We have always exposed our kids to a wide arrange of fun, eclectic music in the hopes of laying a foundation for musical appreciation on a grand scale. Right now, for example, their most requested songs include:
"Rhythm of Love" (by the Plain White T's. Also called "camping song #2" by the kids.)
"Elvira" (by The Oak Ridge Boys. Giddeup a oompahpah, baby.)
"Nothing's Gonna Stop This Love" (great dance song by "Radiant Rising" - turns any drive into a jam.)
"Knee Deep" (by Zac Brown Band. Also called "camping song #1" by the kids.)
"I Am the War Inside" (by Switchfoot. Violet sings that line on repeat, which is just awesome. And hilarious.)
"I'm Yours" (by Jason Mraz. Yes he swears in that song, but it's the "d" word and honestly sounds like he is saying Daniel's name... so Daniel thinks it's HIS song. We're such great parents...!)
The one thing we HAVEN'T exposed them to is traditional kids music. When we put on a kids' album, it's usually something quirky like Elizabeth Mitchell or SteveSongs ("Fast Monkey" is a household favorite.)
But when it comes to the CLASSICS, they aren't coming from us. They tend to come from school and church at times (we weren't the ones to teach them "Jesus Loves Me" or "Taking Home a Baby Bumblebee", for example) but once they have been taught them, we sing them together. We're not anti-kids music. There's just so much good stuff out there in the real world that we'd prefer them listening to - it's probably more selfish than anything strategic.
Anyway. Back to my point. I'm not sure where this one came from but they started singing that (really old) kids song: "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus in the morning, Jesus at the noontime, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus when the sun goes down." (Then you repeat with new words - Love him, Serve him, Praise him, Thank him.)
So Fernando taught them the correct lyrics (Daniel kept saying "Jesus at the news time" and Violet insisted on "Bake him, Bake him" instead of "Thank him, Thank him".) He even worked up a fun little version on guitar so we could sing as a family at home.
This was great, but didn't work in the car. (And thanks to our iPhones, the car has become our central music point.) I mean, we'd sing it all together ac cappella, but something was still missing. SO he downloaded a (very cheesy) version of this onto his iPhone, so we could play it in the car.
Instant hit. Like, overnight #1 Billboard kind of success with the kids. Forget that previous list of favorites... Plain White T's are out, and Jesus is in.
For a while I didn't have it on my phone, so Violet would ask, "Can we hear Jesus? Or is he just on Daddy's phone?" Which is cute. But then it got cuter. She'd just smile at us and ask,
"Do you have Jesus on your phone?"
The day Mommy got Jesus on her phone was a pretty big deal. And now we have to impose rules about how many times they can listen to Jesus before Mommy and Daddy go INSANE.
Don't get me wrong. I love Jesus a lot, but my limit is three. I'm pretty sure he understands.
(Side note about the photo... Violet now uses a silk scarf behind her head for hair protection purposes. She also has been carrying around Baby Sydney and Baby Boy a lot. When we leave them in the car, she tells them bye, that she loves them and she'll come back to see them. Little mother in the making!)
"Rhythm of Love" (by the Plain White T's. Also called "camping song #2" by the kids.)
"Elvira" (by The Oak Ridge Boys. Giddeup a oompahpah, baby.)
"Nothing's Gonna Stop This Love" (great dance song by "Radiant Rising" - turns any drive into a jam.)
"Knee Deep" (by Zac Brown Band. Also called "camping song #1" by the kids.)
"I Am the War Inside" (by Switchfoot. Violet sings that line on repeat, which is just awesome. And hilarious.)
"I'm Yours" (by Jason Mraz. Yes he swears in that song, but it's the "d" word and honestly sounds like he is saying Daniel's name... so Daniel thinks it's HIS song. We're such great parents...!)
The one thing we HAVEN'T exposed them to is traditional kids music. When we put on a kids' album, it's usually something quirky like Elizabeth Mitchell or SteveSongs ("Fast Monkey" is a household favorite.)
But when it comes to the CLASSICS, they aren't coming from us. They tend to come from school and church at times (we weren't the ones to teach them "Jesus Loves Me" or "Taking Home a Baby Bumblebee", for example) but once they have been taught them, we sing them together. We're not anti-kids music. There's just so much good stuff out there in the real world that we'd prefer them listening to - it's probably more selfish than anything strategic.
Anyway. Back to my point. I'm not sure where this one came from but they started singing that (really old) kids song: "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus in the morning, Jesus at the noontime, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus when the sun goes down." (Then you repeat with new words - Love him, Serve him, Praise him, Thank him.)So Fernando taught them the correct lyrics (Daniel kept saying "Jesus at the news time" and Violet insisted on "Bake him, Bake him" instead of "Thank him, Thank him".) He even worked up a fun little version on guitar so we could sing as a family at home.
This was great, but didn't work in the car. (And thanks to our iPhones, the car has become our central music point.) I mean, we'd sing it all together ac cappella, but something was still missing. SO he downloaded a (very cheesy) version of this onto his iPhone, so we could play it in the car.
Instant hit. Like, overnight #1 Billboard kind of success with the kids. Forget that previous list of favorites... Plain White T's are out, and Jesus is in.
For a while I didn't have it on my phone, so Violet would ask, "Can we hear Jesus? Or is he just on Daddy's phone?" Which is cute. But then it got cuter. She'd just smile at us and ask,
"Do you have Jesus on your phone?"
The day Mommy got Jesus on her phone was a pretty big deal. And now we have to impose rules about how many times they can listen to Jesus before Mommy and Daddy go INSANE.
Don't get me wrong. I love Jesus a lot, but my limit is three. I'm pretty sure he understands.
(Side note about the photo... Violet now uses a silk scarf behind her head for hair protection purposes. She also has been carrying around Baby Sydney and Baby Boy a lot. When we leave them in the car, she tells them bye, that she loves them and she'll come back to see them. Little mother in the making!)
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