100 songs every kid needs to know

when my oldest son turned 4, i burned a disk of songs for the family to enjoy singing together. it included quite a diverse playlist: showtunes, folk songs, bible songs, christmas songs and the like. it wasn't about a theme; it's just about singing in the car--a favorite family activity.
now that my youngest son is coming upon a birthday, i thought i'd make a new disk for him as well. (i feel compelled to point out how much we like gifts that can be shared by the whole family.) as i began to peruse and decide upon songs to be included, it led me to compile this master list of 100 songs that every kid needs to know.
i don't have any criteria or preconceived notions of what ought to be on there...or at least i didn't when i began. i wasn't looking just for songs from my memory of youth, i wanted good songs. quality is important.
the age of the song didn't really matter to me. if the latest songs are among the greatests songs, i'm happy to include them. but i always have a soft-spot in my heart for enduring music. some songs are great because they have stood the test of time, but some songs have stood the test of time simply because they are great. (and i should mention that some songs should retain their historicity--they are teaching moments!)
despite being for children, i didn't necessarily care if the renditions i found were of children singing. again with the concept of enduring, i want to expose my kids to great artists: bing crosby, frank sinatra, bill gaither, etc. as a music instructor, it sometimes pains me that upcoming musicians have, what i consider to be, some gaps in their exposure. who determines this, i don't know. it's another post for another blog on another day.
genre was another facet to consider, though this falls under some previous categories mentioned. i didn't want only sacred songs; i didn't want only inspirational songs. i want pop and rock and r&b and classical and standards and...and...and...diversity and eccelectism inspire me.
one overriding theme i see as i look at the titles i've compiled so far: encouragement. the lyrics have positive messages in them. even if they are silly lyrics (such as 'mairzy doats'), there is strength in the message. in the same line with encouragement is responsibility: there are songs that every citizen are responsible to know. (how embarrassing are 'national anthem' lyric snafus?)

so, you can see where i'm coming from. but you won't yet see where it's going--i haven't compiled my final list. feel free to post and respond with ideas and suggestions.

Lord of Creation, thank You for the gift of music. may we be responsible with the sounds with which you have entrusted us. thank You also for my wonderful children--a gift so undeserved. i am blessed.
1. Alphabet song
2. Awesome God
3. Bare necessities
4. B-I-B-L-E
5. Father Abraham
6. Give a little whistle
7. God bless America
8. Have patience (from music machine)
9. I got rhythm
10. I love to laugh (from mary poppins)
11. If I had a hammer
12. If you’re happy and you know it
13. In the garden
14. Inka-dinka-doo
15. Let a smile be your umbrella
16. Mairzy doats
17. Oh how he loves you and me
18. Oh susanna
19. Oh what a beautiful morning (from Oklahoma)
20. Old macdonald
21. Over the rainbow (from wizard of oz)
22. Puff, the magic dragon
23. Rocky top
24. Seventy-six trombones
25. Sing (as recorded by the carpenters)
26. Singin’ in the rain
27. Star-spangled banner
28. Take me out to the ballgame
29. This little light of mine
30. Together wherever we go
31. Tomorrow (from annie)
32. Trading my sorrows
33. Twinkle, twinkle little star
34. Victory in jesus
35. What a wonderful world
36. YMCA
37. You are my sunshine
38. Zaccheus was a wee little man

stay tuned for more development!

100 songs every kid needs to know

when my oldest son turned 4, i burned a disk of songs for the family to enjoy singing together. it included quite a diverse playlist: showtunes, folk songs, bible songs, christmas songs and the like. it wasn't about a theme; it's just about singing in the car--a favorite family activity.
now that my youngest son is coming upon a birthday, i thought i'd make a new disk for him as well. (i feel compelled to point out how much we like gifts that can be shared by the whole family.) as i began to peruse and decide upon songs to be included, it led me to compile this master list of 100 songs that every kid needs to know.
i don't have any criteria or preconceived notions of what ought to be on there...or at least i didn't when i began. i wasn't looking just for songs from my memory of youth, i wanted good songs. quality is important.
the age of the song didn't really matter to me. if the latest songs are among the greatests songs, i'm happy to include them. but i always have a soft-spot in my heart for enduring music. some songs are great because they have stood the test of time, but some songs have stood the test of time simply because they are great. (and i should mention that some songs should retain their historicity--they are teaching moments!)
despite being for children, i didn't necessarily care if the renditions i found were of children singing. again with the concept of enduring, i want to expose my kids to great artists: bing crosby, frank sinatra, bill gaither, etc. as a music instructor, it sometimes pains me that upcoming musicians have, what i consider to be, some gaps in their exposure. who determines this, i don't know. it's another post for another blog on another day.
genre was another facet to consider, though this falls under some previous categories mentioned. i didn't want only sacred songs; i didn't want only inspirational songs. i want pop and rock and r&b and classical and standards and...and...and...diversity and eccelectism inspire me.
one overriding theme i see as i look at the titles i've compiled so far: encouragement. the lyrics have positive messages in them. even if they are silly lyrics (such as 'mairzy doats'), there is strength in the message. in the same line with encouragement is responsibility: there are songs that every citizen are responsible to know. (how embarrassing are 'national anthem' lyric snafus?)

so, you can see where i'm coming from. but you won't yet see where it's going--i haven't compiled my final list. feel free to post and respond with ideas and suggestions.

Lord of Creation, thank You for the gift of music. may we be responsible with the sounds with which you have entrusted us. thank You also for my wonderful children--a gift so undeserved. i am blessed.
1. Alphabet song
2. Awesome God
3. Bare necessities
4. B-I-B-L-E
5. Father Abraham
6. Give a little whistle
7. God bless America
8. Have patience (from music machine)
9. I got rhythm
10. I love to laugh (from mary poppins)
11. If I had a hammer
12. If you’re happy and you know it
13. In the garden
14. Inka-dinka-doo
15. Let a smile be your umbrella
16. Mairzy doats
17. Oh how he loves you and me
18. Oh susanna
19. Oh what a beautiful morning (from Oklahoma)
20. Old macdonald
21. Over the rainbow (from wizard of oz)
22. Puff, the magic dragon
23. Rocky top
24. Seventy-six trombones
25. Sing (as recorded by the carpenters)
26. Singin’ in the rain
27. Star-spangled banner
28. Take me out to the ballgame
29. This little light of mine
30. Together wherever we go
31. Tomorrow (from annie)
32. Trading my sorrows
33. Twinkle, twinkle little star
34. Victory in jesus
35. What a wonderful world
36. YMCA
37. You are my sunshine
38. Zaccheus was a wee little man

stay tuned for more development!

humbling

those that know me, know that we've adopted three times, sort of.

the oldest one never filed any formal paperwork, but she's ours and we love her equally (even though she's driving me crazy, crazy, crazy!). the younger two are both technically, officially, openly adopted.

here's something you may not know about our adoptions: we have openness with birthfamilies.

i don't ask that any of you try to understand the "what" or "why" of open adoption. all i can say is that for us, it was the right thing to do. if we adopt again, we may not have openness, but for now, we know we are blessed because of it.

anyway, i only mention that to set the ground work to tell you about my humbling experience.

part of our openness is to write semi-frequently. i suppose many would say that we correspond often once you hear how many times we write each month, but compared to my mother who was a letter-writing machine, we'll leave it at "semi-frequently".

also, in our openness, we get together. this is not as often, but that's merely a logistical thing--to schedule two families and traveling isn't always easy nor convenient with life's busy-ness.

however, at our last visit with son #1's birthmother, she asked if we were going to adopt again. we don't really have secrets from her, so we were open and told her yes. we definately want to adopt again. our boys are praying "for more babies to come to our family, another boy and a little girl." we told her a little about or financial planning to be able to afford the process again.

as we do with everyone that asks us, we told her, with a grin, she could recruit for us--that if she knew of someone facing a choice of creating an adoption plan for their baby, then we could make it work out to connect with them. realistically, this could save us considerable amounts of money, because no agencies would have to be involved. it's not about the cost, but it's certainly a consideration.

well, that's the backstory. now for the humilty.

we got a letter from her yesterday. it always brightens our day to hear from her. my wife and i tease each other over who gets to read it first (she beat me this time).

i couldn't believe when i read it that she told us that she was actually talking to pregnant women about us! she not only "brags" about us and our son (she knows and is very careful to not call him her son. we respect her deeply for that.), but she has come to a place of healing that allows her to move past the guilt to a place of helping others experience peace.

i suppose she'll always have regret--not regret for her choice, but for the life choices that forced her situation to require such a choice. but peace has come to her heart.

as an adoptive parent, i can't imagine a higher praise than for a birth family to work for you to bring healing to others. this is a tangled web of weirdness, and yet there is peace and trust and, above all, love.

dear Lord, please bring more babies to our family, another boy and a little girl. and please continue to bring peace and healing through her (You know her name and hold her close). and not just for the blessing of my son, but more so for the relationship with her, we thank you for bringing her into our lives. she is a remarkable woman and she has a divine calling on her life. for any woman and/or man that is facing a choice, i pray for your peace and guidance on them, even if...especially if they don't believe in You.

and Lord, let me be your vessel to bring healing and peace wherever you plant me.