Children’s books about Orchestra Instruments

In the first year of Kindermusik for the Young Child, the students learn about each of the different groups of instruments in the orchestra.  A fun way to enhance this learning is through books that explain or expand on these instruments in ways that relate to children.  I have found the following books to do Just that! 

The Remarkable Farkle McBride – by John Lithgow,  Ill. By C.F. Payne;  Scholastic, 2000.

Farkle is a talented young musician, but just can’t stick to any one instruments.  He finally finds his talent is conducting all of the instruments.  Wonderful story of finding your place in this world.

 

Orchestranimals – by Vlasta van Kampen and Irene C. Eugen;  Scholastic, 1989.

The penguin conductor is anxiously trying to get everyone ready for the upcoming concert.  Introduces all the instruments in an amusing way (and includes a snippet of music melodies for each instrument).

 

Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin – by Lloyd Moss,  Ill. By Margorie Priceman;  Alladin Paperbacks, 1995.

A musical counting book.  The delightful rhymes help clarify what groups of instruments playing together are called; one instrument plays a solo, two is a duet, three is a trio, and so forth, until an entire orchestra is gathered.

Of course, listening to classical music is a perfect way to learn about the instruments

Classics for Children – Great set of classical music  – This recording includes Peter & The Wolf, as well as Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, plus many more – Just BUY this CD set – you and your children will get so much out of it.

 

The Spirit of America is carried on the Wings of Songs

You may think that this subject would be best featured around the 4^th of July.  But I am feeling the spirit of America at work RIGHT NOW, during these primary elections!  It is amazing to watch the power of the people making such a difference in the results simply by showing up to vote in record numbers, and surprising people as to who they are voting for. Our children deserve to feel the Spirit of America, too.  This strong sense of national pride and responsibility can be developed through learning the music that has helped shape our nation’s history. 

Here are some wonderful resources that can help you and your family emerse yourselves into the past, and understand what sacrifices have been made to help our country, and our people have the freedoms that we have.  And how important it is to be involved in helping continue to shape the future of our great country. 

Recommended Books and Recordings: 

• America, the Musical, Part 1 (1776 – 1899) “A Nation’s History Through Music” by Harold P. Gershenson,  illustrated by Michael Chesworth.            The CD features mini-musicals, little short characterized stories that share not only the music, but also the era and importance of each of the songs featured.  The book expands on that knowledge with interesting facts about the songs, and what was going on in history at that time.  TEACHERS will LOVE THIS!  Parents and children will truly enjoy the process of learning these songs, and sing them with understanding and conviction to the spirit of the people at that time!    This is actually a Do-Re-Me & You! Product that is no longer being produced.  It can only be purchased through www.shopkindermusik.com .  Fortunately, it is actually a featured product at this time (Feb. 2008), and the book and CD set can be purchased for just $11.95.  Get it while you can, and make sure to ASK them for the next volume! 
• Party Tyme Karaoke – Americana            Like to sing along with the music?  This Karaoke CD features 16 of some of the most loved, (and most fun to sing) songs from America’s history!            I got mine at Walmart – I’m sure it is not hard to find.  
• Patriotic Music Websites for children: The Library of Congress presents: patriotic melodies;  http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/patriotic/patriotic-home.html  National Institute of Envirnonmental Health Services (NIEHS) Kid’s Pages http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/musicpatriot.htm   
• I was also surprised to find:Creative Folk features a Women’s Suffrage Singalong!http://creativefolk.com/suffrage.html             

1. Oh, Dear What Can the Matter Be?  Women are wanting to vote!           
2.  Keep Woman in Her Sphere
3. My Country tis of Thee  (the adapted version for women’s rights)

Jack Hartmann – Loving to learn through music

 I am a big fan of Jack Hartmann!  He uses a variety of styles in his music, and has something for everyone.  Children find it very fun to watch this guy delve into hip-hop, rock, blues, etc., and end up having fun learning their multiplication tables, or test taking skills.  For the little ones, there are songs about taking turns and being friends. 

LOOK on his website for more information:  www.jackhartmann.com 

On the website, LISTEN & WATCH takes to you to some of his songs on little video clips.  Make sure to catch the BOP STOP!

WATCH the CHILDREN’S CONCERT section for one of his concerts to come nearby.  You have to register EARLY, as most of his shows are SOLD OUT about a month in advance.  Download his Registration Form, or call 1-888-219-2646 to purchase a ticket.  The group discount is 1 free ticket for every 20 that is purchased.  He is based out of Tampa, so most of his concerts are in Central Florida.

Check out his CD Recordings under PRODUCTS, and you will be AMAZED at the focus of each of the 22 CDs.  There are entire albums dedicated to MATH or READING, or PEACE.

MY favorite is It Starts in the Heart, which he completed in coordination with Becky Bailey!  This album is all about connections between yourself and other people!

 

So, I hope you get to connect with Jack Hartmann sometime soon, and enjoy a bit of musical learning – in such a FUN WAY!

Froggy Fun

Books, chants, songs, and stories that include songs from Frogs

Ga-goon – I learned this song aurally from a neighbor friend when James was young.  I have not yet found a website that allows you to hear the melody of the song.  But children have a great time making the “Ga-goon” from the back of their throat, and the final blinks

 

Ga-goon went the little green frog one day.

Ga-goon went the little green frog.

Ga-goon went the little green frog one day.

And his eyes went blink, blink, blink.

 “Peter’s Song” book by Carol P. Saul

A little pig makes up a new song, and can’t find anyone to share it with, until he meets a frog who likes to sing and make up songs too.   The text and the illustrations are absolutely magical, and encourage children to be themselves, and to find friends who appreciate them for who they are.  Frank is the friend he meets, and has a song of his own that he made up.

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“The Frog Prince” Grimm’s Fairy Tale – found in a variety of sources

A classic tale of a prince turned into a frog, but saved by the kiss of a young princess.

Frog Kiss   by Cindy Bousman (part of the Kindermusik Creative Team)

Frog kiss, frog kiss, such a special thing.For when you kiss a froggy’s noseThe frog will start to sing.Ribbit, ribbit, Croak, croak, Kou-ack-ack-ack.

Take turns kissing each other’s nose, and start to sing a froggy song of your own.

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Tiddilick – is an aboriginal folk tale from Australia about a huge frog who drinks all the water in the world, and how the other animals are able to get the water back.

The story of Tiddalick was inspired by an Australian Aboriginal dreamtime legend.  Dreamtime stories originated from the Aboriginal people’s tradition of the Dreaming, their rules for living.  Tiddalik reminds people of the importance of water conservation.

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SET UP for this activity by determining how to make a BIG FROGGY SOUND.  It could be using the voice to make a variety of froggy sounds.  OR homemade instruments can be used by taking an empty open water bottle, and rubbing a pencil up and down the sides to make a Ribbit, or a Croak sound.  The following version was adapted by Ms. Debbie to be a bit shorter, and allow the children to make a BIG FROGGY SOUND at regular intervals during the storytelling.  I hope you enjoy it.  (Just copy the story and paste to a Word document, so you can print it out.)

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“Tiddalik was the largest frog in the world and he make a big frog sound.  One day he woke up and he was soooo thirsty.  He started to drink the water and he drank and drank and drank until he drank up all the water in the whole world!  Then he made a big frog sound.The animals were very upset that there was no water.  They were thirsty and there was nothing to drink. 

All the animals gathered together.  They decided that if they could make Tiddalik laugh all the water inside of him would come out of his mouth and they would have water to drink.  The kookaburra bird flapped his wings and told the funniest story.  Did Tiddalik laugh? No.  He just made a big frog sound.The kangaroo jumped very very high. Did Tiddalik laugh? No.  He just made a big frog sound.The lizard did a silly walk and even made his stomach stick out. Did Tiddalik laugh? No.  He just made a big frog sound.

Finally, the eel, who looks a lot like a big fat worm, slithered up.  He began to dance on the ground, slowly at first then faster and faster, and he wriggled and twisted and looked so funny that Tiddalik started with a little giggle, then it grew into a chuckle.  Finally, he burst out laughing with the biggest frog laugh that you have ever heard.

Tiddalick laughed so hard that all the water gushed out of his mouth and there was water again for everyone to drink.  Everyone was happy, especially the eel.

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I found a great website, http://www.suetrainor.com/gamemain.html , by Sue Trainor, where you can hear a great storyteller re-tell the Tiddilick story, adding sound effects, including the digideroo in the background, and a song at the end.  She also includes a game for the children to play, helping Tiddilick catch flies, while they are listening to the story.

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Five Frogs – by Anna Moo

The album “Anna Moo Crackers” also has Alligator Stomp.  You can HEAR Anna Moo sing these songs on her website http://www.annamoo.com/hear_anna_moo_sing.htm.  But I HIGHLY recommend buying the “Crackers” album, and GO SEE HER IN CONCERT, if you ever have the chance.) 

Five frogs hoppin’ on a log,          One jumped off into the bog,         

And a big alligator came swimmin’ along,       He went CHOMP, mmm-mm, and he’s gone.

• Use hand motions and show # with fingers.

•  Use five stuffed toys to hop then disappear.

• Use five green M&Ms, & sing till their gone.

• Talk more about what frogs & alligators eat.

• Find a place to eat fried frog’s legs.  “He went CHOMP, mmm-hmm, and he’s gone.”

Other Hopp-ening ideas: (or up-LEAP-ting ideas J) 

• Hop (or leap) from the squatting position 

• Have a hopping race to a finish line 

• Play hopping tag 

• Hop to go brush teeth 

• Place objects on the floor and see how many you can hop over in one hop; -in one leap; –in a row without falling; -stacked high . . . 

• Place carpet pieces, or hoops, on the floor and hop on top or in them, not touching the floor

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What is the difference between a hop & a leap?“    A leap is an exaggerated run.  The upward and forward direction is increased, the suspension in the air is longer, the knee and ankle action is increased on take-off and landing.”  – Creative Dance for All Ages by Anne Green Gilbert

 

Have a Hopping Good Time !!!

Frog and Bird Sounds

It is utterly amazing to me, when I play an animal sound in the Kindermusik class, how all the children are FASCINATED, and listen so intently.  It is fun to start a bit of fun vocal play based on the songs we hear.  Recently, in the Our Time program, we have focused on the sounds of frogs, recognizing that frogs from different places can make such different sounds.  Several of the songs on the CD are folk songs from other countries that use “their” frog sounds, like the lullaby “Co-qui” (Mexico);  “Ku-ack-ack-ack” (Sweden), and even this cool frog saying Kvaak (Finland).

I have found a website. by Lang Elliott, NatureSound Studio , that shows the pictures of different frogs, and plays the sound they make, as well as a short description that often helps us know how to replicate the sounds.  It is fun to take a few moments with your child, and check out http://www.naturesound.com/frogs/frogs.html – have them choose a frog, listen intently to their sound, then try to imitate the sounds. 

Ribbit, Ribbit, CROAK, Coqui, Ku-ack-ack-ack-ack, kvaak, etc.

In the Imagine That! program, as well as the Kindermusik for the Young Child program, the students have been listening to bird sounds, matching them with the pictures, and imitating their sounds.  http://www.naturesound.com/birds/birds.html is a different section of the same website that has the pictures, comments, and sounds of different song birds.

Cheerio, Cuckoo, Chick-a-dee-dee-dee, tweet tweet tweedle-eedle-eet…

Lang Elliot also has produced CDs you can purchase that will help you and your children recognize specific species of birds, or frogs, by their sound.  EXCELLENT listening discrimination activities for the older students!

This type of listening and vocal play really helps them to be more aware of their environment, and plays a crucial part of their abilities as musical people to really hear and replicate the sounds they hear – both vocally and on instruments.  

Brain Smart information:  This type of listening and imitation also accesses the frontal lobe sections of the brain which makes it easier for them to hear and respond to the sounds around them. 

It can be very useful in a situation where they a child is very upset (when they are operating in the “survival” centers of the brain).  Do your best to observe any type of natural sounds around them (including animal, plants, or even people or vehicles), and ask them if they can hear that sound and help you determine what is making that sound.   It can jumpstart the process of bringing thoughts to the proper parts of the brain that allow them to think and reason.  Be sure to support that processing long enough to help them calm down before trying to solve whatever problem might have caused the upset.

Locomotor Motion Sign Language

Here we go a-walking down the street,

down the street,

down the street

Here we go a-walking down the street,

La – la – la – la – la 

Locomotor motion is how a body moves through space.  

Walk –         Both hands flat, palms to floor, alternating up / down

Stop –          Rt. Hand flat, slap perpendicular into Lt flat palm  

Look –         Rt. Hand first two fingers point to eyes, then turn out  

Listen –      Rt. Hand thumb & first finger in L shape, put to Rt ear

Tip Toe –   Both pointer fingers pointing down, alternate up & down

Jump –        Rt hand first two fingers jumping in palm of Lt. hand

Dance –      Rt hand first 2 fingers swishing across palm of Lt. hand

Butterfly Shirts

It’s so much FUN to be a butterfly.  You may have seen me in my silk Batik’d Butterfly shirt through the last weeks of October.  It is so flowing and fun to wear.  Many of you have asked how to find them, so here it is:  www.earthharmony.com .  I met the lady who designed these at a music festival a few years ago, and she does fabulous work with material. 

When you get on her website, go to the search box in the top right, and type in “butterfly”, and it will take you to all of the beautiful designs she has.  Be aware, there are only two sizes, small (for children and petite women), and large (I had the large on – the sleeves were much longer which I liked for me).  When I checked, they were all sold out of the smaller size.   

Butterfly, flutter by, flutter by up in the sky !

Classical Kids Series

The Children’s Group offers an amazing array of musical products for children.

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My favorite sets are the Classical Kids series, which includes an excellent set of recordings available that introduce children to composers and their music through the telling of very creative stories that include the composer as a character, and is set in the time that they were alive and composing or conducting. 

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In the Kindermusik for the Young Child program we study several composers, and there is a Classical Kids recording that pertains to several of them.

Their first recording is called Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage.   In the first semester of YC, we study Mozart’s Opera, The Magic Flute.  On the Classical Kids recording, the viewpoint of the story is about these children that are meant to take part in his opera, and they learn much about Mozart in the process. 

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In Sem. 2 of Young Child, we study Beethoven.  The Classical Kids version of “Beethoven Lives Upstairs” comes in both a CD recording and a DVD movie.   This scenario takes place in Beethoven’s older years, after he has become deaf.  The viewpoint of the story is about a boy who mother rents the upstairs of their house to Beethoven.

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“Mr. Bach Comes to Call” also comes as a CD recording and a DVD movie. 

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Each tape is fascinating, and includes a wonderful variety of the music written by that composer – You’ll want to go on a road trip, just so you can focus on listening to the entire thing without interruption.  They are available to check out in the local libraries, or you can find out more online at www.childrensgroup.com.   

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Make sure you make the opportunity to do this at some point in time – it is well worth it.  I have about 7 in the series.  My son, James, and I love to listen again and again.  Our favorite actually features a lot of Renaissance Music in its story – “The Song of the Unicorn”.   This was one of the CDs I listened to at home while I was going through early labor with Cora – it helped focus my mind on something else.

Rockin’ Rhythms for Big Kids

Got Rhythm?   We do.  Several Do-Re-Me & You ! sets are designed for children around 6 and up (sometimes younger), to have fun while developing steady beat and complex rhythm skills.   These sets share, in a new way, what kids have been doing for centuries, hand-clapping activities, jumping rope, and tapping out a beat on anything they can find.   Each set comes with a DVD featuring children demonstrating these activities, from simple to complex, then breaking each activity down so it is easy to learn.   You’ll all be entranced, intrigued, and challenged to have fun moving to the beat!  What’s more, these activities are so much fun, children will be sharing them with others and making friends.

Get Up and Stomp!   – This is the newest set available and takes its inspiration from the musical group – STOMP !    Learn how to make instruments, create rhythms and dance routines using everyday objects, ie. pushing brooms, bouncing basketballs, and shaking macaroni boxes.  High quality wooden drum sticks and sand blocks are included.

 Jump to the Beat !   – This is jump roping fun at it’s best, and the kit has won several awards.  The DVD also includes the precision jump roping team, the Indy Air Bears, demonstrating some creative and challenging routines – WOW!  This kit comes with two Indy Air Bear endorsed ropes for single jumping or double dutch.  This set also comes with a CD, where you’ll find the techo style of music as accompaniments to these classic songs – which appeals greatly to this age child. Awards:  iParenting Media Winner, Dr. Toy Smart Toy Award, and The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval.

It’s All in the Rhythm !   – This is the classic set from DRMY that has won several awards.  These classic hand-clapping rhymes and games are so engaging, children don’t realize they are developing good eye-hand coordination and sense of rhythm.  From simple routines like “Miss Mary Mack” to the complex “Shimmy Shimmy CoCo Pop”, and games that work their memory, like “Concentration”, this set has all a kid needs to get all their friends hand jiving.  It also includes a CD with all the songs, and a hand shaped flip card chart that includes the words of all the songs, and can be attached to a backpack or purse.  Awards:  National Parenting Publications Honors, iParenting Media Winner, and Teachers’ Choice Award.

I LOVE these sets, and highly recommend them as gifts, and for the whole family to enjoy doing together.  My 11 year old son has really enjoyed the first two sets and we are just starting to explore the new one.  Find out more about the DRMY products on the previous entry marked DRMY Introduction, or see these sets online at www.drmy.com . So get ready to stomp, jump, and clap your way to a fun and healthy day!