Warming Up and Chilling Out

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

Westin Kierland Hotel, Scottsdale, AZ

Every year, my husband and I look forward to our April vacation.  In years past, we’ve gone to Palm Springs, Hilton Head, San Diego, San Antonio, and this year…Scottsdale (that’s our hotel, the Westin Kierland, pictured above).  What do all five of those destinations have in common?  They’re all much warmer than where we’re coming from.

Even though it’s April, it’s still not very spring-like in central Illinois.  Seriously, temperatures in the 50s and low 60s…ugh.  But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, which is why I’m optimistically posting this song today:

Well it’s not too cold and it’s not too hot,
It’s warm, it’s warm.
Don’t need a coat, won’t sweat a lot,
It’s warm, it’s warm, it’s warm.

It’s warm outside, right in between
Spring is here, the trees are green
And so today we’ll play outside
Hop on our bikes, and take a ride
It’s warm, it’s warm, it’s warm.

Well it’s not too cold and it’s not too hot,
It’s warm, it’s warm.
Don’t need a coat, won’t sweat a lot,
It’s warm, it’s warm, it’s
Warm, not hot, not cold, just right.
Enjoy the day, it’s shining bright.
It’s warm, it’s warm, it’s warm.

Whether or not it actually starts to warm up here in the Midwest, I’m not worried about the temperatures where we’re headed tomorrow.  Hello, 80 degrees and sunshine!  Perfect weather for chilling out in the lazy river at our hotel (how cool is that?!) and exploring Scottsdale.

I most definitely won’t be spending much time on the computer while I’m away, but not to worry…I have blog posts ready and waiting to be posted.  After all, vacation is no excuse to slack on my 365 in 2011 goal!

Is it warming up yet where you are?

It’s Time for Us to Go, Oh-Oh-Oh!

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Church Mice Photos

The end of a month-long Church Mice session is always a little bittersweet.  On one hand, it’s nice to have Sunday afternoons to myself again until the next session begins; on the other hand, I miss the fun times with my sweet kiddos.  I mean, just look at those faces!

My helpful husband came to our last class of the winter session earlier this month and caught some of the action.  (You can see all 60+ pictures here.)  One of the best parts is the hugs and thank you’s I get after we’ve sung the Church Mice goodbye song:

It’s time for us to go, oh, oh, oh,
Church Mice is over for today.
It’s time for us to go, oh, oh, oh,
So tell me, what do we say?

Goodbye, goodbye,
Farewell, and so long.
Goodbye, goodbye,
This is the goodbye song.

I wish that we could stay, hey, hey, hey,
But I’m afraid our time is through.
I wish that we could stay, hey, hey, hey,
But I have to say goodbye to you.

Goodbye, goodbye,
Farewell, and so long.
Goodbye, goodbye,
This is the goodbye song.

Goodbye, _________,
Goodbye, _________,
Goodbye, everybody.

Listen & Learn vets may recognize this song as a repurposing of the goodbye song I wrote for my students at The Hope Institute a couple years ago.  That’s one of the great things about my different jobs: there’s lots of overlap :)

I’m already gearing up for the spring session of Church Mice, which begins the first Sunday in May.  But until then, I’m going to enjoy my free Sunday afternoons!

Sunday Singalong: Boogie Baby

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This song was a staple right out of internship, when my repertoire was still small and I hadn’t yet thrown myself into heavy-duty songwriting.  So my students heard it a LOT that first year, and it climbed to the top of the “hits list” right away.

But as my repertoire grew and most of the songs I used in music therapy sessions were my own, “Boogie Baby” fell by the wayside.  In fact, during one class’s Total Request Live edition of music therapy, we all racked our brains but for the life of us, could not think of the song everyone used to love so much.

They finally did think of it, and then the following week, another class made a list of “Rachel’s Hits” for a CD to play in the classroom.  Sure enough, “Boogie Baby” was on that list!  Since it came up twice in such a short time span, I figured it was time to feature the song in a video.

Are you familiar with this fun little tune?  If so, maybe you can clue me in on its origins, since I heard it for the first (and last) time from my internship supervisor.  I think it will be making an appearance in some of my upcoming sessions!

Mammals In the Water (A Custom Song)

by | Listen & Learn Music, Uncategorized

First came The Texas Pledge song, then Help Me, Rhombus, followed by A-Z (What You Mean to Me).  My #1 customer when it comes to custom songs is Rene, and she was back this month in need of a song that combined info about water mammals with specific speech sounds.  Thus, “Mammals in the Water” came to be.

Rene chose to highlight manatees, narwhals, walruses, and seals in this particular song, and I had a lot of fun doing the research necessary to write the verses about each creature.  The rhyming was a little tricky, but both Rene and I are happy with the results…and hopefully her pre-kindergarten students will be, too!

Ooh, mammals – they’re everywhere.
You and I are mammals, we have hair and breathe air.
So are lots of animals you’d find at the zoo,
And even some that live in the water, too!

MAH, MAH, MAH…MANATEES!
They live in the water and they swim so slow,
They’re gray in color and eat plants, you know.
Manatees are gentle even though they’re really big,
With their flippers and their tail and snout (like a pig).
Mah, mah, mah.

CHORUS

NAH, NAH, NAH…NARWHALS!
They travel through the sea; their long tusk leads the way,
They eat fish and shrimp and squid all day.
Narwhals are a special kind of whale,
They swim in groups and their bodies are pale.
Nah, nah, nah.

CHORUS

WAH, WAH, WAH…WALRUSES!
They live in the Arctic, on the ice so cold,
But their blubber on their body keeps them warm, I’m told.
Walruses have whiskers and tusks so long,
Their bodies are brown and huge and strong.
Wah, wah, wah.

CHORUS

SAH, SAH, SAH…SEALS!
They live both on land and in the sea,
And their whiskers help them find lots of fish to eat.
Seals can be black, or gray, or brown,
And they make a funny grunting sound.
Sah, sah, sah.

Ooh, mammals – they’re everywhere.
Just like us, these animals have hair and breathe air.
But they don’t live in a house or at the zoo,
Mammals live in the water, too!

Sunday Singalong: Wave Goodbye to Winter

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It’s here!  It’s here!  Hellooooo, SPRING!  My students and I have been singing Wave Goodbye to Winter all month long in anticipation of the new season, and though I had planned to feature this song in last week’s video, laryngitis got in the way.

As you can tell by listening, the song was written to be sung before spring actually begins.  But I’ll continue singing it for the rest of March with just two minor lyric changes:

Sing because spring is finally here.
Sing because the sky is blue and clear.
Sing with the birds, up in the tree,
Sing and clap your hands with me.

When I started writing this song last year, I didn’t intend for it to be a movement song.  But it’s hard not to move and dance around when you’re singing about something as happy as waving goodbye to winter…am I right?