, and knew all of the words.
I’ve spent a lot of time this week going through old pictures, and listening to my dad and uncle tell stories about my grandma. I’m lucky to have so many memories of her as the person she really was. As sad as I am that my grandma is gone, it’s comforting to know that her disease no longer has a hold on her.
I’m ready for life to get back to normal this week, and that includes picking up where I left off here at Listen & Learn. I will announce the other two winners of the Halloween song topic contest either tomorrow or Monday (a holiday for me!) so check back in soon.
A Personal Note
I was hoping to announce the winners and share the songs that came from their topics this week, but unfortunately, that will be held off for a few days. My grandmother passed away on Tuesday, and I have been spending time with my family and preparing for the funeral and reception, which will happen tomorrow.
My grandma was the reason I decided to become a music therapist, and I am going to write a post dedicated to her in the coming days. So please continue to visit, and I look forward to connecting with you again soon.
Two Pumpkins in a Patch
Happy Monday to all of you lovely people! Today is the last day to enter the Halloween song topic contest, so I am hoping you’ll do so if you haven’t already. And just because I couldn’t wait any longer, I’ve already chosen one of the three winners…so congrats to Emily! This is what she had to say:
Hi Rachel! I stumbled onto your blog and really enjoy it! I think a cute song topic would be the life of a pumpkin in the patch that gets to be a jack-o-lantern! My daughter’s birthday is Halloween, so I didn’t think much of it till she came along. Now I get excited because that’s when my “punkin” came into the world!
I absolutely loved her idea and ended up writing the song shortly after I received her entry. She will be receiving a custom Listen & Learn CD, and you can too! Just leave a comment or send an email describing your idea for a creative Halloween song topic (kid-friendly, of course).
And now, without further ado, here is the song that came of Emily’s great idea. It’s called “Patrick & Polly Pumpkin” and I hope you like it!
Patrick and Polly were a pumpkin pair,
In the patch sitting side by side.
Together they grew from tiny sprouts until
They were big and round and wide.
“I wonder who is going to pick us?”
Patrick and Polly would say.
As they watched the people in the pumpkin patch
And hoped it’d be their turn someday.
Patrick and Polly were the very same size,
With skin of orange so bright,
Alone they sat while all their friends got picked
And taken out of sight.
CHORUS
Patrick and Polly were the last ones left
Two pumpkins in an empty patch.
When along came a boy and a girl
Looking for a perfect match.
Patrick and Polly got picked right up
By the children, laughing with glee,
“We found the best little pumpkins in the world,” they said.
“One for you and one for me.”
“I’m so happy they picked us!”
Patrick and Polly would say.
As they sat on the porch, talking happily.
Side by side on Halloween day.
Several of my students went pumpkin-picking this weekend, which of course made me think of Patrick and Polly, sitting in the patch hoping to be chosen :) Now get busy thinking of your own song topic, and share it with me ASAP!
Finally Friday
I’m taking it easy tonight, because tomorrow morning is the photo shoot for my CD project, Listen & Learn: Music for a Different Kind of Audience. The wonderful Kimberly Smoot has donated her time and talent to the cause, and I’m really looking forward to working with her tomorrow. I might even post a few sneak peeks, so stay tuned :)
What are your plans for this first weekend of October?
Orange You Glad It’s October?
I am! September is nice, but it is that limbo period between summer and fall, where the weather just can’t seem to make up its mind. October is full-on FALL, and there’s no question about that today. I am counting down the minutes before my first class this morning, when I’ll be sharing a few new tunes for the new month with my students.
I’ve also pulled out a few old standbys, which I updated for 2009. One of those is the “October” song; it needed a bit of a facelift since I wrote the original version in 2007. New key, retooled lyrics, and voila!
Today it is October,
The 10th month of the year.
Summertime is over
And autumn weather’s here.
Today it is October
We’ll decorate for fall.
Look at all the pumpkins,
And scarecrows standing tall.
CHORUS
Today it is October
It’s time to celebrate.
We’ll stay home on Columbus Day,
Oh, I can hardly wait!
CHORUS
Today it is October
It’s time for Halloween.
Candy, spooks and costumes
And all those scary things.
CHORUS
Oh, and speaking of Halloween: don’t forget to enter the Halloween song topic contest, going on now through Monday! It’s so easy; all you have to do is come up with a creative idea for a Halloween song, and submit it either via email or the comments section of any post. I’ll choose three winners, who will each receive a custom Listen & Learn CD. You can read more about it here.
Four Little Coins
Recognizing, counting, and using money are functional skills that every child is taught at some point in his or her education. I’ve been impressed so many times over the years by the creative methods that teachers use to teach the concept of money, and I can’t tell you how many different songs I’ve heard about the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter.
So I thought to myself, why not add one more to that heaping collection? The song I’m sharing today focuses on recognizing the four main coins, and also their monetary value. I have yet to use this song in a music therapy session as it is fairly new, but hopefully it is effective. “Four Little Coins” goes like this:
There are four little coins in my pocket,
Each one has its own name.
These four little coins are all money,
but their values are not the same.
A penny is copper in color.
Small, thin and round, you see.
Abraham Lincoln is the face on this coin,
One cent for you and me.
CHORUS
A nickel is silver in color.
Small, fat and round, you see.
Thomas Jefferson is the face on this coin,
Five cents for you and me.
CHORUS
A dime is silver in color.
Small, thin and round, you see.
Franklin D. Roosevelt is the face on this coin,
Ten cents for you and me.
CHORUS
A quarter is silver in color.
Big, thin and round, you see.
George Washington is the face on this coin,
Twenty-five cents for you and me.
There are four little coins in my pocket,
Now you know each one’s name.
What it looks like and how much each one is worth,
Because their values are not the same.
I’ve always found that it works best to use actual coins when teaching money concepts, rather than pictures or fake money. One thing I’ve done in the past is put velcro on the back of each coin, and asked students to match the coin with its correct value, name, or description. I made a book for this purpose during my internship, and still pull it out from time to time. What kinds of activities or songs do you use to teach children about money?