Songs Please

Hi L.-
Strangely enough, my 2 year old son loves Happy Birthday. He also really likes Twinkle, Twinkle and Itsy Bitsy Spider. Both of those can have hand movements which can help with the calming and interaction. I also make up songs with him, which can be really fun, too. Good luck!

This link has just about every children's song on it and it plays the tune for a lot of them.

http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/musicchild.htm

Our favorite hand washing song (sung to the tune of Row, row, row your boat):

Wash, wash, wash your hands
Wash them really well!
In between your fingers, on the tops and underneath!
AGAIN!
repeat. Works great!!!

I love the CD by the Nield's called Rock All Day, Rock All Night. It's kids music I like to listen to and will sing even without the CD. My kids particularly love the Organic Farm song--like a modern day Old-MacDonald... "Living on a farm, an organic farm, and on that farm there was an organic cow, and the cow said moo... and the cow made milk... and the cow had a baby... and we called it a calf," and so on. The 123 verse of the ABC song on the same album we sing while washing hands, and "Molly" they like too. You can it out check out on i-tunes...

We also sing a lot of the songs from Music Together.

Great ideas here. I would add that there is a book of nonsense songs - set to familiar melodies - that you can probably get at the library. I used it as a music teacher for younger grades. It has the bath time tune set to "Take me out to the ballgame" that someone else mentioned, and many others. I would also add that a song the child has to participate in would be great - like "Old McDonald Had a Farm" - your son can at least add the animal sounds even if he doesn't sing the whole tune. Same thing for "The Wheels on the Bus." Mix up the order too - if he doesn't know what's coming next, he'll have to pay attention to what you are singing. I think it can be helpful to have a song that has nothing to do with the unpleasant task and is therefore even more distracting. Also, get a library book of songs with finger-plays - This kind of music occupies the hands, encourages fine motor skills, and keeps your child from interfering with the diaper change. This won't work for hand-washing or nail-clipping of course, but it does work for diapers - "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" is one such song but there are many.

Good luck!

Go to www.learningstationmusic.com and buy some of these cd's and they are so perfect for this kind of thing! Good luck.

To the tune of Row Your Boat

Brush brush brush your teeth
Get them nice and clean
The ones in front, the ones in back,
And all the ones between

I agree with the post about choosing songs from your childhood. My son is now fifth (at least) generation to sing "20 Froggies." I also take children's songs and change the words for the task. The Hokey Pokey becomes that bath time song ("wash your right hand, wash your right hand, wash your right hand 'til you get it all clean, you do the washy washy and you get yourself all clean, that's how you take a bath). Row, row, row is the tooth brushing song (Brush, brush, brush your teeth, brush them 'til they're clean, brush, brush, brush your teeth, brush them get them clean). Here we Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush is the nail clipping song (This is the way we clip our nails, clip our nails, clip our nails, this is the way we clip our nails so early in the morning). However, I also occasionally reword songs that I listen to. My son knows Smoke on the Water as the tooth brushing song (Brush, brush, brush... to the opening guitar riff). Have fun with it.

Sing ones you remember from being little or make up your own words to tunes you know like Yankee doodle or jingle bells,

Also the public libraries let you take out music cd's for 3 weeks at at time and have a great variety of music so you and your baby can find lots of things that are fun.

My daughter came home from preschool with a new one I thinkits from a book and maybe a book by totally blanking on his name you might be a red neck adn smarter than a fifth grader Jeff Foxworthy!!!
take me out of the bath tub, take me out of the subs, I've been here soaking since have past too, i'm something and wrinkley too, etc etc etc
Take me out I'm CLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAN! she loves the last part.

"I've been working on the railroad" and "Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow". My son is 3 now and sometimes sings them to his baby sister when she gets upset:)

My daughter loved "Where Is Thumbkin" while we clipped her nails and "Brush Your Teeth" by Raffi. Other than that I'm more likely to make up new lyrics to the tune of Row Row Row Your Boat, Hush Little Baby, or other familiar favorites. It really doesn't matter to my son. I once made up a song about going to bed (including a verse about his nightly drink of water). He now asks for "his favorite drinking song" before bed. I wonder if that will carry over through College!

I love it! I sang to all four of my children as well. I do not have a great, or even good singing voice, but somehow it just seemed natural. I rarely sang any classic lullaby or such, mostly just nonsense sing song words that came into my head. Occasionally I sang dittys from my own childhood. "On baby's knuckle, On baby's knee, Where will the baby's dimple be? On baby's cheek, on baby's chin, I'm telling you it'd be a sin, If it's alway's covered by a safety pin! Where will the dimple be?" and the like. Just keep singing! It's hard not to be happy when your singing! Your baby will love it.

Recently I was invited to my nephew and his wife's first baby shower. As part of their gift I bought them a book by Sandra Boynton called "Snuggle Puppy" the story is intended to be sung. Very happy and sweet. She has numerous other great books for the very young as well.

Well, I've gotten a little teary eyed remembering. God bless you and your son.

J.

Not sure how old your son is but I sing "There is a hole in the bucket." My 3 year old just laughs and laughs.

I don't think it really matters, I sang everything from oldies to new songs as well as the familiar baby songs....

Just sing, sing a song......and they will love it......Sound of Music songs are good too.....

Take care.

.

I used to sing with my kids all the time... Here are some (I can remember) that I didn't see mentioned below:

High Hopes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR14hsxNbm0&feature=re...

John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6hYfyLbG5c

One Elephant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya0iPuCWMoE

Skinnamarinky Dink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu8wuyvl9Vc

Little Peter Rabbit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paAKAc1ez-o

Little Bunny Foo Foo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLRdXR8ngAQ

Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes
There's a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea
I know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Spider
The Ants go Marching
Are you Sleeping (Frere Jacques)
Baby Bumblebee
Muffin Man

FOLK SONGS:

The Old Gray Mare
She'll be Comin' Around the Mountain
Skip to my Lou
Camptown races
Do your ears hang low?
Oh My Darlin'
I've Been Working on the Railroad

PATRIOTIC SONGS:
This Land is Your Land
Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodle Dandy
You're a Grand Ol' Flag
America (My Country Tis of Thee)

I made up a diaper change song to Raffi's "bath time" song. Geez, I don't think I can remember the words now (I am getting old, I guess - lol). It started with "the diaper is wet, wet, wet, so we're set, set, set, get that boy undressed, it's dry dipe time" (short for diaper).

And a toothbrushing song or two (my youngest won't let me sing them anymore though - teehee). Let's brushabrushabrushabrush your teeth was to "She'll be coming round the mountain).

I would also sing songs while we were walking the dog, classics, Raffi, Trout Fishing in America (if you haven't heard them, look them up, they're hysterical), or even songs not for kids, and Christmas carols (mostly in the right time of year, although I would occasionally throw them in other times when my creativity was low).

I sing "Close To You" by The Carpenters and "Baby Mine" from Dumbo. I also sing "From This Moment" by Shania Twain to my daughters. Their current favorite is "You are My Sunshine" Now that they are older, I put the songs on the MP3 Player, and they love them. it comforts them when I cant be there :)

Try Songsforteaching.com
Love that sight!

Good luck
M.

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Some of the songs that both my kiddos like are The Wheels on the Bus, You are my sunshine, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Old MacDonald had a farm. As a former elementary school teacher, I also have some super silly song books where the songs are set to familiar tunes. My 4 year old absolutely loves them!!! (The titles of the books are Take Me Out of the Bathtub and I'm Still Here in the Bathtub; both are by Alan Katz.) I hope that these help!!! I love singing to and with my kiddos!!

I make songs up to tunes that I like. Pick any fun song and change a couple of words to fit the task. Most kids just like seeing Mom being fun loving and will become attentive to that mood.

I sing the Wheels on the bus, and Old McDonald had a farm... then we do the animals and the noises... cow.. pig.. doggy..duck.. etc..
It seems to help get my daughter (22 months) out of a bad mood when she doesn't want to take a bath.. and then she usually cooperates.. Her little face lights up when I start singing.