Preschool Songs Live!

Tonight Chessy's best buddy and her family came over for dinner.  While they were here we recorded some of our preschool songs.  Most of the songs are the same ones from last week, but now they are cuter and you can sing along even if you don't read music.

Preschool Songs for October

Chesson is participating in a little preschool group, so each week I do a 15 minute music time with the kids.
Some of the moms were asking about the songs we are learning, so it seemed like a good idea to post the songs here.
So, here are most of the songs we will be singing in October.  These are also the songs we will be singing at the retirement home we are visiting the last week of October.  There will probably be more, but I thought it would be better to post some now, than not at all.  Click on the music to see a larger image.

2. She lived down by the old churchyard...

3. One night she thought she'd take a walk...

4. She walked down by the old graveyard...

5. She saw some bones a-laying around...

6. She went to the closet to get a broom...

7. She opened the door and "BOO!"

2. Now on that tree...

There was a branch...

The prettiest little branch...

That you ever did see...

The branch was on the tree

And the tree was in the hole

And the hole was in the ground,

And the green grass grew...

3. Now on that branch... There was a nest...

4. Now on that nest... There was an egg...

5. Now on that egg... There was a bird...

6. Now on that bird... There was a wing...

7. Now on that wind... There was a bug...

8. Now on that but... There was a germ...

9. Now on that germ... There was a smile...

Two Little Blackbirds

Two little blackbirds sitting on a hill.

One named Jack the other named Jill.

Fly away Jack, fly away Jill.

Come back Jack, come back Jill.

Over in the Meadow

While we were out west this summer we attended a family reunion for my mother's family.  There were about 100 people there, so although we had a nice big lodge, some of us were sleeping in tents.  (It's easier to put the kids to bed that way anyhow.)  So I was singing to my kids, trying to get them to calm down enough to go to sleep, in spite of the loud teenagers on the balcony, when my cousin, Jen, walked by and heard the song we were singing.  She didn't know it and asked about it.

I've been meaning to record it to post here, but haven't done it yet, so instead of putting off this post for yet another week I will post the lyrics and sheet music and hopefully get back to the recording later.

I have heard several different version of Over in the Meadow.  I like this one the best.  It can be found in storybook form by John Langstaff and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky.  I think the words lay nicely.  There is also a beautiful version illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats, but the words are a little different.  


We sing it at bed time, at preschool (it's a counting song), in the car, etc.  It was Chesson's favorite song for a while.  She always insisted on the number three that we put up middle finger, ring finger, and pinky.  We discovered many different ways to make three fingers. (There are a lot, try it.)

So, Jen, here's Over in the the Meadow, just for you.

Over in the meadow in the sand in the sun, 

Lived an  old mother turtle and her little turtle one. 

"Dig," said the mother.   "I dig," said the one;

So he dug and was glad in the sand in the sun. 

Over in the meadow where the tall grasses grew,

Lived an old mother fox and her little foxes two. 

"Run," said the mother.  "We run," said the two;

So they ran and were glad where the tall grasses grew.

Over in the meadow in a nest in the tree, 

Lived an old mother robin and here little birdies three.

"Sing," said the mother.  "We sing," said the three;

 So they sang and were glad in the nest in the tree. 

Over in the meadow in a tall sycamore, 

Lived an old mother chipmunk and her little chipmunks four.

"Play," said the mother.  "We play," said the four;

 So they played and were glad in that tall sycamore.

Over in the meadow in a new little hive, 

Lived an old mother bee and her honeybees five. 

"Buzz," said the mother.  "We buzz," said the five;

So they buzzed and were glad in their new beehive. 

Over in the meadow in a dam built of sticks, 

Lived an old mother beaver and her little beavers six. 

"Build," said the mother.  "We build," said the six;

So they built and were glad in the dam built of sticks. 

Over in the meadow where the green wet bog, 

Lived an old mother froggie and her seven pollywogs. 

"Swim," said the mother.  "We swim," said the ‘wogs;

So they swam and were glad in the green wet bog.

Over in the meadow as the day grew late,

Lived an old mother owl and her little owls eight. 

"Wink," said the mother,  "We wink," said the eight;

So they winked and were glad as the day grew late.

Over in the meadow in a web on the pine, 

Lived an old mother spider and her little spiders nine. 

"Spin," said the mother.  "We spin," said the nine;

So they spun and were glad in their web on the pine.

Over in the meadow in a warm little den, 

Lived an old mother rabbit and her little rabbits ten. 

"Hop," said the mother.  "We hop," said the ten;

So they hopped and were glad in their warm little den.

Listening to music can help you loose weight

Well, ok that might be a bit of a stretch, but here's the deal.
Today at book club we were discussing the book, Mindless Eating, by Brian Wansink.  The premise of the book is that we have no idea how much we are eating and we often eat for many other reasons besides hunger.
One point that came up in our discussion was that as caregivers, aka moms, we often feel undernourished emotionally and we try to make up for that deficit with food.  When we feel down, or tired, or lonely, etc. we reach for something that will give us a little feel good moment and often the most convenient thing available is a cookie.  Hmmm.
Our conclusion was that what we really need are some quick and easy pick-me-up ideas that will actually nourish us for the long run, both physically and emotionally.  So we scrounged up a paper and pencil and had a little brainstorm.
One of the first ideas we came up with, right after hand cream, foot cream, and eye cream, was listening to positive music.
This link will take you to one of my favorite feel good songs.  Listen to it, feel good, and read through our list while rubbing some good smelling lotion on your hands.  Some ideas won't appeal/apply to you, but some might and I'm sure you'll think of others you will want to try.

Bells of Freedom by Jon Schmidt

Quick pick-me-ups instead of eating a cookie

Use hand cream

Drink herbal tea from a fancy teacup

Read a poem

Turn on some music

Sing a song

Turn off all the noisy things in the house

Take a two-minute time out

Put on some earrings

Send a short email to a far away friend

Eat an orange

Kiss somebody

Step outside for a minute

Put on clean fluffy socks

Play the piano

Use foot cream

Sing at the top of your lungs

Have an ice cold drink of water with a fancy straw

Brush your teeth

Do a yoga pose

Stretch

Wear your favorite shirt

Brush your hair

Get out a toy the kids haven’t played with for a long time

Color a picture

Eat fruit or vegetables

Turn off/on all the lights

Open/close all the blinds

Close your eyes and breath deeply

Use eye cream

Zen garden, polish rocks

Clean a window

Sit in a sunny spot

List 5 blessings

Memorize/recite a scripture

Learn a new song

Thumb through an art book

Look at photo albums

Clean out a drawer

Trim your nails

I Don't Want to Live on the Moon

Since I missed last week I decided to add a second post this week.

My calendar says that this week is the anniversary of the first moon landing.

My radio tells me that the space shuttle is on its last mission.

It seemed like a good week for one of my very favorite Sesame Street songs ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeNO56xNlZo

This is the classic, but you can also find Ernie with his good friends Aaron Neville or Shawn Colvin.

I am a little sad about the Space Shuttle era ending. It's been around since I can remember. I suppose this is how my parents felt when the moon missions ended. I expect that something new, exciting and completely unexpected (at least by me) will come to take its place, but for today, I will just feel a little bit sad.

Brush Your Teeth and I'll Kiss You

This week's song was inspired by a trip to the dentist.

When I was a kid my dad would sing "the tooth brushing song."

So naturally, I sing it to my kids. They don't always hold still and open up on cue, but it makes the whole experience considerably more bearable.

No cavities this check up. Hooray!!

For those of you trying to place that tune, (and those of you who recognize it) here's a great little video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWvurnpKjE4

Sleep well, and don't forget to brush your teeth.

ps. I decided I didn't need to number my posts anymore. It was satisfying at first to see that I didn't give up at number 2. Sometimes I require a lot of positive reinforcement.

pps. I took the video, loaded it onto the computer, and posted it to the blog all by myself while Keith was at scouts. This is a big deal for me. Now you can all send me lots of positive reinforcement. ;)

Week 7/Happy Birthday America!

This year we started a new family tradition of singing together after Sunday dinner. We sing a lot of rounds and fun songs. We also learn songs to go with the seasons and holidays. Each week in May we learned one verse of "America." By the 4th of July we could sing the entire song from memory, with only short pauses while someone remembers how the next verse begins.

Watching the parade on the 4th of July.

Chesson took a large paper grocery bag to collect her candy in. That's optimism.

America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)

My country, 'tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrim's pride,

From every mountain side, let freedom ring.

My native country, thee,

Land of the noble free,

Thy name I love.

I love thy rocks and rills,

Thy woods and templed hills;

My heart with rapture thrills

Like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,

And ring from al the trees,

Sweet freedom's song.

Let mortal tongues awake,

Let all that breathe partake,

Let rocks their silence break,

The sound prolong.

Our fathers' God to Thee,

Author of liberty,

To Thee we sing.

Long may our land be bright,

With freedom's holy light,

Protect us by Thy might,

Great God, our King.

This song is great for the kids because it has a fairly limited range, less than one octave. Everyone can sing along without getting too high or too low. We also had fun practicing conducting in 3. It starts on beat one and goes along nice and steady with no surprises.

I have a thing for songs about singing. This one, especially verse 3, is all about singing the praises of our country (we have so much to be thankful for), and God who made it possible.