Children’s musicians Erin Lee and Marci bring us the next of their regular posts with thematic recommendations for kid-friendly music, plus activities to make the songs an interactive experience for the whole family.
Look for Erin Lee and Marci here on the first Monday of each month, or visit their homepage, www.gottaplay.org.
I’ve created links to Amazon for the full albums (click the album image or name), plus links to Amazon MP3 downloads, when available, for those who want only the singles. (Click the song name.) I also have a widget after the jump that will let you preview most of the songs without leaving Mombian.
Spring has sprung—at least, here in NYC it has. We’ve just set a new record for rainfall – and everyone knows that April Showers bring great mud puddles. Here are our favorite mud songs!
“If You’re Gonna Be a Grub
There are no judgments about “grubs” here — Bill Harley knows that “Kids and dirt just go together like shoes and socks and birds and feathers”. So he hands out some helpful advice regarding bathing, scrubbing and clean up. His protagonist, Little Sally, loves to play in the mud — but she finds that playing in the tub can be almost as fun. So, you can enjoy singing this song while getting dirty AND getting clean!
“Slimy Mud
Okay, who doesn’t love a song called “Slimy Mud’? This fun, catchy round is easy to learn and easy to sing. Even the youngest family members will be able to join in, and older siblings will sing along too because, quite simply, it’s oogey.
And our song for April?
“Mud Music
Our narrator attempts to justify her extremely messy appearance after she arrives home covered in mud. It’s those darn singing mud puddles again! The siren song of the mud puddles has gotten her in trouble! If only her mom would understand that the puddles are actually singing to her, she’d realize that staying clean in the rainy season is sometimes a lost cause.
Here’s an activity to get this song off the iPod and into daily life:
Draw the puddles as people! What do they look like? What are they doing?
PS: If you’re looking for a good book, perhaps to read in the bath while you’re having a post-mud scrub, check out Mud Puddle (Classic Munsch)
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