Music CD for Preschool/elem

Oh WOW I didn't even read everything! Great suggestions so far though.
As a former Preschool teacher, I HATE KIDS MUSIC..or at least the sweetie poo 101 versions of if you're happy and you know it! BLAH!
We really set out to find music the kids would like and wouldn't drive the DH and I insane! LOVE anything by Sandra Boynton, They Might Be Giants Kids stuff.
My personal fave is anything made by Putomayo! http://www.barefoot-books.com/us/site/pages/browseandbuy....
Good luck!

My girls love Abba!! We have the Abba Gold CD and fortunately it is something that I can listen to over and over (and over and over).

L. P

We just got Disney's Move It at Target. Everyone loves it even the 1 yo. Real songs that make you want to dance. The girls also like the Imagination Movers

RECESS MONKEY!!

http://www.recessmonkeytown.com/

The singer, Drew, is a friend of mine from college. They are three Seattle elementary teachers. They were on tour last summer and came to Jammin' Java, so I took my son and invited some friends--one friends' 6-year-old is now IN LOVE with Recess Monkey! They put on a great show, and are coming back to Jammin' Java July 18th!

You especially won't be disappointed in their latest album, Tabby Road, and the one before, the double CD Wonderstuff. Wonderstuff indeed!!

(If you have Sirius/XM, a couple of their songs can be heard on the Kid's channel!)

We love Laurie Berkner; They Might Be Giants' album, "No!"; Sharon, Lois and Braham. I enjoyed this article, and you might, too: http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2007/06/music_for_littl.html

Check out Milkshake!

http://www.milkshakemusic.com/index.cfm

Ditto on the ABBA. Of course my 5 yr old guy will listen to almost anything. We really like Sandra Boynton's Philadelphia Chickens and Dog Train. If you are anywhere near Broadlands, VA Curiosity Zones Swamp Stomp Boogie is awesome. Catchy tunes and you actually learn stuff.

We love the Curious George Soundtrack. It's by Jack Johnson.

They Might Be Giants has also put out some kids' CDs, similar to the Barenaked Ladies.

I like the Veggie Tales CD's. There is one in particular that I like that is Veggie songs sung by Christian artists (I think it is called Veggie Rock or something like that). So, it is the silly words from the Veggie songs, but they are not sung with silly voices.

Go on Amazon and check out Ralphs World (the name of the artist). Great music and songs. My favorite is M-o-m-m-y needs c-o-f-f-e-e...

S.

We have the Disney Greatest Hits Vols 1-3, so we have a variety, and we like almost all of the songs. We skip the ones we don't like, and the kids don't care b/c there are so many others. Also, we like Hoops and Yoyo, which is by Hallmark. It's stuff that from my experience with us and relatives, you either love it or you just don't get it. It's just funny-one song is "I've Got Better Manners Than You." Along those lines are VeggieTales, which are for kids, though kids don't always understand the connections and references. Since we like those, we have 3 VeggieTales CDs. For us, variety is important. We don't listen to the same CD on any trips if it plays once through already. A lot of it is finding what you like specifically, but I definately recommend the Greatest Hits. A lot of them are songs we remember from when we were little, so we enjoy them. Good luck finding what works for you!

You Are My Little Bird by Elizabeth Mitchell -- all of her music is very soft and sweet, not as rowdy as TMBG or Barenaked Ladies, but really sweet to listen to and sing along with in the car. We have a couple of her CD's and they always calm the kids down.

My family loves Steve Songs. www.stevesongs.com
He's from CT. We first saw him about 5 years ago when we lived in MA. When we moved to VA in Aug 07 he began appearing on PBS mornings as Mr. Steve. We have followed him around this area and my husband joined us for a concert and even he enjoyed the music. Steve writes, sings and plays his own songs. They are fun, educational and he is VERY easy on Mom's eyes! LOL. Our Fav is Flying Guitar. Good Luck!

Check out www.kidscorner.com, which is for a Philly radio show for kids that plays a variety of fun songs that are parent-friendly. They publish a playlist of songs and the top ten songs of the year. I have a CD from the show that my mom gave me and it is a family favorite -- we all know the words and sing along to the Cheese song, My name is Joe, A Manatee Sneezed on me, and the rest.

I have a 6yo son and an 18mo son and they listen to the things I listened to as a kid. Mainly they listen to Raffi (Singable Songs for the Young, More Singable Songs, and The Corner Grocery Store) and we listen to Peter, Paul and Mary (Peter, Paul and Mommy and Peter Paul and Mommy too) We also have a CD of Shel Silverstein reading a few of his poems from A Light in the Attic that the kids like to listen to since many of them are accompanied by funny music.

Of course, these are geared more toward the kids, so I don't know how you'd feel about them, but my kids love them and it keeps them quiet in the car. I also love them because I grew up with them, so they don't bother me. Even my husband has come to enjoy them because of the reactions they get out of the kids.

You could also try just about any country music station. My kids enjoy it, it's full of good values, your kids won't hear anything you don't want them to, and the music is actually very good. Takes a little getting used to, but it's very good.

They Might Be Giants do some kids music that is sorta adult friendly. My husband and I still sing Raffi songs randomly from time to time - so don't rule out the kid-centered (our 3 kids are 17 +).

We all enjoy "For the Kids" and "For the Kids Too". They have songs from various artists including Barenaked Ladies.

I second the Curious George Jack Johnson CD...it's a good one. We also have the Disney Vol. 1 and 2, but they are def. kiddie songs. Good ones though!

My kids love TobyMac, Superchick, etc. - you can buy them at LifeWay. They have good lyrics, but are not just for kids. Also, I love the Enchanted soundtrack, Broadway musicals, etc, because I can sing along. Also, if you are at home, you can turn on the Kidz Only channel and they are more tolerable than 'kids' songs. My daughter loves to dance around the living room to that and read the fun facts about the singers.

Hi C.,
I have a suggestion! :)
I am a children's musician and my CD is called 'By The Sea'. You can try mine.....you can hear song clips online at www.bridgettemichaels.com.
I am originally from the Caribbean and then lived in Florida and this is my third year in Annapolis and I love it.....my music has an island feel!

I hope you enjoy!
Let me know!
B.

music with out words is really good for kids, it helps with concentration, mood and a whole bunch of stuff. you don't have to go the baby einstein route, good classical music, jazz (not kenny G, good stuff) techno with out words (great for clean up time) if you have cable or satalite raido put those on during the day instead of background tv and if you find a song you like write down the artis and search it on Itunes
Happy listening!

BTW I'm a music teacher and mommy!

Hi C.,
We like "Music for Little People", in particular the 15th anniversary CD. They have a website if you want to check it out. It has songs I enjoy hearing too. Also, the Veggie Tales CDs are really funny. Good luck! You might also want to invest in a couple of CD players with headphones for the kids so you can listen to your own music sometimes!

i know you said music. but my son 4 loves to listen to stories. we have some cds that a friend of mine burned for my son. dr. seuss stories and she got them from audible.com. and we absolutely love classic children's stories - marc binder. we all enjoy them.

Try Jack Hartmann. His CDs are the best. Educational with a good beat and fun to listen to for everyone. http://www.jackhartmann.com/

Putumayo World Music. French Playground, Folk Playground, all of their other music, not necessarily the kids' collection. Great music all around.
http://www.putumayo.com/

I purchased the They might be Giants "Here come the ABCs" off of the Disney website. It includes the theme song for 'Higgletown Heroes' and I actually enjoy listening to it as well as my 6 YO.

I would also recommend Putumayo - the playground series. It's a great collection of international music!

The Baby Einstein CDs are excellent. They are not just for babies. Also the Beethoven's Wig series is terrific! My kids love it. They make classical music really fun by putting silly words to classical tunes. AF

Just brainstorming (I don't know your age or musical taste)-
*Disney sountracks (such as Lion King, Little Mermaid, etc) have some nice songs as well as fun songs that parents and kids can have fun with.
*They Might Be Giants are incredibly fun to listen to for everyone. They do have a kids album also, but even their regular album releases are quirky and interesting.
*Oldies music like the Monkees and Beatles are great (I remember listening and singing along to those with my parents when I was young). also oldies like "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," Beach Boys, etc.

I think just exposing them to the music you listen to is a good thing, it's a shared experience for the family. It will give children appreciation for wide variety of sounds and styles, And at a young age, the kids don't care that it may not be trendy or popular. My stepdaughter LOVES 80's music, which is hilarious to me, but very fun to listen to the music with her. I can reminisce about my favorite songs like "Walk Like An Egyptian" by the Bangles, and she gets to experience the songs with a fresh viewpoint.

Our current favorite is Steve Songs who performs at Wolf Trap's Theater in the Woods in summer. We like the Flying Guitar album best. Of Dan Zanes CDs we like Sea Songs. He also has other albums with a lot of guests like Sheryl Crow. Folk music seems pretty kid friendly. I also like to expose the kids to music from other countries. The kids and I liked The Gift of the Tortoise which has songs and stories from South Africa performed by Ladysmith Black Mambazo. And surprisingly the kids love Tommy by the Who. Of course , it leads to some awkward questions about the story but the adult themes go over their heads and they enjoy the funny voices. There's so much out there. Have fun!

Jack Johnson's soundtrack from the Curious George movie is great!

We listen to what we like around my son(5). My husband is a musician so we end up listening to practices and live music alot. But Bands like Dave Matthews, Johnny Cash, Sheryl Crow, any kids movie soundtrack,& Blugrass or Jazz are great for kids. My son loves all music and listens/dances to it all. The possibilities are endless- there really are more groups/musicians out there putting out positive music than the other. Stick to the realm of what YOU guys like and it will naturally flow into what the kids like too. Then its a family thing and not an us and them experience.

We love the Putumayo Kids collection. This is their kids line but they also make CDs that are not specifically geared toward children. The kids CDs have sing-a-longs, dancing songs, and even a disc devoted to lullabies. I like these because they bring music from around the world and have native singers using native instruments. Very fun!

There is a great CD called "Kit and Caboodle" that my kids loved. You can find it at:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/kitcab

They Might Be Giants - No! and ABC's
Jack Johnson - Curious George
Sandra Boynton - Dog Train, Blue Moo, Rhinoceros Tap
Backyardigans

Those are the ones that all my kids love and that we enjoy too. Me more than my husband but he'll listen to Dog Train, Jack Johnson, and They Might Be Giants. On our road trip last summer we listened to Blue Moo so many times we all have it memorized now! There's a great interview on YouTube of Sandra Boynton about the making of that book/CD. You can probably preview a lot of the songs on Amazon or on You Tube.

Good luck!

Laurie Berkner~any of the CD's. We listened to her ALL the time for a long time and I still use her CD's in my preschool class.

Imaginations Movers is cool too. Their CD (Juice Box Heroes) was developed with requests like yours in mind.

Enjoy.