Here are Ten Favorite Moments in my Music/Literacy Life, 2014. But actually, I couldn’t stop at 10, so there are 12! 1. The Condon School Grade 1 concert in June. At an annual concert at this large elementary school in South Boston, we share the songs the students write with…
2014 was another super year for my work singing with kids and focusing on early literacy learning. Among the highlights were my new songs for learning about rhyming words: Animal Rhymes and Halloween Rhymes. I hope these songs will soon become part of the music/literacy recordings that I sell through…
Here’s a fun song for early winter, when small animals are out gathering their provisions. I use a stuffed squirrel named “Chipper,” and explain that Chipper needs to hide his store of nuts so he’ll know where they are all winter long. This interactive song is also fun for counting…
Here are two rhyming songs that I’ve recently shared in the classroom. I pair a classic nursery song and book, “Oh, A-Hunting We Will Go,” with a song I wrote, “Animal Rhyming Words.” This video shows how I work with the first song. I recommend getting John Langstaff’s book,”Oh, A-Hunting…
Thanksgiving is just a week away. How about a song about pie? For the past couple of years, I’ve enjoyed a song I learned from my pal Tina Stone in The Children’s Music Network. It engenders a special community spirit in many classrooms. Scroll down for a link to a…
I’m writing today to ask you to consider contributing to an organization that’s making a difference every day in the lives of children. It’s probably made a difference in the lives of children you know. I’m talking about The Children’s Music Network. This year, I completed seven years of service…
It’s November! Time to sing about turkey and more. Today, I feature a few songs that I’ve learned from my colleagues. The first is an all-time fave by my Chicago-based pal, “Miss Carole” Stephens. It’s a turkey dance that kids and teachers love. Some love it so much they ask…
I had a chance to present my first music and literacy workshop for children’s librarians yesterday and it was a lot of fun! One thing we discussed was pairing books with songs. I love including books and references to books in my music & literacy sessions with young children. I’ve…
The traditional song “Today is Monday” has become very popular, thanks in part to Eric Carle’s engaging book by the same name, which has a new food for each day of the week. You can help children learn initial consonant sounds by changing the song to name a food that…
As our next governor, you could make Massachusetts a leader in early education, as we already are in other aspects of education. The problem is, it’s not going to be simple, or cheap. That might be why you’ve backed off giving universal Pre-K full support. This is a mistake. The…
