Kid's Music I Can Actually Stand...

Let's face it, kids music has always been the bane of most adults' existence.  It's corny or irritating.  There's that question: why let them listen to that when they can listen to real music.

But they like it.

A LOT.

The development of music is like any other process in childhood development.  Children have to start with the fundamentals and they have to be able to relate to the music.  That doesn't mean they can't enjoy adult music, but they also love children's music.  Which unfortunately, can make a car ride unbearable.  Unless you find music you actually like!

Ok, ok, I know that's all relative.  If you read this post and you're not a parent, you'll probably think I'm insane for even using the word like.  But, it's not much different that the reality that when you become a parent, you actually enjoy the choo-choo train ride around the mall food court.  Go figure.

Still, I can't listen to just any kids music.  So, in my search for songs I could stand, I really did discover music that I enjoy.  Well, relatively speaking.  Hey, it's catchy.  And yes, you will find my husband and I randomly bursting out in song to "Willy Was A Whale."  I said it was catchy.  Anyways, here are a few artists I've come to enjoy.  But be careful...you might end up breaking out into song in the middle of the grocery store.  Oh, wait, I did that before I had kids...

RALPH'S WORLD

I love this guy.  His music is funny.  The album shown here, At The Bottom Of The Sea, I bought in full, mostly for the Coffee Song.  However, I have gone and bought other songs from his other albums.  At The Bottom Of The Sea is still my favorite though and I highly recommend it!  His music is quite folky and upbeat, which I like.  He's also just silly which is great, too.

ROBBIE SCHAEFER

A member of the popular band, Eddie From Ohio, Robbie is a wonderful children's entertainer.  I only wish he had more kids CDs than just Songs For Kids Like Us.  This was the first album I discovered that my son and I both loved.  He wore us out on it.  I think we've listened to it a thousand times.  It's still great though!  Very folky as well.  He also has a wonderful music outreach organization called One Voice focused on promoting peace and cultural awareness among children through music and media.

JUSTIN ROBERTS

So far I have purchased the album Yellow Bus, although I intend to explore more if I can stop my son from listening to the song Yellow Bus over and over and over and over and over (you see where I am going with this?).  My favorite song is Thought It Was A Monster, however.  To each his own.  Another folky and upbeat singer, I highly recommend you check out his albums?

SING ALONG WITH PUTAMAYO

I just love this CD and so does every kid I have ever met.  Unfortunately, it's not available on ITunes, but you can purchase the CD from Putamayo's site.  Once you've hear Banana Phone, you'll be hooked.  And there's a gorgeous rendition of You Are My Sunshine.  On that note, all of Putamayo's kids CDs are pretty wonderful.  I have a special love for Folk Playground and World Playground.

Those are my discoveries so far.  Anyone else have kids CDs they actually enjoy?  I'd love to find more!!

UPDATE (2/10/13):

Pandora's Children's Indie Station is changing my life!  I'm loving the music on this channel and it introduces me to all sorts of new artists. 

Love The Rhythm Train: Dick Van Dyke, the Chili Pepper's Chad Smith, Leslie Bixler, need I say more! 

Our Kitchen Tower Has Arrived!!

I've been feeling like a failing Montessori parent, as my child has no kitchen tower so that I may bring him up to counter height and begin letting him help in the kitchen (sure we've been cooking and baking at the kitchen table, but it hardly lets him be a part of daily activities).  But, my kitchen is smaller than a parking space, so my desires for a kitchen tower have long conflicted with my desires to be able to turn around.  I will refrain from complaining about my storage issues...

But now, my kitchen and my parenting ego need not fear!  The GuideCraft Kitchen Helper has come to my rescue!

It took some researching to find a tower that would suit my needs and my budget.  There are a number of amazing towers out there.  The Learning Tower and Fun Pod are generally the most popular:    

       

They are a bit costly, upwards of $200, but they are well made and sturdy.  They are also big, and I had nowhere to put one.  I need sturdy and space-saving.  So, luckily, I came across TWO kitchen towers that fold.  One Step Ahead makes one that folds.  But after reading reviews, I learned that you have to remove a screw and replace a screw every time you want to fold it up.  That's just not convenient for something my son wants to use frequently.

The GuideCraft became the best solution.  It folds up easily (although the feet at the bottom keep it a little wide, but that's the price of safety).  It does have a removable screw in the platform, but you don't need it in place to keep the whole thing together and sturdy (you might only need it in place if your toddler insisted on lifting up the platform and this was a problem for you).  The tower from One Step Ahead might be the same, but I'm not certain, so I went with the GuideCraft.  The price wasn't much cheaper than the popular brands (at full price it's more than $170) but I found it on Amazon at 30% off, so it didn't end up too pricey after all.  Some of the reviews on Amazon reported a lack of quality (...did not meet expectations...) but I'm not sure what people were expecting because I have found it to be very sturdy.

My son LOVES it.  He'd spend all day in it, hanging out at the counter.  Sometimes I put water in bowls and let him play in the sink.  Today he helped me make dinner (give the kid a mortar and pestle and he's thrilled).  Then again, while I cooked this evening, I put on his favorite music and he just danced in it.

Just Like Mommy and Daddy

A little Mini-Me, that's what I have.

It never fails to amaze me how much my son wants to do everything his parents do.  He wants to sit the way I do, he wants to hold what I'm holding, drink out of my cup; all of the kinds of things he will one day refuse to do in his attempts to be, I'm sure, anything but like his father and I.  Enter my husband's insane theory that he should become an alcoholic when our son becomes a teenager so that our son will do the opposite.  That nonsense aside, and giant bridge to cross when we come to it, for now, everything my son does begins as but an echo of what we do.

That's a lot of pressure.  "No, no, Mommy said ship...shiiiPPPPP."  I swear, that's what I said.

It's also frustrating at times.  At 18 months old, he may want to hold a glass, but there's going to be water all over the floor.  And he may want to sit on the adult's chair, but then he's trying to climb up on the table like it's Mount Everest and attack the chandelier.  These outcomes can often make any parent want to refrain her children from attempting the actions.

And then I remember what Dr. Montessori said: "The task of the educator lies in seeing that the child does not confound good with immobility and evil with activity."  We parents are but life-long educators, are we not?  Our children's actions to be like us are merely reflections of their desires to understand the world and become independent.  A desire that is key to future success and happiness.  When we stifle it, we discourage children from actions that fulfill a very positive desire.  So, the question becomes: instead of preventing our children from doing things, how do we support our children's attempts to mimic us despite the frustrating outcomes?

For me, it has been about remembering that every outcome is another opportunity to show my son how I would do it.  So, not only have I supported his endeavors by not restraining them, I am also showing him the boundaries of those behaviors by letting him know what is acceptable and what is not, as well as precisely how it's done.  It's still frustrating at times because it often creates more work, but my job as a parent is to guide him, not limit him.  I also try to remember that supporting his independence will ultimately create less work for me.  I always try to stop and think "how can I let him do this in a way that will help him be more successful with it?"

I've found that my efforts are increasingly less frustrating when I have set up a properly prepared environment.  If I have things in his environment that help support his attempts, while minimizing failure, the outcomes are far easier to deal with.  For example, we have small cups for my son to drink out of.  As he gains in skill, he sometimes uses bigger cups like ours.  But, if there's a spill, I keep cloths on a shelf handy (for him) and I show him how to clean up the water.  My son also has his own duster, swiffer, and mini spray bottle for "helping" while I am cleaning (although, I won't lie, he always wants to trade).  Child-sized tools that are the same as the adult's are an excellent way to support these amazing endeavors are children are embarking upon.  For Small Hands (partnered with Montessori Services) is a great place to find these things online, although I keep an eye out whenever I am shopping to find anything that my son could use more easily that the adult version.

Here he is doing amazing "grown-up" things:

(walking the dog...not recommended for any dog, but ours is very well trained)

(he mostly ends up dusting the dog)

(picking the leaves off rosemary while I chopped vegetables)

(sitting on a railing because that's what Mommy was doing)

So goes my son's journey to be just like my husband and I.  It also reminds me that I have to think about everything that I do.  Because, he is definitely going to follow suit.  I am the model for which all of his behavior follows.

Yup, that IS a lot of pressure.  (I swear, I said SHIP).