Head, Shoulders, Knees, and all that

Colors songs for kids

Here's a video of some Knock Knock English students singing "I See Something Blue", one of the simplest of the Super Simple Songs. Thanks to Mizuki, Nagi, Chikara, Akari, Hono, Megumi, Miyu, and Mei!

Do you have any favorite color-themed children's songs?

ESL Songs for Kids

I came upon this thread in the ESL Headquarters discussion forums about what are some good songs and CDs for young ESL/EFL students.  I won't rehash my lengthy post in that thread, but I did want to share a couple of iTunes i-mixes I made.  There are a lot of great children's artists who don't write with ESL students in mind, but still have several songs that work great in ESL/EFL classrooms.  Thankfully, in today's world, you don't have to buy the full CD to get the one or two songs you want, we can download individual songs.

So, here are a couple of i-mixes of songs for children's ESL/EFL classes featuring tracks from artists like Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, Milkshake, etc.  (You'll need to have iTunes installed to open these links.)

Great Songs for Children's ESL/EFL (U.S. iTunes)
易しい英語のうた (iTunes Japan)

One thing I've found is that the features which make a song great for young ESL learners (fair amount of repetition, clear enunciation, moderately paced lyrics which can be understood through gestures and dance) also make these songs ideal for any emerging speakers, such as native-English speaking babies and toddlers and children with special needs (children with autism, learning disabilities, etc.).  So if you are looking for some fun, active songs to enjoy with emerging speakers of any stripe, give these a shot.

Fids and Kamily Poll results

Again...no that's not a spelling error.  The first annual Fids and Kamily music awards were just announced.  One of my favorites of the year, Justin Roberts' Meltdown! took the top honors in a poll of distinguished children's music critics, bloggers, radio DJs, etc. 

Have a look at the winners and some great essays on the year when children's music went big-time over at the Fids and Kamily site.  And if you're looking for some great children's CDs for holiday presents, you can find all the recognized CDs over at The Pokey Pup. 

Congratulations to all the artists, and to the organizers for putting together such a great poll.  To hear some discussion of the awards and tracks from winning CDs, have a listen to the Spare the Rock podcast.

Music Suggestions

Check out the OWTK November Monthly Music Suggestions. Jeff had been having some problems with the links to some of the songs, but they are all fixed now if you want to go back and check some of his previous monthly suggestions.  Happy to see one of my favorites, Van Morrison, among this month's selections.

Hello Song for Children

More video goodness for you today...one more clip from our Halloween party and the long-awaited 2nd episode of Jeremy Goes to Japan.

Knock Knock Hello - Halloween 2006

Jeremy-sensei's "Jeremy Goes to Japan - Episode 2"

Do you know Schnappi?

I didn't, until Mama Lisa introduced us.  He's a cute little German crocodile and a bonafide youTube star.  I like him.  I'm sure she'd be happy to introduce you if you head over to her blog. 

She was also kind enough to say a few nice words about Super Simple Songs 2.  Thanks Lisa!

And check out Mama Lisa's Archive of Thanksgiving songs.  If you are looking for a particular kids song of any theme, Mama Lisa's World is always a good place to start.

Halloween parties in Tokyo

Our school, Knock Knock English, had 4 big Halloween parties this year.  For anybody thinking ahead to next year already, a great party activity we tried was to set up a "funny face foto booth".  There is a Mac program called "Photo Booth" which allows you to create all kinds of crazy pictures very easily. We set up an area where kids could take a picture by looking into the camera on a Mac laptop and we had the laptop hooked up to a TV facing out so the kids waiting their turn could see all the crazy, funny (sometimes scary!) faces. 

It was very popular.  While the kids were doing a little trick or treating (within the hall we rented) and playing some of the carnival-style games we had set up,  we printed out the pictures and everybody went home with a neat little Halloween momento (along with fresh popcorn and cotton candy!) 

                                                                                                                                                                                          

Good times!

Here's a short video of us singing "Go Away" at one of the parties...check out all the cool costumes.  We had Batman, Superman, Mr. Incredible, Spiderman, Greenman, some lovely princesses and witches, and even a big box of yogurt.  And then I went and threw on a chef's hat, an apron, and spilled some coffee on myself (on purpose this time) to magically transform myself into the least-chef looking chef you've ever seen.  Ah well, next year I'll get with the program.

We're already looking forward to the Christmas parties...I hear Santa may be stopping by.

Thanksgiving songs for kids

I got an e-mail today from an early education teacher in New York who is looking for some good Thanksgiving songs for a preschool performance. When I read the e-mail, it dawned on me that, unlike just about every holiday and notable event of the year, I couldn't think of one memorable Thanksgiving song that jumped out at me. I remember the crafts we made at school (a lot of turkey-themed things and pilgrim hats). I remember Thanksgiving performances where we dressed up like Pilgrims and Indians and recreated that first Thanksgiving feast. But I have no memories of singing Thanksgiving songs at school, or listening to Thanksgiving music at home on Thanksgiving day. For such a large holiday, that's odd.

When I started looking around for Thanksgiving songs online, about 65% of the "Thanksgiving" songs I found were about turkeys. Another 10% about pumpkins.

It's tough to write a Thanksgiving song, in part because the concept of truly giving heartfelt thanks, something I think a a lot of Americans genuinely feel on Thanksgiving, is difficult to capture with lyrics. Also, it's a very personal thanks we give. Some of us are thanking God, some thanking our family/friends/some thanking Mother Earth...we all are giving our own personal thanks. It's not easy to capture that.

Here at our school in Tokyo, we celebrate Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, Christmas, etc. Thanksgiving....not so much. A big part of that is that Thanksgiving is not easy to explain in a way that gives people a feeling for what the holiday is really about.

After some searching, looking for a song which would be lyrically and melodically simple enough for a preschool performance, but not reduce Thanksgiving to just a day where we eat turkey, I came across this suggestion at www.preschooleducation.com (a great site for song ideas for very young ones):

Thanksgiving song Sung to: "Twinkle, Twinkle little star"

Thank you, thank you, very much
For everything that I can touch.
Thanks a lot for nature’s food.
And for when I’m feeling good.
Thank you, thank you very much.
For moms and dads and friends and such.

I like the simplicity there, though I wish we could get deeper while keeping it just as simple (we need to channel Fred Rogers!).

I'm afraid that's the best I can do for now, but I'll keep looking and maybe try to write something simple. In the meantime, anybody out there have any favorite Thanksgiving songs?

Music and Book Recommendations

Jeff shares his thoughts for great songs to enjoy with the family every month over at Out With the Kids, and bi-monthly book suggestions too! I'm a little late linking to his October music and book picks (especially since some of the books are kind of Halloween related), but check them out. I particularly enjoyed John Prine's My Darlin' Hometown.

Three Little Birds

Every so often, the topic of "what are some good adult songs for kids" comes up on one of the blogs which touch on children and children's music, including this one.  The Beatles are always well represented.  Number one by a good margin on my list is "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley.  Here's a nice rendition by Brazilian singer Giberto Gil.

Mr. Gil has led quite an interesting life, including stints playing with Yes, Pink Floyd, and the Incredible String Band in the 70's, and is currently Brazil's Minister of Culture.  More about him at wikipedia.