Songs

For the first six months of my teaching career, I barely taught the children any songs. I just couldn't figure out how to work it into our day, I didn't know where to start. Fortunately, I went to a workshop on music in the classroom, and got some good ideas to kickstart me. Since then (about a year ago now) I have introduced close to a hundred songs to my students. These are, for the most part, songs that I love to sing. I have always enjoyed singing and especially folk songs. I absolutely love singing, even if I don't sound good, and children love singing as well, so I'm greatly looking forward to teaching these and other songs to my own children in the near future. Children are capable of learning songs that might seem "way above their level" to some adults. Many parents are shocked that their four year old children can sing all the states in alphabetical order, or sing in French, Latin and other languages. They really are amazing creatures, and songs are such a great way to introduce not only new vocabulary and musical interest, but a love a music and sense of community that comes from singing together. Obviously there's a wide variety here; some are for very young children, some for slightly older, but all of them are essential in my mind. In addition, there are hymns, church songs, Christmas and other holiday music, classical music, and of course, more modern, popular music that should also be introduced. These are ones I don't want to forget though! 

This Land is Your Land

Amazing Grace

Hallelujah

Polly Wolly Doodle

Short'nin' Bread

Oh, Dear! What can the matter be?

The Bear went over the mountain

Old Dan Tucker

Little Liza Jane

Turkey in the Straw

Buffalo Gals

Big Rock Candy Mountain

Shoo, Fly

Two Little Blackbirds

Pop! Goes the Weasel

Jack and Jill

If You're Happy

This Old Man

Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes

John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmit

One, Two Buckle My Shoe

Rain, Rain Go away

The Star Spangled Banner

You're a grand old flag

Anchors Aweigh

Stars and Stripes forever

America The Beautiful

My Country Tis of thee

I've been Workin' on the Railroad

Sweet Betsy from Pike

Yankee Doodle 

Dixie

When Johnny Comes Marching home

Erie Canal

Who did swallow Jonah?

Dry Bones

Father's Whiskers

Michael Finnegan

The Ants go marching

Bill Grogan's Goat

There's a hole in the middle of the sea

She waded in the water

Do your ears hang low

There's a hole in the bucket

99 Bottles of Pop

My hand on my head

My hands upon my head I place

My hat, it has three corners

Down by the bay

The green grass grows all around

Old King Cole

Hot cross buns

All through the night

Hush little baby

Sing a song of Sixpence

Brahms' Lullaby

The Farmer in the Dell

Engine number 9

The Grand old duke of york

Hokey-pokey

London bridge

Did you ever see a lassie?

A tisket, a tasket

Skip to my lou

Oats, peas, beans

Say, Say oh playmate

Daisy

Clementine

Frere Jacques

Fifty Nifty United States

Bazooka Bubblegum

Open Shut them

Baby Shark

A round is a circle

I don't like to say Goodbye

This Pretty planet

Everything else by Tom Chapin

Name song (banana fana)

Horsey

Dona Nobis Pacem

Ditez-Moi

Alouette

Here we go round the mulberry bush

He's got the whole world in his hands

Home on the range

Row row row your boat

Michael row your boat ashore

Kumbayah

She'll be coming round the mountain

Take me out to the Ball game

Puff the magic dragon

John Henry

Battle hymn of the republic

Bingo

Oh Suzannah

Go Down Moses

Go Tell it on the mountain

Goodbye, Old paint

Hush little baby

I've been working on the railroad

Looby Loo

Onward Christian Soldiers

Over the river and through the woods

Swing low, sweet chariot

This little light of mine

When the saints go marching in

You are my sunshine

It rained a mist

What shall we do with the baby o

Good morning to you

Name song (all day long)

I love you a bushel and a peck

White Coral Bells

Getting to know you

Chairs to mend

Too-ay Too-ay

Mango fandango

You can't make a turtle come out

Mail myself to you

Christmas is coming

Good king wenceslas

Robin in the rain

Black socks

Sleeping bunnies

All through the night

My grandfather's clock

Hey diddle diddle

Pussywillow

I saw three ships

Lightly row

Now I lay me down to sleep

Johnny Appleseed

For the golden corn

As the deer pants

Song of sixpence

Simple simon

Bluebird in and out the window

Psallite

Ode to joy (in english and german!)

Doxology

I'd do anything (oliver)

Do a deer

Zipa dee doo dah

Battle hymn of the republic

Lean on me

My bonnie lies over the ocean

Oh what a beautiful morning

Simple Gifts

Auld Lang Syne

You can call me Al

Homeward Bound

All Paul Simon/Simon & Garfunkel

Beatles stuff

Maxi-Cosi Pria 70

I started researching carseats a long time ago. As a Montessorian, and a fan of baby-wearing, I was never a fan of the baby bucket movement, and had no interest in ever using an infant carrier car seat. Why buy two car seats when one will do the job? But I had to make sure to find one that was ideal for both brand new infants and older kids. Ideally, I wanted a single car seat that would last from newborn until the child could make the transition to a booster. (When that should happen is for another post...)

So, I research all the convertible carseats out there. There are many I like (including this one which is very cool but way out of my price range...) but the one I was most excited by is the Maxi-Cosi Pria 70. Though it didn't seem very popular, and I hadn't seen many reviews from people who actually chose it, it seemed perfect to me! It will last rear-facing from 4 pounds to 40 (important since I plan to rear-face my children as long as is humanly possible!) and forward facing from 40-70 pounds. By 70 pounds, the child should easily be ready for a booster, and could be much sooner. My only worry is the child outgrowing the height limit before the weight, but I really can't speculate on how tall my children will be, and I may have to take that into consideration at a later time.

The Pria has everything else I'm interested in, though! Great for a tiny infant. Quite safe. Very adjustable harness. Awesome colors and style (why hello, grey and black! long time no see!) don't hurt the package.

So this seat has been on my list for over a year. I kept an eye out for information on the seat, because I'm curious how it works for others. Today, I found a review of this very seat on The Art of Making a Baby! I knew they'd been using this seat for a while, but this review gave me even more confidence in my choice to hop right into this convertible seat from the start.

She confirms that her baby at least (and many babies, in my estimation) prefer a roomier seat that is not constricting, that allows them to sit up and look around, and that keeps them cooler. She also notes that she had very little interest in using a car seat as a carrier, and would have been happy to have the convertible from the beginning. It's so nice to see real proof that something I like works for real people. They're running a giveaway on the seat over there today, so if you're interested, check it out!

I'll probably say more about car seats and my various opinions on them in the future, but I'm confidant in my decision at this point!

Movies Worth Seeing

A much shorter list than the books....

Disclaimer: I believe these should only be seen after the age of six, and in some cases much later than that, and only after the children are familiar with the book if it exists!

The Lord of the Rings
The Sound of Music
Star Wars 4-6
X-Men
Aladdin
The Little Princess
Sandlot
Little House on the Prairie
Finding Nemo
Up
Willie the Sparrow
Toy Story
Home Alone
E. T.
Free Willy
Hook
Homeward Bound
Charlie Brown Holiday movies
Matilda
The Lion King
Indiana Jones
Original Charlotte's Web
Mary Poppins
The Princess Bride
Back to the Future
October Sky
The Land Before Time
The Brave Little Toaster

Read Aloud Books

This list is vastly derived from the list of books I recall my parents reading to us. In no particular order:

-The Hobbit
-The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
-All the Harry Potter books
-The Chronicles of Narnia
-The Mouse and the Motorcycle
-The Boxcar Children
-The Secret Garden
-Stuart Little
-Harriet the Spy
-Treasure Island
-Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer
-Little Women
-Le Petit Prince
-Peter Pan
-American Girl books
-Beatrix Potter
-From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
-Everything by Madeline L'Engle
-Holes
-All the Ramona Quimby books
-Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh
-The Giver
-Charlotte's Web
-My side of the Mountain
-Bridge to Terebithia
-Walk Two Moons
-A Cricket in Times Square
-The View from Saturday
-The Witch of Blackbird Pond
-The Family Under the Bridge
-Misty of Chincoteague
-Stuff by Jerry Spinelli
-Stuff by Beverly Cleary
-Johnny Tremain
-Robinson Crusoe
-The Swiss Family Robinson
-Smiling Hill Farm
-All the Little House on the Prairie books
-Pippi Longstocking
-Julie of the Wolves
-Black Beauty
-Caddie Woodlawn
-Number the Stars
-The Trumpet of the Swan
-A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
-Watership Down
-The Winnie the Pooh books
-Paddington Bear
-Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass
-The Wizard of Oz
-Roald Dahl books
-Anne of Green Gables
-The Wind in the Willows
-Cheaper by the dozen
-My side of the Mountain
-Ender's game
-Hans Brinker
-The Borrowers
-Where the Red Fern Grows
-A Little Princess
-The Bible
-To Kill a Mockingbird
-Oliver Twist
-Hound of Baskervilles & other Sherlock Holmes
-Kidnapped
-Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy
-Foundation Trilogy
-The Golden Compass series
-Gulliver's Travels
-Lorna Doone
-The Sword in the Stone
-Jules Verne
-Hatchet

Ones I haven't read but have been recommended to me:

mysterious benedict society

redwall

chronicles of pryridian - lloyd alexander

island of the blue dolphins

the rag coat

incredible journey

the magic faraway tree

Favorites

I'm going to do a short series of posts that I can add to and update with songs, stories, books, and (gasp!) even movies and TV shows that I think are worth exposing my children to. Things always come up and I worry that I won't remember them all, so I'll file them here, and it'll allow me to think about them, and what age is most appropriate, etc.

Singing

It's a month into the school year, and things have been going pretty well! I can't believe how much easier, smoother, and less stressful the second year is. It's not all puppies and roses, but I'm not a puddle on the floor either.

Something I've been loving recently is singing with the kids. I didn't realize how much I missed it! I have always loved singing, despite my complete inability to do so pleasantly. I remember my family telling me to shut up in the car on numerous occasions...

But kids love singing with me and I only infrequently feel like they think I sound bad, so that's big progress. One of the things I am most looking forward to with my own children is singing to and with them. This is something that can be worked into all stages of life. I love singing to a newborn, making up cute rhymes for a younger toddler, and teaching songs to kids who can sing them back. I love singing in the car, in the shower, anywhere.

There are so many categories of songs that I can't wait to share with my future family: folk songs (like Clementine!), camp songs, church songs, Christmas songs, hymns, songs I know from teaching, popular songs, classic songs, Tom Chapin songs.... there is so much, and it's all so new to children. I love how much the kids in my class love learning new songs, and how absolutely joy-infused they appear while singing. I love the amount of knowledge and vocabulary that gets packed into songs. I'm so proud that they can sing all the fifty states in order - even the littlest ones! This will stick with them forever, and I love that.

Crafts

I've been channeling my desire for creative output into making holiday decorations and ornaments. Well, so far, I've mostly planned and researched them, and made a few passable items. I'm looking forward to putting a dent in my craft stash, making some beautiful items, and perhaps coming up with some gift-worthy things in there. Mostly, though, I am trying to fill up the empty evenings this fall where I have too little energy to do anything exciting, but too much restlessness to do less. I have a ton of ideas, and I'll be posting them as they are actualized.