--M

~Elle

I didn't tell them that it's my favorite movie of all time.

I once worked with a preschooler who stopped whatever he was doing, whether it was happy, quiet play or a bit of a tantrum, if he heard John Denver's "Sunshine On My Shoulders."

And I have found that kids love Peter Yarrow's "Puff the Magic Dragon." (Although I wrote another verse for a happy ending)

Great suggestions! I'll have some new ones to learn! Keep 'em coming!

Marymac

Carol

All night, all day,
Angels watchin' over me, my Lord,
All night, all day,
Angels watchin' over me.

(Don't harvest this one yet, Joe. I'll get all the words to submit with a midi.)

They learned it in Alabama, and could really rock out on the chorus. (Much like Mbo did one night in HearMe.)

When my daughter was only 5 years old I taught her the I, IV, V7 chords on the piano, and she wrote her own song. The title is Such a Pretty Day, and I still have a copy which she decorated and I laminated.

Can't wait for my new granddaughter to arrive...Have I told y'all about her yet?

Mary

--Matt

Mary

Frank

Oh, Bonney, oh, Bonney do you have a purse? Do you have 25 pacifiers in it? One for Monday, one for Tuesday,8 for Wednesday, 12 for Thursday, one for friday, one for Saturday, and one very beautiful one for Sunday

Oh, Bonney, oh, Bonney I see you are a girl Do you know how lucky you are? Cause soon you'll be walkin', and then you'll be talkin' and then you'll learn to multiply and then you'll hate infinity, and you can be whatever you want to be.

Oh, Bonney, oh Bonney you're in our family Do you know how lucky we are? You have a Dylan named Dylan and a Britta named Britta, a doggie named Misty and a kitty named Meggie, a daddy named Daddy and one very beautiful mom named Mommy

Oh Bonney.

bflat

Funnin' once
Funnin' twice
Fun in chicken soup with rice!

I still recall the doggerel I wrote in 10th grade geometry class -

In the bloodless hours of apathy
I sit among the stones
No thoughts from them, much less from me
Ennui invades my bones

LOL

For older kids, Rosalie Sorrels' "I'm Gonna Tell" can't lose, and you can encourage kids -- AFTER the program -- to help you write new verses.

and Mike Anderson's "They're Gonna Put me in Jail" song is my stock repertiore for school visits.

--Matt

Yvonne, I'd be happy to share my verse to Puff. I hope Peter Yarrow doesn't mind.....

I wrote it after singing the song to a group of preschoolers....Their little faces dropped at the end of the song. I just couldn't leave it there, so the next day we sang it again. After Puff sadly slips into his cave, and we sing the refrain one more time to mull it over, then I ask "Is that the end?" And they all delight in saying "NO!" Then we sing the last verse, and they really belt it out!....

Many long years later, Puff was sleeping on the shore
He awakened to the laughter that he'd known so long before
There was Jackie Paper, now grown into a man
And he brought all of his children
To play with Puff again!

Happily ever after.........

pg

--M

We hugged so long I could not tell
But Rosie seemed to like it well
My banjo in the river fell
Oh Rose of Alabama!

Or as we say in Tennessee, Alabammy. :)

I used to play "Here Comes the Sun" by George Harrison/Beatles for one of the children when it was time to get up for school.

They've also enjoyed "Rise and Shine": Rise and shine, and give God the glory, glory (repeat x2), children of the Lord. Then it goes on about God telling Noah to build an arky, arky, there's gonna be a floody, floody, and on and on. It's such a sweet, joyous thing when the kids sing it.

Then, of course, there's "Abiyoyo".

Sharon

The two favorites, as I remember, which called for so many repetitions that I got heartily sick of them, were Froggie Went A-Courting and Rye Whiskey.

"Rye Whiskey"? you say? Yeah. My version has some drunken whoops and hollers in it, and they could never get enough of it. Played hell with my voice, so I had to ration the Rye Whiskey.

Dave Oesterreich

Oh, we're goin' to the party, don't ya wanta come along?
Goin' to the party, don't ya wanta come along?
Goin' to the party, don't ya wanta come along?
We'll dance till the break of day!

He'd almost always shut up, quick. And no other song would do.

Dave Oesterreich

Dave Oesterreich

Don Firth

Some of my kids' favorites: Morningtown Ride (Malvina Reynolds) ~ Where Have All the Flowers Gone? ~ Blowin' In the Wind ~ Aiken Drum ~ Puff ~ Wait for the Wagon (we read the "Little House" books...) ~ Inch by Inch (Garden Song) ~ Lovely Agnes (Sally Rogers)

We sing a lot in my class!

Denise:^)

"Mama's Kitchen got no dress code..."

For 3-5 year olds, I have found "The Mouse's Song" goes down well, as do most accumulative songs

Away she lep' and away she ran/ Unto the cow and there she come/Cow give me milk, I'll give cat milk/Cat'll give me my old tail again!

(spoken) Indeed I will not said the cow, unless you go to the stack and get me some hay

(sung) Away she lep ...

stack says go to the barn and get me some sticks and so on

ends with:

Away she lep' and away she ran/ Unto the crow and there she come,

Crow give me a feather, I'll give sea a feather

Sea'll give me coals I'll give smith coals

Smith'll give me a lock I'll give barn a lock,

Barn'll give me sticks, I'll give stack sticks,

Stack'll give me hay I'll give cow hay

Cow'll give me milk I'll give cat milk

Cat'll give me my old tail again

We always ask the kids to shout "valley-O", when it comes around. Kids love it, but it does wind them up!

Robin

My 9yo *loves* Arthur McBride - his favorite party "Our whackin' shileliaghs came over their heads... and paid them right smart in the mornin!"

I did a couple years in church nursery school, and the favorites were things they knew (all the wrong words from Barney) like Twinkle Twinkle, etc.

Lots of great sea shanties - easy for kids because they have simple choruses.

And here's a trailing question...I heard a song on Radio Disney by a group, and they would take the first part of the nursery rhyme and then give it a twist "And threw it out the window, the window, they threw it out the window"...anyone know what group or song that is?

(e.g.) Mary had a little lamb Its fleece was white as snow And everywhere that mary went... She threw it out the window the window She threw it out the window ...etc.

Only heard it once about a year ago - but it was such a catchy tune and easy nursery rhyme twist that I sing it with my son to this day.