Shepherd on the Search Companion CD

Have you heard about The Shepherd on the Search yet?  It's a wonderful new tradition that keeps the focus on Christ at Christmas while still having fun with all the build-up before the big day. Today I'm sharing the fantastic companion CD with you!

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I received a free copy of this product in exchange for writing a review.  All opinions are my own.

Last week, I told you how excited I am about using The Shepherd on the Search with Gv this Christmas.

I seriously cannot wait until all the fun starts this weekend and this little guy begins his trek through our house to find baby Jesus!

Besides the fantastic kit that I introduced to you last week, you'll want to grab this fun companion CD, as well.

31 Days of Great Children's Music: Just Not Enough Days!

If you want to support what I’m doing with this blog, just follow any of the product links and order whatever you want at no additional cost to you.  That’s it and I’ll get a little bonus.  Thanks so much for clicking!
 

Welcome back to 31 Days of Great Children's Music!  This is the big posting challenge I'm participating in that involves blogging every day in October covering just one topic.  It's also where you'll find some super suggestions for children's songs the whole family can enjoy.  

Find the Other 30 Days Here

So I find myself sitting here at the end of this writing challenge with so much more great children's music to share, but I've run out of days.  

Some of these musical choices are worth listening to, but just didn't quite make the cut for a focused post.  Others totally would have made the cut, but I discovered them too late to write a dedicated post on.  So, here you go, an additional list of great children's songs to check out for yourself: 

• I had a reader ask me about children's rap music suggestions.  While I don't often listen to rap or hip-hop myself, I did find and get these options, which seem like pretty fun choices, even if rap and hip-hop aren't usually your thing:

• Although Putumayo makes some of my favorite world music, we also enjoy many Rough Guide albums.  Here is a good one to sample.

• I really wish I'd had a few more days to feature kid's music during this series, because I would have totally had a day focused on Frances England.  Actually, I would have easily bumped another artist to find a spot for her, if I'd discovered her early enough on in the series.  Her music is a blend of folk and indie-pop (if you like the voices of Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell from previous days, then you'll want to check her out) and she has several great children's music albums out there:

 

• Besides owning a large world music collection, I also have a pretty large supply of soundtracks.  Here are a few non-animated choices that are kid-favorites:

• Folk legend Pete Seeger has several children's music CDs.  We can get pretty folksy around here, so even though it's an "older" music choice, we enjoy listening to him.  We especially like this one.

• Ella Jenkins is another classic folk singer with a focus on producing great children's songs.  She always seems to include cultural variety in her collections.  This is the album we have.

•  This next selection is an album full of various styles of music with each song teaching something about science.  If I'd had time to write a separate post about it, you can bet it would have been full of all sorts of science activities!  Check it out for yourself and see just how easy it would be to come up with corresponding activities.

• Who wouldn't get excited over a musical artist with the name "Slugs and Bugs?"  I was pleasantly surprised at this album; it's another that made me wish I'd had more days left in the series so I could have featured it.  It's a Christian album for kids that sounds nothing like a typical children's album and I'm anxious to check out these other Slugs and Bugs albums, as well:

•  Another artist I would have easily spent an entire day's post on, if I'd discovered him in time, is Ralph Covert.  The whimsical cover art alone is a reason to buy his albums, but you'll also hear a variety of musical styles and even influences from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Burt Bacharach.  He's just too good to list just one choice for you to hunt down, so here are several:

 

• Finally, if you are looking for some typical kid's music with songs like you'd hear at a library story time, then there are always these standards:

 

What did you think of this series?  Can you think of any great children's music that I missed?  What is your favorite pick from all that I shared, or which selections have you most excited to check out for yourself?  Have you tried any of the suggested activities, or read any of the recommended books?  Are you planning to?  I'd love to hear - leave a comment or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com.

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31 Days of Great Children's Music: Christmas

If you want to support what I’m doing with this blog, just follow any of the product links and order whatever you want at no additional cost to you.  That’s it and I’ll get a little bonus.  Thanks so much for clicking!
 

Welcome back to 31 Days of Great Children's Music!  This is the big posting challenge I'm participating in that involves blogging every day in October covering just one topic.  It's also where you'll find some super suggestions for children's songs the whole family can enjoy.  

Find the Other 30 Days Here

Christmas music is universal and can be enjoyed by all ages, but it can also be fun to include some perky children's songs to liven up the festive mood even more.

I had these the Chipmunks Christmas albums on vinyl ever since I was a little girl and I have enjoyed them year after year ever since.

There are plenty of activities to engage in during this season and I couldn't even begin to compose a short list.  I can, however, list what I think are some of the best books, movies, and albums to include in your holiday plans.

To Read

These are some of our favorite books for this time of year (believe it or not, this is whittled down!):

To Watch

I have this whole list of Christmas movies that I traditionally watch every year (G is such a good sport to sit through them with me, although one of them is one he actually wants to watch with me - it's pretty much "our" movie).  Not all of them are appropriate to share with Gv, but here are the ones that definitely are:

Music

And, finally, here are my favorite Christmas albums for children:

 

Do you go crazy and listen to Christmas music all season long?  If so, do you include children's songs in the mix?  What are your favorite Christmas albums/books/movies?  I'd love to hear what you think - leave a comment or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com.  

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