Whose Idea Was It To Only Put 24 Hours In a Day, Anyway?

So many things to do (or write about), so little time.

Which is probably good, otherwise I'd be spending too much time thinking about this weekend's Dan Zanes concert in Tucson. We are very excited about going, sad that our son won't be joining us. (We decided that a 2-hour drive and a concert smack dab in the middle of naptime was a perfect storm that might very well ruin the show for the rest of us.) We've been watching Zanes' All Around the Kitchen DVD this week to try to give our daughter some sense of what the show might be like, though we keep saying things like, "Yeah, I like her voice, but she's not going to be at the show."

What does the show look like now? Well, the Old Town School of Folk Music's burgeoning video library has a video of the band from a show last November. (Warning: took me forever to download)

In the meantime, I've got a couple reviews (I hope), maybe some other stuff. And, yes, I will get the contest winners announced very soon. Really.

That and Swim Lessons at the City Pool, and We're Set

We've been looking for activities for the kids this summer (we can only come up with so many art projects and trips to non-commercial air-conditioned locales), so I looked at the news of the "JAMbledance Camp" with interest. Art? Music? Yoga? Reading? With the participation of Charity Kahn? Our daughter would love that. We can fit that into the activities budget, right?

But, oh yeah, we live in Phoenix. The commute to and from San Francisco would be a bear, no? Oh, and that's the first week of school for our daughter.

Other than those things, though, we are so there.

Mrs. Davis Works Hard, Gives Stuff Away

I have been deficient in not mentioning Amy's contest to raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. If you like the possibility of personal gain associated with contributing for a worthy cause, Amy's got a bunch of cool stuff to give away.

I was reminded of this after reading Amy's marathon entry listing 20 "Kids Albums for Parents Who Can't Stand Kids Music" (full entry here). I'd make a few changes to the list (and frankly, I see no reason not to throw, say, Justin Roberts' Meltdown! in there -- if that doesn't get 'em, nothing ever will), but to the list-compiler go the spoils. Or the props. Or something like that.

Listen To This: More Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke

Remember when I told you about those cool songs from Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke?

Well, there's another song up at their website, and it's just as winning. Entitled "Pekepoo," it puts a dreamy new spin on the phrase "raining cats and dogs." Track #7, go now.

The Top 50 Kids Songs of All Time: Songs 11-15

We're in the homestretch, folks.

Unfortunately, because they missed the top 10, these songs just missed being on the "Top 50 Kids Songs of All Time" tour that will be coming to America arenas and sheds this summer.

Previous entries:

Songs 16 through 20
Songs 21 through 25
Songs 26 through 30
Songs 31 through 35
Songs 36 through 40
Songs 41 through 45
Songs 46 through 50

15. "Five Little Monkeys" - traditional: I'm not sure there's really a set melody for this song, it's all in the lyrics. They jump on the bed, they fall off, their mother (and it's always their mother) calls the doctor. One would think that the co-payment system of today's modern American medical system would incentivize the mother to not make 5 calls to the doctor, so perhaps these are Canadian monkeys. (For more on the song, check out this timely post -- including video -- from Devon at Head, Shoulders, Knees, and all that....)

14. "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" - traditional: Speaking of head, shoulders, and knees, this might just be the best movement song I know. Teaches body parts, gets the kids moving, and is perfectly adaptable to other body parts ("Knuckles, elbows, neck and waist..."). I mean, I do feel like I'm doing calisthenics when I'm singing along, but its secret weapon is an elegant melody. (Mama Lisa has a recording plus lyrics in several languages here. Perfect for those Swedish immersion classes.)

13. "Old MacDonald" - traditional: We're definitely in the "best song about X" portion of the list, and this, simply, is the best song about animals. Everybody knows the melodya and everybody has fun listing animals whose sounds are unknown and, therefore, available for making up. (What sound does a giraffe make? I like to think of it as an "Ooooop.") The most creative versions, of course, are the ones that talk about different things that the farmer might have. (My favorite reworking by far is Raffi's at the end of Singable Songs for the Very Young. Listen to a sample here.)

12. "The Ants Go Marching" - traditional: It's actually based on the Civil War song, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" (Newsradio fans have their own ending), and so it partially distinguishes itself by not being an all so cheery major chord song. It's a counting song, it's a rhyming song, and it's got rain in it, so speaking as a rain-deprived desert dweller, it's always very soothing. (Ralph Covert has a nice version on Songs for Wiggleworms, but Owen Duggan's jazzy version might be my favorite.)

11. "The Wheels on the Bus" - traditional: Wah-wah-wah! Wah-wah-wah! The babies on the bus go wah-wah-wah! It's a kids' song that lets you mock your whiny kid! OK, in the end the parents love them, but still. And talk about adaptable -- I sing this song every week (with much different lyrics) in the baby-and-me swimming lessons I'm taking with our son. Oh, and it's the best song about buses, bar none. (Devon again is spot-on with his thoughts. Hear a sample of Raffi's version here.)