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!
Singalong & So Long (Until 2011)
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.
What are your plans for Christmas vacation?
Sunday Singalong: Red & Green
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!
Friday Fave: The Season of Giving
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!
Singable Stories for Snowy Days
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.
There was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow falls into the most-requested series of my personal collection (my other favorite “old lady” stories can be found here and here).
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?
10 Quick Tips for Caroling With Kids
I’m headed out the door in a few minutes to go caroling at a local nursing home with a group of my students from the Hope Institute. But before I do that, I thought I’d share a few tried and true tips for successful experiences when caroling with children.
- Know your audience (and the students who will be doing the caroling). This will help you decide whether or not it is appropriate to include sacred songs, or if it’s best to stick with secular.
- Choose songs (just about) everyone knows. Save “The Holly & the Ivy”, “In the Bleak Midwinter”, and the like for more grown-up singalongs.
- Have lyrics to pass out. Just because you’re singing familiar songs doesn’t mean that everyone (carolers included) knows the words.
- One verse is plenty, especially if the children are younger and singing from memory.
- Keep the tempo bright. You’ll hold the attention of both your singers and listeners better that way.
- Use props. Santa Claus hats, jingle bells, and other instruments are both visually and aurally stimulating.
- But don’t go overboard. If you’re caroling in a nursing home as I will be today, don’t bring in cymbals and other over-the-top noisemakers. Be mindful of the environment.
- Make it clear that you want audience participation (if that’s the case, which is usually true!).
- Don’t wear out your welcome. Know in advance how long your group is expected to sing, or if it’s a surprise visit, keep it at 5-10 minutes (if that). Again, knowing your audience and surroundings is key.
- HAVE FUN! Your singing will be appreciated even if there are forgotten lyrics, out-of-tune moments, etc.
Are you doing any caroling this holiday season? And do you have tips to add to this list? If so, don’t keep them to yourself! Please share them in the comments. In the meantime, I need to dash through the snow over to the nursing home for my own caroling fun!
Sydney the Snowman’s Nose
Poor Sydney. All he wants in life is a new nose, but for now he’s stuck with this old carrot (like so many of his snowman friends). Cute song idea, right? But don’t give me any of the credit…that goes to my friend Brian, who suggested this topic on my Facebook page.
When I first started writing this song, I had the intention of letting Sydney find the new nose for which he was searching. But then it hit me that I had an opportunity for a lesson in self-esteem (though I kept it subtle). Notice the nods to “Frosty the Snowman” — I just couldn’t resist!
Sydney the snowman had one wish, just one,
And it didn’t have anything to do
With the bright, hot sun.
His wish was for a brand new nose,
Made of anything but carrots,
Which he thought were gross.
Oh, Sydney searched high and low,
He even asked people that he didn’t know,
If they could help fill in the space,
In the middle of his face.
Sniffity-sniff-sniff, sniffity-sniff-sniff,
Watch as Sydney goes,
Over the hills and around the town
In search of a different nose.
Sydney the snowman liked most things, it’s true.
Candy canes and lollipops
And pretzels and bananas, too.
But the vegetable he did despise,
Unfortunately, was the perfect size.
Oh, Sydney couldn’t think of anything less cute
Than a nose made out of an old orange root,
And then a stranger who was kind,
Gave a compliment that changed his mind.
What a beautiful snowman face have you,
With a nose so bright and button eyes so blue.
I can tell you were made with love,
And that’s something to be proud of.
Sniffity-sniff-sniff, sniffity-sniff-sniff,
Watch as Sydney goes,
Over the hills and around the town
Proudly showing off his carrot nose.
Big props to Brian for coming up with such a clever song topic! I hope I did it justice. I received quite a few additional ideas as a result of my call for song topics, so I’m trying to decide which to tackle next. Do you have any last-minute holiday song topic suggestions? Let me know in the comments!
Sunday Singalong: The Other Eight Reindeer
“The Other Eight Reindeer” (here’s the new recording) is a play on the old “Rudolph” song we all know and love, as you will hear in the first few bars. In fact, when people hear it for the first time, they are thrown for a loop when they realize it’s actually not the familiar song. Below the video, I’ll explain a bit more about how I use this song with my students.
This song works best in a group setting, especially if there are at least 8 or 9 children to “act out” each reindeer. I wrote a post last December describing in detail how I use props and movement to turn the song into an interactive experience; rather than repeat myself here, I’ll point you to that post (complete with pictures).
Any holiday-related song suggestions for next week’s “Sunday Singalong” video? Remember, if I choose yours, you get a free Listen & Learn album download. Just leave a comment here or share on Facebook or Twitter.
8 Christmas Albums I Think You’ll Dig
There are few things I enjoy more than a good Christmas album during the holidays. I’m one of those people that feels it is completely appropriate to break them out at the beginning of November, and I’m always reluctant to remove my Christmas playlist from my iPod come January.
When it comes to holiday music, I don’t discriminate: I’m happy just to listen to the Christmas radio station. But of course I do have my favorites, which I’m so excited to share with you today.
So on this December 8th, here are my 8 favorite Christmas albums…which I hope you’ll like just as much as I do. I’ve ordered them according to how long I’ve been listening to them (starting just as recently as last month) and linked each to the Amazon mp3 album download.
- Glee: The Christmas Album I’m a total Gleek, so when I got wind of this album in November, I immediately pre-ordered it. The songs are super-fun, especially since all of these familiar tunes have been given the unique Glee treatment. My favorite is “Deck the Rooftop” — a mash-up of “Deck the Halls” and “Up on a Housetop”.
- Wilson Phillips: Christmas in Harmony If you grew up listening to this female trio back in the early 90s like I did, you should immediately download this album. Their sound is still gorgeous 20 years later, especially on Christmas songs like “Little Drummer Boy”.
- Martina McBride: White Christmas Even if you aren’t a fan of country music, it’s hard not to be enamored with Martina’s voice. Out of the 16 traditional tunes on this albums, I could listen to her versions of “White Christmas” and “O Holy Night” all day long.
- James Taylor: At Christmas There’s not a James Taylor song I don’t love. But this is by far my favorite album of his, and it still would be even if his poignant rendition of “In the Bleak Midwinter” was the only song on it.
- Kristen Chenoweth: A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas Kristen’s voice definitely ranks up their amongst my favorite ever — it’s incredibly versatile. A couple of the songs are originals, while others (like “Sing”) are familiar and happy surprises.
- Bette Midler: Cool Yule For me, this is the quintessential “fun” Christmas album. I started to list a few of my favorite tracks just now, but then I realized I would be listing nearly all of them. So just take my word for it and check this one out, starting with the title song.
- Christmas With the Rat Pack I grew up listening to the Rat Pack, thanks to my dad. Does it get any better than Frank, Dean and Sammy singing holiday songs like “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and “Marshmallow World” in their usual charming ways? The best part about this album is that there are 21 tracks (and not a bad one in the bunch).
- The Carpenters: Christmas Portrait It’s not Christmas for me until I’ve heard Karen Carpenter sing “The Christmas Waltz” and “Merry Christmas, Darling”. This has been a staple in my CD player (and iPod now, of course) since I was a child, and is still the most-played Christmas album I own.
There are many more Christmas albums in my rotation, but if I was stranded on the North Pole (or maybe just at the airport) and could only take 8 with me, these would be it. I hope I’ve introduced you to some potential new favorites! Oh, and let’s keep this list going…which Christmas albums do YOU dig?
Guess What Makes Great Reindeer Hooves?
Castanets! I realized this on Friday as I was planning the music activities for my church’s annual Breakfast With Santa event, and then I wondered how I hadn’t thought of it earlier. Rhythm sticks have always been my go-to instrument for reindeer hooves, but not anymore.
There are lots of castanets out there to choose from, but my personal favorites are these plastic beauties from Musician’s Friend. At 99 cents, they’re easily replaceable and sound great (if a little loud). Mine have held up extremely well; my students are not easy on instruments, but I haven’t had one castanet casualty yet!
Last year’s Breakfast at Santa music activities were fun (read about them here), but the castanets made this year’s even better. I always stick with a reindeer theme, so we sang classics like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Up on the Housetop” along with Listen & Learn originals, like Do You Hear the Reindeer? and The Other Eight Reindeer.
Have you experimented with holiday sound effects? Maybe you have an even better suggestion for reindeer hooves…if so, please do tell. There are plenty more school days left to fill before holiday break begins!
Friday Fave: Shopping for My Studio
On this day one week ago, I set out at 4 a.m. in search of the perfect Christmas gifts for my friends and family. After 8 straight hours of shopping, I returned home with a trunkful of goodies…for my home studio.
Okay, so I did buy a few gifts, but picking out useful things for my favorite space was much easier :) I just couldn’t resist all the Black Friday deals I came across, not to mention the Cyber Monday deals online. Here’s the run-down on my discounted haul:
- Multi-Color Storage Cart: I’ve had my eye on this for awhile, as it’s perfect for storing all of the forms and worksheets I use with my students. Luckily, it was one of the doorbusters at Shopko on Friday morning and I got 60% off.
- Blank CD-Rs: This might sound like a silly thing to be excited about, but considering how many blank CD-Rs I go through each week, I couldn’t pass up packs of 100 for ten bucks.
- Flip UltraHD Video Camera: I’ve been using this particular video camera for almost a year to record all of my Sunday Singalong videos, courtesy of my mom. I gave it to her as a gift last Christmas, but loved it so much that I’ve been “borrowing” it ever since. The Flip was on super-sale, so I decided it was time to invest in one for myself and give my mom’s back.
Commotion in the Ocean: I’m always on the lookout for good singable stories, especially when they are on sale. Amazon is my go-to place for new children’s books, and I found this one on sale (along with a few others) during Cyber Monday.- Flip Video Tripod: I’ve been rigging up my own tripods all year, but when I came across this legitimate one for cheap, I added it to my online shopping basket.
- HP Ink Combo Pack: Another seemingly boring purchase that was actually quite exciting to me! I go through a lot of ink printing visual aides and other resources for my students, and it definitely adds up. So anytime I can get it for less, I take advantage of that opportunity.
There were a few other items for my studio that made their way into my cart (both in the stores and online), but these were the ones that made me most happy. Did you buy anything work-related over the Thanksgiving holiday? If so, please spill!