Our Desire and Goal for EVERY Song that We Create

Here is a screen shot of a comment stream on our 50 States and Capitals Song from our YouTube channel. 

It is the ultimate goal every single time that we set out to create a Silly School Song.

Math Facts and Music!!!

Hello Everyone here is the Adding by 1 Song, the Adding by 2 Song, and the Adding by 3 Song all in one post!

I am uber-excited to post this blog entry! OK, I have to give you just a little bit of background on how we've come to doing a series of addition math facts and eventually subtraction facts songs.

Some of you may know that I teach my kids a bit of Hebrew. We do the Aleph Beit, The Lord's Prayer in Hebrew and the Hebrew numbers 1-20.

My 7 year old struggles with working alone and memorization. As per usual, she was having a hard time memorizing the Hebrew numbers, so I stood in the kitchen with her and popped my fingers to a simple 2:4 timing and repeated the numbers in a simple rhythm, and like magic, the child has not forgotten them from that day. She could not even remember them after two whole weeks of repetition before that!!!

At that point, I got an idea. I instantly went in to Phillip and said we need to do the addition math facts to nothing but a drum beat to help kids like Chelsea who struggle with flashcards and memorization because, as you might have guessed, she has not done well with fact memorization.

I wasn't too worried about that though because we use Singapore math which teaches number sense, which just so happens to match her learning style perfectly. Consequently, she is very good in math, just not good at memorization.

Therefore, I am posting our last three songs in this one post!!! Excitiiiiing!!!

I really hope this helps young learners, like my Chelsea, who love math (because she does) and who are good at math (because she is), but who are kinesthetic as well as energetic (which she is both) and just can't stand to sit still to memorize and/or retain such "silly" things as math facts. ;)

Here is the music: Adding by 1 Song, Adding by 2 Song, and Adding by 3 Song.

Oh in true Phillip and Stephanie form, when we are both in creative mode at the same time, sparks will fly. He is passionate about the music and I am passionate about the effectiveness of the content in the song and it is quite often a tug of war until the song is published.

So I went in to him saying, "all we need is a simple drum beat and maybe some cymbal-crashing and THAT'S IT, and it will trigger their brains to memorize the information!!!!" I was sure that I was clear, I know that I was passionate, and still, he had no intentions of ever making a simple rhythm.

I was able to talk him down on some things, but he was not budging on much. I do still think that the songs are effective and sound great. I think he did a really great job on each one.

Maybe that is simply the creative process, you fight and push and pull until you come up with something really great. That is what I believe we do every time.

Thanks for reading and listening. And please subscribe to our channel here.

Stephanie.

The Life Cycle of a Frog

Wow! It seems we are getting quicker with getting songs out. I'm pretty sure that it is too early to really say that; however, I feel like we just posted The Life Cycle of a Butterfly song and here I am all gitty and excited about our latest published masterpiece. :) Here it is guys, The Life Cycle of a Frog.

Phillip and I write all of the songs together. I am a stickler that there be actual teaching in the song. It is all too easy to write and produce a song that sounds good and is fun for kids to hear, but leave out the fact that teachers and mommies and teaching daddies want a product that will be fun and educational. 

Case in point: originally the chorus of this song was:

"Life cycle of a frog you know, round and round the life cycle goes." (repeat)

Well that's good, but the teacher in me screams, "NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!" (not literal screams)


So he and I played around with the words until we stumbled upon:

"Life cycle of a frog, you know
from a pile of eggs to a little tadpole
life cycle of a frog, you know
from a froglet to a big frog he grows"

Then the teacher in me was hap hap happy because were able to name the four stages that the frog goes through all in the chorus just like we did with The Life Cycle of the Butterfly.

I also love the line that says, "Like a true amphibian, he'll soon have two homes"

If you can't tell, I am very proud of this song!
Please listen and if you like it, give us a thumbs up and if you haven't yet, SUBSCRIBE!
Thanks everybody!

Steph.

The Life Cycle of a Butterfly

Here is a song that I am most happy about publishing. The Life Cycle of a Butterfly was written and sang by my husband and me. He also produced the music for the song. I just think that it has a good amount of science in it for a two-minute song and that it paints a well-rounded picture of the process that the caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly (egg, larva, pupa and imago). Phillip also put the video together, and I think he chose some really vivid and beautiful nature shots to go along with this simple and sweet song. Our girls make an audio cameo as well.

So please take a listen. If you are teaching life cycles this year, I hope you will use it over and over again. Either way, if you like it, give it a thumbs up at our youtube channel. We are planning to do more life cycle songs very shortly.

Thank you!

Stephanie

This post is linked up at Inspire Me Mondays...A VERY INSPIRING BLOG!

Just a photo...Video is up top!

2015 Back to School Post

Last night I was up until past 3 o' clock in the morning. That's not a very big deal as my family and I are typical night owls, although 3 AM is a little wacky for us!

But I have had nights like that periodically. Not often, but periodically and usually it is as much a spiritual thing for me as perhaps a physical one. I usually feel a burning desire to pray for my children, my extended family, the body of Christ, the unsaved...you know, I'm usually up moving mountains if it passes 3 AM. :)

I usually imagine plenty of moms of different languages, dialects and cultures all over the world are up at that hour thinking, writing, praying, or God forbid (as I have been known to do) worrying right along with me. Don't we do it? Don't we tend to worry if the kids are alright, going to be alright, going to turn out alright? Well last night I did a little bit of it all.

I wrote some letters to my girls about things that I felt each one needs to hear from their mommy's heart.. For Madison it was the fact that she is beautiful just the way God has put her together inside and out, and for Chelsea, it was that she is loved by God and that that love is perfect and is more than enough.

They are only 9 and 7, but for me, my job and influence as a mother is most important at every age level.

So, as I listened to some Mp3s and watched some YouTube videos into the wee hours of the morning, I created this acronym. I am at a place in my parenting of the girls where I am wanting them to be comfortable as their true selves. I don't want them to reach for the dreams that mommy has for them, or to accomplish things that are "good" for them, but are not God's "best" for them.
Anyway, here is the meme:

So as my girls and I head back to home school this year, our focus is GOD's plans, God's goals, and God's desires as we are able to understand them. Believing that He gives each of us the desires of our hearts, believing that man's mind plans his way but that it is God who directs his path...we are endeavoring to walk to the beat of those plans, ideas, and goals. And, it starts with me...it starts with me letting go of my "good" ideas and embracing His great ideas. It starts with me letting go of my grand plans and following God's prescribed method of parenting while trusting the outcome to Him.

I love it.
This year, I am home schooling and being home schooled.

God bless all of you who are, with me, going BACK to school.
Steph.

Skip Counting by 10s

Hey Guys!!!

We have another awesome skip counting song for you and your kiddos.

If your child will not be doing full-on school work over the summer, you can keep their brain wheels turning with some fun, educational music.

It won't feel like work, but it will work the brain!

Have fun and please like, subscribe and share!

Oh yeah, we are coming to itunes soon...

Skip Counting by 5s

Hey Gang!

We are back at it. Here is our latest skip counting song. Phillip, for some reason is stuck on Math songs right now, so we are just going with it. I can't wait though to do more Science and History songs. We have some good ideas. He is currently working on the beat for skip counting by 10s and so far it sounds really cool.

Take a listen here and I hope you guys like it and share it and also SUBSCRIBE to our youtube channel for more free educational music.

Skip Counting by 2!

O.k. guys...Skip Counting by 2 is here. This song was almost scrapped and recreated completely different because we just didn't like the sound. Phil thought it sounded boring and flat. I just didn't want to do another Skip Counting song. The teacher in me wants to tackle the more academic subjects. Not that learning to skip count is not academic, it just seemed too easy and I figured learning to skip count can be done with or without a song in 15 minutes flat.

I know that that is not true of all students. My own kids have different learning abilities and styles and interests that affect how they learn different subjects. I think I was using the "it's not academic enough" as a weapon against Phillip to try and get him to do the educational songs that I want to do. And in all honesty, we will get to those songs in due time...we will get to them all.

In the end, this song turned out to be AWESOME. We did not outsource the video for this one, so it turned out just the way we wanted it. It adds so much to the teachability of the song that it thoroughly satisfies the teacher in me. Check it out!

Just a Quick Note about Music's Affect on Education

Throughout time, people have recognized and intentionally used the powerful effects of sound. In the 20th century the western scientific community has conducted research to validate and expand our analytical knowledge of music.

This research supports what we know from personal experience: Music greatly affects and enhances our learning and living!

 Memorization Songs, chants, poems, and raps will improve memory of content facts and details through rhyme, rhythm, and melody. Teaching these to students or having them write their own is a terrific memory tool!

 --Chris Brewer of LifeSounds to assist you in effective and creative music use!

Our Skip Counting By Three Song

Hello Awesome Educators of Children!!!!

Here is the latest dish from the Silly School Songs kitchen. We've been cooking up some home grown Math music this month that we hope you will indulge in and love or actually 'like' for YouTube! Beyond all of that though, I hope that you find them effective and fun. If you hang on to the very end of the song, you will get a nice goofy treat for dessert. :)

I know the food references of this post are totally uncalled for, but I'm kind of in an "uncalled for" mood. :)

Seriously, if you like the song, please feel free to share with others who you think may benefit. Our 6 year old who is learning skip counting this year found the song to be extremely helpful!

Thanks a bunch!
Stephanie

This is just a picture for linking this post. The video for the song can be played above.

The Punctuation Song!

Soooo...my husband was bent on making this song our next song. And since he is the most creative part of this team, we generally go in the direction that he chooses. But don't get the wrong idea, I completely RUN the show. I am COMPLETELY in charge of this operation. After all, if I don't DECIDE to go in his direction, where would we be? I mean, I CLEARLY am in charge here. LOL!

No seriously, he makes the music behind the songs and so if he is having a creative moment, it's best that we follow it through. When this happens, we are usually able to get the songs finished more quickly.

I am just so happy to have this ability and the camaraderie of my best friend and our kids. It has been a blessing, and a lot of fun to create educational music for whoever would like to hear it and can benefit from it. We have had some really good feedback from a small portion of the home school community, and we are so very thankful for it. One great site that I want to mention is The Squishable Baby run by Lisa. 

She has a great home school link up, so if you haven't linked up there before, there is no time like the present.

Thanks for reading.
Thanks for listening.
Thanks for subscribing. Here

Stephanie.

Link up: Tell it to me Tuesday 
and Create It Live

This is just a photo for the purposes of sharing this post. The actual video is at the top of this post. :)

The Seven Continents Song

Hello Everybody!

We are super excited again to publish our latest song, The Seven Continents. This song was another fun one to do. Anytime we can bring the girls in on the project it gets really fun really quickly. They are very musical little ladies, I guess you could say they get it naturally. Madison plays piano quite well and Chelsea is a very flexible dancer. In fact, Chesea's ballet teacher told us that she was a musical kid and it shows when we ask them to say some things in our songs. They are able to match the beat with no problem. So this is a family project and that makes all the more enjoyable.

So the song chants the 7 continents in a easy to remember cadence and the verse gives some very memorable learning aspects of each continent. The song also defines what a continent is as well as what oceans and seas are.

I do hope that you guys enjoy the songs and are able to incorporate them into your home school. If you do, please let us know here on the blog, or on our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/sillyschoolsongs.


We are excited that our human ear model came in the mail today. It is a little smaller than I thought but it matches the size and shape of a 9 year old's ear perfectly.

Now here is the 50 States and Capitals project that Madison has been working on for about a month. We are just taking our time with it. She has already learned all 50 States with their capitals and initials. In this project, she traces the outline of the state, maps the capital and any prominent lakes or rivers, she draws and colors a replica of the state flag, and draws and colors the state bird.

I love it for several reasons, one main one is because she does it first thing in the morning which gives me time to work with Chelsea first thing. Here is what we have affectionately called her "wall of accomplishment."

Oh an yes, I drew each state FREE HAND in pencil onto poster board. Not bad if I say so myself.

Thanks for reading and listening!
Steph

The Elements of a Story Song - It's Here!!!

Hey Guys!

We are excited to share our latest song The Elements of a Story Song. This little song is great for helping children to memorize what the four basic elements of a story are. We cover the plot, the theme, the characters, and the setting. It will also aide in navigating writing assignments. It has helped our daughter. She has this concept down now thanks to adding a little educational music to our school week.

 We do hope that our music is effective in your home school and enjoyable to your children.

Give it a listen let us know what you think of it. And if you like it subscribe to our youtube channel. Our next song is about 75% complete!

Now here is a little story that I have to share that happened this week. It has been a while since I've talked about the girls. But if you remember, we have two girls one just turned 9 and the other is 6. The 6 year old is this little spunky, firery little thing. She's very respectful, but full of energy and has a strong will. I have seen posts about the strong willed child and pretty much how to let them have their way. Now of course the posts aren't worded that way, but the more you read them that's pretty much what is being said.

Well, our 6 year old has a strong will of which we can do nothing about. However, we can and have taught her how to obey her parents, consider God's word, and to be respectful. So if you have a strong-willed child don't buy into the idea that you can't do anything about it. God's word says: children obey your parents so that your days will be long upon the earth. It is the first commandment from God that has a promise attached. It is our job as parents to teach our little strong willed darlings how to obey, respect, and honor us and God. They are not born knowing how to do that.

ANYWAYYYYYY on to the story from this week. So I've been in a cleaning frenzy as of late. I've been throwing away A LOT of stuff that we don't need. This venture eventually found it's way into my children's bedroom where the mother load of things to throw away exists. 

I walk into the room and this kid:

Full speed ahead on roller skates at the skating rink

Had this apparatus in her hand:

Old toy hand vac with a jump rope tied to it

It is a hand vac that they've had for about 5 years. It was part of a vacuum cleaner that they each got for one Christmas. Well the oldest sold hers in a yard sale for $3.00, and the hand vac is all that is left of the 6 year old's vacuum.

So, when I walked into the room, I quite naturally, said to her "that goes in the trash", and she QUITE NATURALLY said to me, "but this is an anchor that's keeping my bed boat in its place. And after quite naturally looking dumb founded, befuddled, and interested all at the same time I quite naturally said, "oh, o.k."

And she proceeded to anchor her boat bed to the book shelf so that she doesn't...I guess...float away in the middle of the night:

The end.