Some of Our Favorite Music

Music has always been one of my favorite things to share with the kids. Of course, when the kids were babies I started by singing them some of the songs I knew the words to. Later, we listened to things like Laurie Berkner, Raffi, and The Wiggles and danced around the room. When they went off to Montessori preschool, we were lucky to be provided Kindermusik classes and materials (a local source is here). This is a program that can start in the baby years and has the kids moving, singing and dancing together while learning about rhythm and instruments.

These days I've branched out in our "kid music". I am always trying to find things the kids like that also won't drive me nuts. We do a lot of listening to things in the car, and sometimes it's just nice to put something on while we are working at home. Classical is always a good background choice. If you like classical and want to find a fun way to introduce some of the famous songs and composers to your kids, here are some fun ones, though I wouldn't necessarily recommend them as background music.

The Classical Kids series is a lot of fun and they are CD's that come in a story format. An interesting story ties together the composer and the work into something that kids can relate to. This series includes: Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery, Beethoven Lives Upstairs, Tchaikovsky Discovers America, Mozart's Magic Fantasy, Hallelujah Handel, and a few more.

Another fun one is Beethoven's Wig. I would caution you, however, that you should not put this on if you are adverse to singing silly lyrics in your head for five days straight. My kids played this "ad nauseum" until I can't hear the classical pieces anymore without singing the lyrics. I had to ban it for a while.

Some kid music that we enjoy that is a bit more soothing is Jerry Garcia and David Grisman's Not For Kids Only. This is rather folksy but fun. Also, who could not like Jack Johnson and Friends: Curious George?

I found this little gem a couple of years ago. Elizabeth Mitchell: You Are My Little Bird. Elizabeth Mitchell has several CD's out that are soothing and sweet. Not too hard on the ears.

If you like to shake things up a bit, you could try Putumayo Kids: World Playground for an international flavor. There are a few CD's in this series that are collections of music from around the world, but this is my favorite.

Finally, in the vein of the Broadway musical is Philadelphia Chickens. Utterly ridiculous, funny, and oh-so-true. These songs will also stick in your head and you may have to ban the music after a while. Don't say I didn't warn you.