Here Jodi sings a well-known nursery rhyme. Sing along with her, and then think of some different flowers to put in the song.

 

A new podcast about flowers with two songs about flowers and a story called Ruby’s Garden. The first song that Jodi sings for us is called Lavender’s Blue. This is a really well-known nursery rhyme, so you might find it easy to sing along. As I often do with songs, we change things and add different words – so instead of lavender’s blue and lavender’s green, Jodi sings about poppies, daisies and even bluebells which is quite funny – bluebells are blue, bluebells are green. The song ends giving the listener a chance to choose a flower to put in the song. Don’t worry; if you can’t think of one, I give you some ideas in the podcast.

In our story, Ruby still manages to have a tiny garden even though she lives in a tall apartment building. If you listen to the podcast you can find out how she got her garden.

Our last song is one I composed and it’s called “What Grows in your Garden.” Anneliese and I sing it together. It’s like a question and answer – Anneliese asks what grows in your garden? I sing the answer, such as tulips, squash, weeds and grass! Of course we give you the opportunity to answer the question too!

Click on the arrow.

 

I like dinosaurs, yes I do,

I wish that I could see them in the zoo.

Here is a snippet of a song from one of our March podcasts. It’s called “I Like Dinosaurs.” Jared sings the first verse, then you can add your own verses. What kind of dinosaurs do you like? Triceratops? Stegosaurus?

Have fun!

We have a special guest – my friend Jim – reading the story in our podcast this week. The podcast is called THE NEW DINOSAUR, and as you would expect has a story about dinosaurs, and two dinosaur songs. The story involves a group of young dinosaurs we meet in other podcasts. Mary’s Mother takes care of the little dinosaurs in her daycare. In this story a new dinosaur comes to join them.

One of the songs “I Like Dinosaurs” names lots of different dinosaurs and allows the listener to name a couple of his own favorites too. The song “Dinosaurs Lived Long Ago,” which Bethany sings for us, is one I composed. The format of the song is very simple and allows new verses to be added very easily.

Dinosaurs lived long ago,

Long ago, long ago,

Dinosaurs lived long ago,

They lived before you and me.

To create a new verse you need to replace the words in bold. Some of my verses are:

Some dinosaurs ate leaves from the trees, and

Some dinosaurs flew high in the sky.

Be creative and come up with your own ideas.

Children absolutely love dinosaurs, and always seem to know a lot about them. I’m sure your children will have ideas for both of these dinosaur songs. And does it matter if they “invent” a new dinosaur to sing about? Not at all! Who knows – it may be the name used for a future discovery.

So I Like Spikeasaurus” is just as acceptable as “I like Stegosaurus.”

Action rhymes are so fun to do with children. After just a few repetitions, they will be saying it along with you, or joining in the actions. You can listen to the mp3 audio clip until you know the rhyme.

If your child has a favorite stuffed animal, he can pet and cuddle it in the rhyme. Any animal will do – just change the words if you like.

 

HERE IS THE BARN

 

Here is the barn                     (make a roof shape with your hands)

Where I like to go.                 (walk in place)

It’s as tall as a tree                 (point up overhead)

And cozy, you know.              (hug body with arms)

Here is the barn,                    (make a roof shape with your hands)

I’ll go there with you              (walk in place)

To pet a sweet lamb,              (pretend to pet a lamb)

And cuddle it too!                  (pretend to hug a lamb)

 

You can listen to this rhyme on the accompanying mp3 file.

Enjoy!

The story in this week’s podcast called LAMBS was inspired by true events. When I was visiting my mother in the coastal town Grange Over Sands in England, we went in a shop where the back window had a view of the bay and we saw a small boat going in and out of the little inlets. Asking others in the shop what the boat might be doing, we were told it was probably looking for a sheep!

This particular bay, Morecambe Bay, is known to be very treacherous with the tide coming in and catching people, or sheep by surprise. The grass in the bay is good grazing and sheep can often be seen there, but the farmer has to be alert to the coming and going of the tide.

Indeed, over the years, many people have lost their lives in this bay. In the olden days, crossing the sands at low tide was a common short cut, but nowadays there are very few people who have the knowledge to safely cross the bay. Occasionally, it is possible to cross the bay with an experienced guide, but walkers have to be prepared to end up in waist deep water in some places!

I do not know if the missing sheep was saved in this instance, but it gave me an idea for a story, and “Jonathan and the Lost Lamb” is the result.

The podcast also includes two songs about sheep – the well-known Mary Had A Little Lamb, plus a song composed and sung by my friend Linda, called Counting Sheep.

 TEN LITTLE FINGERS

Here is an easy finger play for you and your child to enjoy together. You can listen to the audio clip to learn the words, and then enjoy the rhyme together whenever you like.

The words suggest what actions you might do in the rhyme. I would start by holding out your hands and wiggling your fingers at the beginning of the rhyme to show that you are going to do things with your fingers. It also helps children if you pause appropriately in the rhyme to give them a chance to do the action.

Notice how expressive my voice is on the audio clip. I make the word spread stretch out. My voice goes up on the word high, and down on the word low. If you lead by example, your child will begin to be expressive too.

As with all poems and rhymes, if your child is ready, you can talk about the rhyming words. For example, you can ask, “What rhymes with me?” Or, once familiar with the rhyme, you can say, “Would you like to…? and give your child the opportunity to supply the next word. You can give visual clues with your hands and fingers to show the action. If successful, try another word. If not, don’t worry; save the activity for the future and enjoy saying the rhyme and doing the actions together.

In this week’s story Kayla has friends over for a play date and does not want to include her little brother Mattie. She even calls him Mattie-complainer! This idea came from real life, when my sister used to call her little boy Mattie-complainer, because that’s what he did. A lot.

The first song is also a game. I usually play it with a scarf or piece of fabric that you hold in front of your face. When I sing “yes it is”, you pull the scarf away from your face. It is easy to put anyone’s name in the song. For very young children, I recommend a see-through scarf, or piece of fabric. This helps children pretend to hide, without feeling excluded.

Jared ends the podcast with a simple, short song called “Wake up you Sleepy Heads.” An easy sing-along.

Enjoy!