Raffi

Raffi is the most influential children's entertainer of all time.  He has created top notch music for kids and their parents since the beginning of his career as a musician for children.  It was his commitment to honoring his young fans that changed the way we came to view music made for children.  Through his own record label, Troubadour, Raffi recorded quality music that resonated with parents.  Four decades later, Raffi continues to inspire millions of families worldwide through his music.  His lyrics spread messages of love and caring with infectious melodies.  From Raffi's songs grew a purpose much larger than performing music for children.  Raffi has worked to create a philosophy of living called Child Honouring.  This is a children first approach to healing communities and restoring ecosystems.  It views how we regard and treat our young as the key to building a humane and sustainable world.  

Raffi's music has touched my life both as a parent and a teacher. When Emmy was a baby I would sing Baby Beluga to her during feedings and diapering.  As she grew, she joined in and together we belted out our rendition of this very popular song.  Whenever a good laugh was in order, I would start singing Shake Your Sillies Out and before you knew it the two of us would be dancing all over the house.  I used both of these songs in the classroom.  Baby Beluga was always a favorite song when we learned about ocean life and whenever we needed to get up and move, Shake Your Sillies Out was our go to song.  No matter the age, children (and adults) always LOVE Raffi.  

Here is Raffi performing Baby Beluga.

A wonderful way to connect music to reading is by sharing books based on familiar songs, such as the Raffi Songs to Read series.  Of course we owned the board book Baby Beluga and Emmy always enjoyed turning the pages in the book as we sang the words together. As she became more aware of frequently used words and letters and their sounds, she began to actually read this book with great enthusiasm.  

When Emmy was around two years old, she was obsessed with trains.  We sang many songs about trains including Little Red Caboose.  I created a book for her using a three ring binder.  I typed the words to her favorite train songs, added some clip art, printed them and slid them into plastic sleeves and then added them to the binder.  Voila - we had a homemade book.  We also took this idea and used it for gift giving.  We would find out the child's favorite song and either buy the corresponding book with the CD and a trinket to go with it (like a stuffed beluga whale to go with Baby Beluga) or we would create our own.  Several years ago we put together a tractor gift for a boy in Emmy's class.  We included the book Otis by Loren Long (a wonderful book of friendship), a toy tractor and a plastic cow.  We happened to have the song Driving My Tractor so we made a CD of the song and typed out the lyrics into a little book.  All of this was placed into a drawstring bag.  This gift was a huge hit.  

  

Back to Raffi...It's been 12 years since Raffi recorded an album for children!  No need to wait any longer as he just released a brand new album Love Bug and it is awesome!  

Here is a video of the single Love Bug.

You can download this song for free from his website by signing up for his newsletter.  Check it out HERE.

I am going to end this post by using Raffi's words...

"Beauty. Tranquility. The Arts. In these may your life be rich."

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Too Many Frogs

Rabbit lived by himself in 

the hollow of an old tree.

He cooked for himself.

He tidied up after himself.

And at the end of each and every day, 

he read himself a story.

It was a simple way of life - 

No fuss, no clutter.

And Rabbit liked it.

Or did he?   Sandy Asher and Keith Graves have paired up to create the book Too Many Frogs, a heartwarming tale of two unlikely friends, a loner rabbit and a pesky frog, that celebrates the joy of reading aloud.

This book was given to Emmy on her birthday several years ago and is one of the most read picture books in our home.  Too Many Frogs begs to be read aloud with funny voices for the characters and funny sounds for the actions.  From Froggie's knock-knockety-knocking on the door followed by his croak "It's Froggie!" to his goodbye, "Thanks for your kindness. Toodle-oo!" readers will love the interaction between the two characters.

Emmy laughs and laughs as Froggie brings noise and clutter to Rabbit's quiet and tidy world.  She especially enjoys when Froggie makes the two of them a snack.

Rabbit opened the door, "I was about to read myself a story."  

"I know!" Froggie cried, and hopped right inside.  

"Love to listen!  But first, let's fix ourselves a snack - or three!  

Don't mind, do you?"  "I suppose not," Rabbit said.  

So Froggie hopped - and popped - and whipped - and flipped - and mixed - 

and fixed a snack.  Or three.  Too much fuss! Rabbit thought.  

Graves' illustrations are full of color and seem to pop right off the page.  Whoever heard of a bright blue bunny, Graves did and it's PERFECT.  There are many fun details to find on the page spreads. Emmy's favorites...the ladybug lamp, the umbrella with a crooked handle and the rug that looks like grass.  But most especially, Emmy likes the facial expressions on Rabbit.

We both highly recommend this book!  Such fun to read and talk about.  Emmy often interrupts me when I am reading so I will remind her of Froggie and Rabbit.  She just giggles and offers to go get us a snack or three!  We have been on the lookout for these two follow up books that are sure to entertain us as well.  

For the Love of Rocks

Like many children, Emmy loves to collect items from nature -especially rocks.  Ever since she could walk, treasures from nature have come into our house.  Emmy has a nature tray in her bedroom where she keeps all of these treasures.  To this day, it is rare for her to come home without a rock, shell or acorn in her pocket (or in my purse).  Emmy also enjoys going to stores and museums that have polished rocks. A recent find, from the Harvard Museum of Natural History, is a piece of Chalcopyrite KAL-kah-PIE-rite (shown on the left in her hand above). It is also known as peacock pyrite because of its shiny iridescent qualities which is what drew her to this rock right away.  

Along with collecting rocks, Emmy and I love to read books about rocks.  Here are a few that we have added to our collection of rock books.  

In the photo essay style book, If You Find a Rock by Peggy Christian with photographs by Barbara Hirsh Lember, children are finding different kinds of rocks that aren't classified by mineral or structure, but rather by use:  skipping rocks, splashing rocks, climbing rocks, resting rocks.  

Maybe you find a soft white rock - 

a rock that feels dusty in your fingers.  

Then you have a chalk rock and you use it

 to make pictures on the pavement.  

Emmy's favorite classification from this book is a wishing rock. This is a rock with a line all the way around it.  Trace the line, whisper what you want and then throw it.  Here is an example of a wishing rock from our collection.  If You Find a Rock is the perfect beginning to a more formal classification of rocks.  I love that it focuses on observation and appreciation for rocks.  

Next up is a book by one of my favorite authors Byrd Baylor. Baylor lives and writes in an adobe house powered by solar energy in the Sonoran desert of Arizona (she refers to a technical glitch as one where her pen runs out of ink). She presents images of the Southwest through beautiful prose that illustrates vividly the value of simplicity, the natural world and the intense connection between the land and the people.  Baylor's book, Everybody Needs a Rock with illustrations by Peter Parnall, outlines ten rules for choosing the absolutely perfect rock for you. The specifications will make you smile... 

Rule Number 1 

If you can, go to a mountain made out of nothing 

but a hundred million small shiny beautiful roundish rocks. 

But if you can't, any place will do even an alley, even a sandy lake.  

Emmy's favorite rule:  Rule Number 6...The size must be perfect.  It has to feel easy in your hand when you close your fingers over it.  It has to feel jumpy in your pocket when you run.  Some people touch a rock a thousand times a day.  There aren't many things that feel as good as a rock if the rock is perfect.  

I'm going to be sure to reread this book with Emmy because I know that we can use Baylor's idea of ten rules to make lists for other nature items such as, ten ways for choosing a shell, a leaf, a horse chestnut or perhaps even a friend. 

Last is a book by Leo Lionni that is quite different from his signature color and collage work. On My Beach There are Many Pebbles provides us with a whimsical look at rocks.  Part realism and part fantasy...there are fishpebbles and goosepebbles and peoplepebbles and letterpebbles to admire and talk about.  Emmy and I get very excited any time we find a rock that looks like the shape of a heart.

On my beach there are many pebbles 

Most are ordinary pebbles but 

some are strange and wonderful.  

I want to mention two items that Emmy and I use when we are on the hunt for a special rock or something else found in nature.  

(1) We love this mesh bag that was given to Emmy as a birthday gift a few years ago.  It is perfect for holding lots of special items and keeps them from ending up in my purse!  

(2) We also love this little book, Dig Into Rocks, Minerals & Crystals, that we found at the shop in the Harvard Museum of Natural History.  It is simple in text with real photographs of a variety of rocks like the Chalcopyrite.  Emmy often refers to this book when she comes home with a new rock.  

One last thought before I end this post...using rocks to create art is one of Emmy's favorite things to do. She will often move rocks around to create a picture or stack them to create a sculpture.  Sorting them is another thing that she does naturally without any nudging from me.  I love that we can create art anywhere using items from nature!   

Happy Rock Collecting!