Last week I was helping a friend to change her daughter's nappy. I started singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to distract Miss 2 and calm her down. My friend commented on how effective singing was. I hadn't really thought about it before, but I sing a lot with my kids. I sing to them and with them as part of everyday life in Lohtown. So today, I thought I'd share with you some of the ways that I use singing in our home.
Distraction: nappy-change
Stinky Pants [to the tune of Thundercats]
Stinky pants is on the move,
Stinky pants is loose...
Stinky, stinky, stinky, stinky pants!
New Pants [I think Franky made this tune up...]
Pants, pants, pants, pants,
Pants, pants, pants, pants,
Makes you want to dance,
When you've got new pants.
You Smell Like Poo! [no tune]
You smell like poo!
Oh yes you do!
You smell like poo!
Oh yes you do!
Twinkle Twinkle little star
I have sung this song with my own kids, as well as with friends' kids. It seems to be calming for little people and has the added advantage of keeping their hands busy and out of their dirty nappy ;)
Wheels on the Bus
Both of my boys have particularly loved this song and we make up our own verses (eg our Daddy in the bus snores). It's also a fun song for clothes/nappy changing because you can do actions - swishing legs from side to side (as the wipers), cycling legs (as the wheels), honking noses (as the horn), etc.
Distraction: brushing teeth
Brush, brush, brush (from Playschool)
Ch... Ch... Ch... The toothbrush song (from Playschool)
Keeping on task
I often sing songs during tasks to remind the boys what they are supposed to be doing. It's much nicer than nagging.
Bath-time [to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell]
We're walking up the stairs,
We're walking up the stairs,
Hi-ho the derry-o,
We're walking up the stairs.
It's time to have a bath,
It's time to have a bath,
Hi-ho the derry-o,
It's time to have a bath.
Just having fun
Bedtime Song [to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus]
The Mummy in the bed goes sh-sh-sh
Sh-sh-sh, sh-sh-sh,
The Mummy in the bed goes sh-sh-sh all night long.
The brother in the bed goes cough, cough, cough,
Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough,
The brother in the bed goes cough, cough, cough all night long.
The baby in the bed goes *snore*
*snore* *snore*
The baby in the bed goes *snore* all night long.
In China They Never Grow Chilli (Limerick Song)
The verses are limericks (and it was only tonight when I looked at Wikipedia that I realised the original verses are actually quite rude - we don't use those ones!). Franky & I actually make the verses up, one line each. When Mr Sociable was a baby, we would often sing this song, making up funny verses - which calmed Mr Sociable down, but also gave us some laughs in trying situations!
Chorus:
Ay-yi-yi-yi,
In China they never grow chilli
So sing me another verse
That's worse than the first verse
Make sure that it's foolish and silly.
Teaching
We sing songs to learn about numbers (see my Counting Songs post) and letters/sounds (we sometimes listen to Jolly Phonics in the car). We sing songs to learn about God and the Bible. Mr Sociable particularly likes Colin Buchanan - which is great for all of us to listen to in the car.
What songs do you sing in your house?
