Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Read & Sing with Hap Palmer Children’s DVD Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Do you have a little one who is finally old enough for small doses of tv time? I remember that period of life. Frankly, part of me was excited to introduce the television because I was so desperate for something that could hold Darah’s attention for 5 solid minutes (and at first, that’s how long she would watch before wandering off!). On the flip side, I wanted to make sure that what she was watching wasn’t complete and total garbage. And finding quality programming for little ones can be surprisingly difficult!

As I type this, Darah is downstairs watching a DVD that I would highly recommend to parents of toddlers and preschoolers. It is from the celebrated children’s singer Hap Palmer, and it’s called Read & Sing with Hap Palmer, and it retails for $14.95.

Basically, this DVD is a collection of songs that are brought to live with illustrations and photographs (but not with live motion). I actually prefer still images for younger kids, as it doesn’t overwhelm them as quickly. The songs are catchy and the words are provided on the page, to help with sight reading and vocabulary skills.

Darah frequently asks to watch her “singing DVD” and I feel confident that Layah will enjoy watching this when she is old enough, as well. Since the DVD is broken up into 12 songs, it is easy to pause the program and take a break from watching television after just a few minutes.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of Read & Sing with Hap Palmer!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of the page.

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Introducing Ragtime and Blues to Children: Randy Kaplan’s Mr. Diddie Wah Diddie CD (GIVEAWAY!)

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As adults, we know that it is healthy to break out of your comfort zone. Try a new workout (or try working out at all!), give a new type of cuisine a shot, or even make some new friends and not just stick to the friends you have known since high school. These are all good things to do!

Expanding your musical horizons is another great thing to do, but most of us don’t. I personally never listen to country music, even though I can objectively state that there is some excellent stuff out there. It’s just out of my personal comfort zone, so I avoid it. It occurred to me a few weeks ago that if I want Darah to have an adventurous and curious spirit, I’ve got to start doing a better job of role-modeling that behavior. And I need to do so not just with big things, but also with small, everyday things.

So I switched off the Glee Pandora channel (go ahead and judge if you are embarrassed by that statement…I’m totally NOT embarrassed and am super comfy in my teen pop Gleek skin). And I put on some ragtime and blues-inspired tunes, courtesy of children’s artist Randy Kaplan.

I wouldn’t even have known where to find something like this without his newest cd, Mr. Diddie Wah Diddie. And I certainly wouldn’t have gone out looking for it on my own. So what a blessing it was to get to listen to it, anyway. Because despite my preconceived notions about the type of music I do and don’t like, I thought this cd was a great deal of fun.

Will it be on constant repeat in my house? No. But will it get a regular turn? Absolutely! Darah likes it because it is just so different, and I think that’s why I like it, too.

If you happen to be a blues and ragtime fan, already, this cd won’t be out of your comfort zone, but it will still be a fun way for your children to have their own songs in the same style as what mom and dad listen to. Either way, I think it is a really great addition to a music collection, and certainly a fine way to give a genre that might be unfamiliar to your children a chance. You can pick up Mr Diddie Wah Diddie for just $11.68 at Amazon right now.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of Mr. Diddie Wah Diddie!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Introducing Dad and Musician Ben Bowen (Guest Post and GIVEAWAY!!!)

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My name’s Ben Bowen. I’m a husband, a father of two, and a musician. In February 2010 the opportunity came up to teach music to classes of preschool children. I try to approach risk with an attitude of “embracing failure,” so, not knowing quite what to expect, I grabbed my guitar and dove in headlong. The obvious first move was to turn to the music of my own childhood for inspiration: Raffi, Sharon Lois & Bram, The Goat with Bright Red Socks, but soon it became obvious that I needed to start sourcing new material and so, guided by friends’ recommendations and various parenting blogs, I started buying kids’ records.

   After a number of false starts I ended up stumbling across a veritable “Holy Grail” of kids’ and folk music, the Seegers. The first discovery was Pete Seeger’s Birds, Beasts, Bugs, and Little Fishes, a reissue of two LPs from 1955. My family and I we were immediately drawn in by his warm rich voice, his meticulous playing, and songs we’d never heard before but that somehow seemed to awaken a long-dormant part of ourselves. I also found a 94-track album called American Folk Songs for Children, recorded by Mike and Peggy Seeger in 1978 which was a companion to a book written by their mother, Ruth Crawford Seeger, in 1948. For reasons I couldn’t quite explain, these records had a profound effect on me, and the songs began to work their way into both our home life and my teaching.

   See, once upon a time, music was imbued with our collective story. We handed down traditional songs and tales from generation to generation, and even in the very act of that transmission we could sense the history of ourselves, of our ancestors, of old ways of life. More than that, though, folk was the sort of music you didn’t passively listen to on record but was instead the type you got together and sang with your friends and neighbours in your living rooms and kitchens, smiling into one another’s faces as voices blended together and social bonds were strengthened through shared song and common narrative.

Last year I started singing these songs in public in front of audiences. In September I opened for Fred Penner. Shortly thereafter, it seemed like a reasonable next step to try to record some of my favourites. In December, with my sister and brother-in-law in tow, I went into the studio and over the course of a single day recorded ten songs, five of which now appear on the Bumblebee EP.

These songs resonate in me like church bells, cutting through the din and complication of modern life with their simple beauty and often playful lyrics. This EP is the first of what I hope to be many recordings of this kind of music; I hope you find my love for it infectious, and that maybe it encourages you to go out and find more of these rich socio-cultural treasures yourself.

The Bumblebee EP is available on iTunes, CDBaby, and emusic, and can be previewed (so-to-speak) in its entirety at www.benbowen.ca/epk.htm.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to score the entire album!

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The Jimmies: Children’s Music That Rocks My Socks Off! (GIVEAWAY!!!)

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As I learn more and more about children’s music, I have noticed that there are artists who like to stick to a particular sound, and there are also artists who like to show off all their varied musical influences by producing songs with very different sounds, all on one album.
Within that sub-group of musicians, I have also noticed that the majority of these artists do not necessarily excel when they try to be too many different things. They don’t necessarily fail, but rather, just produce ok music that seems a little wacky and all over the board.
The Jimmies, however, are a group that seems to have absolutely nailed this skill. If you were to randomly choose any song on their new cd, Practically Ridiculous, you would think that they were singing a song in their preferred style, and you would think that because they would be so good at it. Move to the next song, and you’ll be shocked to hear a completely different sound, though equally as good.
The Jimmies are a musical marvel, I think. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. They have been voted one of the Top 20 Best Kids Album of the Decade by AOL ParentDish, and The Jimmies find themselves on over 12 Best Album of the Year lists. Woo!
Practically Ridiculous will be available for purchase for $14.99 starting on September 20th. But I have a chance for you to win it right now! Woo hoo!
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Meredith LeVande What Are the Odds?

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meredith levande what are the odds album cover Meredith LeVande, you have 2 new fans. First, and foremost, is Darah. She loves your fun and funky tunes; they make her giggle. Second, I am totally a fan of yours, now! I think your lyrics are clever and quirky and your tunes are oh so easy to hum along to. You’ve even inspired me to work on telling Darah all about numbers now, thanks to your album’s flagship song, What Are the Odds?!

I’m a little bit late to the Meredith LeVande party. She released her first album, Monkey Monkey Music, 5 years ago, and has been devoting herself to, “putting the child back into children’s music” ever since.

Meredith performs for children in intimate settings all around NYC. If you aren’t a resident of the city that never sleeps, though, that’s ok! Meredith would love to give you a private concert in your own home, courtesy of her cds!

Meredith LeVande photo From the press release, “With the new Monkey Monkey Music CD, What Are the Odds?, Meredith has created something remarkable, finding the middle road between baby songs and pop band songs where kids’ lyrics are simply added to music that would otherwise be played for adults. Meredith’s music is not only child-friendly, it’s truly child appropriate, developed with the healthy growth of the young child in mind.”

What Are the Odds? was released today. Hooray!!! You can buy the album now for $14.99.

or….

Edit: This giveaway is closed
Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need Reader will win a copy of What Are the Odds? What are the odds that you’ll win?….not good if you don’t enter!!!! The contest will run until September 10th at 7:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize before it is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Limit one entrant per household, please. Open to residents of the United States.

Mandatory entry: Tell me anything odd…your favorite odd number (and why), a time when you beat the odds, your oddest craving, anything odd (and family friendly) will do!

Additional entries:
1. “Like” Meredith LeVande on Facebook
2. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter
3. “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook
4. Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by RSS, email or Google Friend Connect (only one extra entry, even if you subscribe multiple ways)
5. If you are a blogger (posted something within the past 3 months) put my button on your blog and leave a url so that I can find it.

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways (listed on the sidebar of my home page)

Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Rock Music for Kids: Three Great Albums

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EDIT: This giveaway is now closed.

Since Darah was in the womb, Tim and I have made an effort to expose her to a variety of music. She gets plenty of classical music when her dad is home with her on Mondays. When she’s with me, we like to listen to a lot of Ben Folds. We’ve recently discovered that Darah is particularly fond of a few Michael Jackson songs, especially Smooth Criminal. She loves the quick beat; it makes her giggle when we play it! This got us thinking that we needed to find more rock music for kids.

I’m glad that we are exposing our baby to music that we love. We also need to look beyond our own favorites and expose her to other types of music that she might love all on her own. I recently had the opportunity to try out three bands that are new to me, because they are bands geared toward children.

The first a charity and the rock music for kids lbum we listened to was Party Like a Twinkle Star, a double album by Charity and the JAMband. The first cd has 10 songs designed especially for “rocking out,” and the second cd has 10 songs for the end of the day as you wind down. I really love that the music is on two discs, separated by overall mood. We listen to selections from the Party disc at different points throughout the day. We seem to dance the most to “Get Your Booty Out of Bed” and “Row Row Row Your Boat.” We also listen to the Twinkle disc sometime in between her last nap of the day and her bedtime routine. There are several really sweet songs on this disc, with our favorites being “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “So Long to the Day.” So what does this group sound like? From their website, “JAM is a hootenanny, a hullabaloo, a dance party, a shindig-bash, a festival, a family band, a rain dance, a sun song, a fairy frolic, a wander in the park, a race on the beach, a flitting floating butterfly-bop, a blundering thundering elephant-stomp, a twirling-whirling-swirling dizzy-dee fall-down boogie!” The overall sound of this band is what I would call funky laid-back rock. It’s not the type of music that Tim and I already had on our Itunes, which makes it a welcome addition! I was also impressed to learn that two of their four albums have won Children’s Music Web Awards! Check this album out for yourself. Right now you can download “We are Stardust” from the Twinkle album for free and get an idea of what you would be buying! I really think you and your little one will like it!

rock music for kids: Sarah Lee Guthrie The second album we have been listening to is Go Waggaloo from Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family. Sarah is the granddaughter of Woody Guthrie, and she is definitely continuing her legacy of gifted singing and songwriting. If you are a fan of his, you should know that this album features three songs with lyrics by Woodie that have never before been put to music. So what does this music sound like? From her site, “The arrangements blend traditional folk music with contemporary lyrics and instrumentation. Among the surprises on Go Waggaloo are a scratching drum machine, songs about Xboxes and DVDs, and a spur-of-the-moment song recorded on a cell phone by the Guthrie family on a road trip.” I really liked the overall vibe of this album, and I have found myself singing some of the songs to Darah even when the cd isn’t playing. “Don’t I Fit in My Daddy’s Shoes?” and “If Mama Had Four Hands” are among my personal favorites, and “Oh How He Lied” makes Darah smile when she hears it. You can really get a good sense for the music by checking out this short YouTube clip about the album.

rock music for kids The third album we have added to our music collection is the self-titled album by Earthworm Ensemble. I thought this was a very interesting cd because if features a lot of different vocalists, which gives each song a unique sound. From their site, “We’re calling it family music, rather than just children’s music. We hope children and their parents can enjoy the songs together, and talk about some of the ideas in the songs. We sing about the earthworm’s role in the plant cycle; about buffalo migration as told by a young buffalo; buying fresh corn at the farmer’s market and taking it home to cook; how to make pizza from scratch; and trains, walking in the woods, birds, and a superhero team of Bear and Dog who’ve come to save the planet!” That pretty much sums it up, folks. With this album, I found myself chuckling quite a bit and tapping my feet right along with the music. If you are intrigued now (and you really should be!) and you’d like to hear some of their tunes, check out their MySpace page.

Buy Them!: If the only music you have in your house is the stuff you know and like, it’s time to branch out a bit and try some sounds that will appeal to kids (and that will surprise you by how much you enjoy them, too!). Purchase Party Like a Twinkle Star (double album) for $20, Go Waggaloo for $11.98 and Earthworm Ensemble for $15.99.

Win Them!: Right now I’m giving away one copy of each of these terrific rock music for kids albums! Three very lucky Stuff Parents Need readers will be winners! The contest will run until Thursday, February 18th at 7:59pm CST. A winner will be randomly selected and emailed, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Open to residents of the United States. Be sure to leave your email address in your comments or have it in your profile or else I can’t contact you to tell you that you won!

How to Enter:

Mandatory entry: Tell me which of these albums you’d most like to win (1 winner will be selected for each album).

Additional entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via RSS or email
2. Follow me through Google connect (2 entries, so leave 2 comments)
3. Put my button on my blog and leave a url where I can find it (2 entries, so leave 2 comments)
4. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter (include your TwitterID)

Disclosure: I received product samples for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own.