The music shuffle
This post originally appeared in Dr. Rachel A. Larimore’s weekly Samara newsletter on September 14, 2021. If you’re interested in receiving these emails, scroll to the bottom of this page to subscribe.
I hope your school year is off to a good start! Last week I had a long drive from Michigan to Illinois to see family where I discovered the joy of playing all my music on shuffle.
While I have a ridiculous number of songs loaded on my phone, I often find myself saying “I don’t have anything to listen to.” So, I tried a new approach—all songs on shuffle! The result was a wide variety of wonderful americana, country, and bluegrass artists I’d forgotten about. The other result? MANY children’s songs!
Yup, as it turns out I love children’s music. (I have a strong feeling I’m not alone here.) I thought it would be fun to share a few that popped up and see if we share the same artists. Among the random shuffles were songs by…
→ Jim Gill who has a variety of music and books for young children, offers virtual concerts, and is an all around wonderful human to be around. (He even has a degree in child development!)
→ Dr. Beck Bailey whose song “You did it!” had me singing along (and realizing I might need to listen to her It starts in the heart album more often.) 😊 Dr. Bailey is the brain behind Conscious Discipline and worth checking out if you’re not familiar.
And two nature-focused albums including…
→ A new album by my friend Foster Brown! He specifically writes songs about nature education including this new album Howdy Do: Children’s Nature Songs. Included on the album are my favorites “Hey, Hey, Cicada” and “Go, Salamander, Go.”
→ Songs from the Great Outdoors by The Chickadees. (Fun fact, this band was started by a parent of a nature-based preschooler in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!)
Finally, if you’re a Gen X-er you might remember They Might be Giants and their song “Birdhouse in Your Soul.” Well, I’d forgotten they also have a few children’s albums including their No! album.
Keep changing lives,
Rachel
Rachel A. Larimore, Ph.D., Chief Visionary of Samara Learning
About Rachel
Dr. Rachel A. Larimore is an educator, speaker, consultant, author, and former nature-based preschool director. As the founder and Chief Visionary of Samara Early Learning her work focuses on helping early childhood educators start nature-based schools or add nature-based approaches into their existing program. Learn more about Rachel here.
