So many speech and learning activity suggestions for kids seem to focus on ryhmes and songs. Monkey is not a big fan of songs though. He will tolerate my “singing” to some extent but it’s never been his favorite activity. I’ve noticed that songs on typical pre-school programs (like Backyardigans) seem to trigger him. He loved the show for a very long time but he began running from the room whenever they sang (which is a lot) and then he decided he didn’t want to watch the show at all anymore. In his classroom, the singing and movement activities really upset him and he would have meltdowns. Gradually, he stopped doing that but he will not participate, he will grudgingly stay within sight of the kids as they sing and/or dance but that is it.
It’s not all songs that bother him though. He listens to music at bedtime each night. He listens to music in the car (grownup music, we own a few lullaby CDs but that’s it…he listens to what we listen to.) Last night he had trouble falling asleep and eventually ended up crying. I let him get up to calm down and he sat on my lap while we watched this, not your typical toddler music. I was familiar with some of the songs b/c my parents listend to them when I was growing up. He was fascinated and relaxed in my lap.
I wonder if this is something I should try to “fix.” I don’t particularly see anything wrong with it but I know it would make his pre-school teacher happy if she could do movement activities with her class without having Monkey protest. There is no guaruntee that anything I do at home will help in the slightest bit because there are, quite simply, different rules and allowances for Umma (even Duhdee doesn’t get cut quite as much slack as I do, lol.)
Are there any 4 year old appropriate CDs that your kids like(d) that won’t make my ears bleed? I’m resigned to the fact that whatever CD we pick we will be bombarded by ear worms (I’ve been singing “Baby Beluga” for 5 days now, ugh)…I’d just like them to be slightly pleasant for a grownup to listen to. I’ve heard They Might Be Giants have a couple good CDs, I’m not sure who else is good though. Bonus points for any songs that are standard pre-school fare. I’m definitely deficient in this area since my parents didn’t play “kid” music for us as we grew up either, I don’t even know what I missed!
Check out the kid section of your public library. That is where we get our CD’s. If it is something I can handle then I burn it to a disk. If not it can head straight back to the library and I don’t get buyer’s remorse 🙂
The CDs and DVDs are our library are awful. They’re so scratched that I’d say 4 out of 5 of the ones we’ve tried haven’t even worked 🙁
Oh no 🙁 Well that just won’t work.
There must be something in most of the upbeat music that bothers his ears. Punkin loves music, but there were a few preschool songs that made him run away as well. Once they got over trying to force him to sit on the carpet for the song, he was able to listen from a distance for about a week and then eventually stayed with the group. But it sounds like Monkey’s issues are more serious. He probably wouldn’t tolerate ear plugs, but you might try. The silicone ones muffle sound without blocking it completely. Or maybe the teacher needs to turn it down. I do love the Curious George soundtrack, and so does Punkin. It is very mellow, which might be why Monkey likes the bedtime music. I heard somewhere that kids prefer simple, predictable music unlike adults who enjoy the craziness of classical. The Veggie Tales Toddler Songs are nice, but the other ones are a bit screechy.
Dr. Jean songs seem to be quite common in the kindergarten classroom (I’m guessing they are in preschool, too). She has so many ‘good’ songs…Going on a Bear Hunt, Tooty Ta, Days of the Week, Monkey and the Alligator, and many, many more!.
Our favorite has always been Raffi. I can very easily listen to him and actually enjoy it. Is that the Baby Beluga version you listen to??
Kyle was never a big fan of music when he was younger. In pre-school, I think he usually sat (squirmed) on an aides lap; he definitely didn’t participate.
It is the Raffi song. We have a board book and I knew it was a song but I didn’t know the tune so I searched on YouTube and now days later it’s still stuck in my head, lol.
Going on a Bear Hunt is a song? We have that book, I had no clue! I’ve never even heard of Dr. Jean. I’ll consult Google and/or YouTube, lol.
The Curious George soundtrack is an awesome idea! I didn’t think of that. Monkey is lobbying for the Cars soundtrack. He has found the web page for it on Disney.com and he keeps blasting songs from it on Duhdee’s computer, lol.
I like Dr. Jean as well. And there are lots of freebies on the site if I remember correctly. I’m pretty sure we printed off pages that go along with many of her songs so you can read along with them.
We have a Dr. Jean too. I can’t listen to it a lot. Not sure what it is, but some of it sounds corny to me. She’s very popular though. Ian has always loved music. That’s how he learns the best. We do a lot of kids praise music, where the kids are singing instead of adults. We have Praise Baby DVD’s that they love. We also have 100 Sing-a-long Songs for Kids set. They have almost every song you’ve ever heard of (well, you might not have heard of them 🙂 ). Problem we run into is they get stuck on 1 or 2 songs and have to listen to it over and over and over and over…….. Then I’m singin’ them in the shower and in my sleep! Good luck.
Cool Bananas by Genevieve Jereb is awesome. She has a few others but this one has that fantastic 60 beats a minute which helps with calming. Be careful listening to this while driving. It makes me a little too relaxed!
http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Bananas-Genevieve-Jereb/dp/B001FBSJY2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1349538923&sr=8-2&keywords=genevieve+jereb