Music Video Monday: The Black Keys, Howlin' For You

The Rundown
Yes, I know this is not an educational video nor one that you would usually think of when thinking of your little person, however my little rock star in the making (I'm not kidding when i say this...he loves, loves, loves rocking out on his guitar, which is actually a ukelele, has the perfect rock star stance and carries his pick and/or one of his three guitar ornaments with him wherever we go. His favorite store in the mall is the guitar store and given the choice of a stuffy or a guitar pick, he will choose a pick to add to his ever growing collection. He also stops at random spots when we are out and about to play an impromptu concert) adores this song. I think this past weekend we must have listened to this song and watch this video, while he made his Dad and I dance in the kitchen, at least ten times in a row. Aiden will also request this one by name when he says "Black Keys...da da da da da song".

My Little Rock Star

Ok, so what's it about, you ask. Well, simply put, it's a song by the band The Black Keys about a guy who's pining over a girl.

Like I said, not very educational but great tune nonetheless.

Why We Love It
Umm, well, The Black Keys...enough said I think!

Creative Extensions
I must admit that coming up with creative projects relating to this video is a bit tricky but I'll give it my best shot...
1. Turn up the music, grab your guitars (real, toy or air) and rock out.
2. Make some keys out of cardboard and decorate them with various craft supplies. Take your keys on an adventure and see what they will open.
3. Change the lyrics of the song to lyrics that suit everyday activities with your little person, for example:
I must admit, I must explain
That before we go play in the rain
Baby, we need to put our jackets on
Da da da da da
Da da da da da
4. Go to the library and look at books about animals that howl. When you get home make props for a shadow play about wolves howling at the moon. Rehearse your show and perform it for the other loved ones in your house.

The Video

Happy howlin'
Creatively yours,
Maya:)

Music Video Monday: Sesame Street Healthy Teeth, Healthy Me

The Rundown
In this video Elmo, with the help of his many celebrity friends, sings about how to keep teeth healthy. It is a bit funny that Elmo sings about teeth as he doesn't appear to have any, but whatever the little furry red monster can do to help keep our little people healthy is A OK with me.

Why We Love It
Aiden has been teething since he was about 5 month, getting his first teeth at 6 months. I'm happy to say that we are in the home stretch now, with four left to come in. (They are the back molars so I feel for the little guy). We've been quite diligent about teeth brushing and in the beginning Aiden was happy to oblige. Unfortunately this is no longer the case and teeth brushing has become a bit of a struggle. So this video could not have come into our lives at a better time. Now we sing the hook "brushy, brush, brush, brushy brush your teeth" while brushing our teeth with Aiden's Elmo brush. And this has at least given us a minute or two of distraction time to get the job done. Thank you Sesame Street and Elmo!

Creative Extensions
1. Create and play a healthy teeth sorting game: Draw, colour and cut out things that are good for you teeth (crunchy fruits and vegetables, water, toothbrush etc) and things that are bad for your teeth (candy, sugary drinks etc). Draw, colour and cut out a happy tooth (white, sparkly and smiling) and an unhappy tooth (yellow, dull and sad). Work with your little person to match the healthy and unhealthy things with the appropriate tooth.
2. Use a toothbrush or dental floss as a paint brush.
3. Make teeth puppets using felt and miscellaneous craft supplies. Work with your little person to create a puppet show about what the teeth do during the day.
4. Make apple smiles for snack: Slice an apple into mouth shaped slices, two for each mouth. Spread peanut butter on one side of the apples. Stick four mini marshmallows on the peanut butter in between the apple slices.
5. Sing teeth related songs and rhymes:
I Know How to Brush my Teeth
I know how to brush my teeth
I brush on top and underneath
Up like a rocket
Down like a plane
Back and forth like a choo-choo train.
(Author Unknown)

The Video

Happy brushing,
Creatively yours,
Maya :)

Music Video Monday: The Days of The Week

The Rundown
In this Kids CBC video, the all-girl group, Done with Dolls, pay a visit to Mamma Yamma to pick up a casserole that she was supposed to make them. The Dolls find Mamma in a tizzy about how to get everything done so they teach her how to use a calendar and sing about the days of the week.

Why We Love It
Guitars, cute girls, rocking tune and something to learn - what more could a little guy want?!

Creative Extensions
1. Make days of the week puppets out of paper bags, popsicle sticks, socks and other miscellaneous craft supplies. Make up stories and put on a puppet show about what each day of the week likes doing.
2. Make a poster board sized calendar and have your little person decorate it with various craft supplies. Fill in the calendar with your little person and talk about the activities they do each day of the week.
3. Sing other days of the week songs like the Happy Days theme song:
Sunday Monday Happy Days,
Tuesday Wednesday Happy Days,
Thursday Friday Happy Days,
Saturday 7 days, Groovin all week with you!

or The Days of the Week sung to the Addams Family theme:
Seven days of the week (snap, snap)
Seven days of the week (snap, snap)
There's Monday and Tuesday
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Saturday and Sunday
There's seven days of the week (snap, snap)

The Video

Happy days,
Creatively yours,
Maya :)

Music Video Monday: Joel Plaskett "Fashionable People"

The Rundown
I realize I've been a bit Sesame Street heavy with the music video selections (it's just that Sesame Street has so many excellent videos that we can't seem to get enough of them) so to switch it up I'm going throw some Canadian content, a la CBC Kids, your way.

Up to bat this week is Joel Plaskett's "Fashionable People." In this super fun video Joel helps Mamma Yamma loosen up for a photo shoot. Joel and Mamma try on a whole bunch of crazy hats and costumes while striking poses for the cover of the formidable Yam Fancy magazine.

Why We Love It
If you happened to be walking past our house last Friday, when this video was on TV, and peered in through our front window, you would have seen Aiden and I wearing a cow print cowboy hat and a bright yellow trapper hat still in our PJ's, having a whale if a time dancing around our living room. I'm pretty sure that upon realizing how much fun we were having you would have run up to our door, rang the doorbell and begged to join in. Being the fun-loving people that we are, we probably would have given you a hat and let you dance with us. So why do we love this video? We love it because of its infectious ability to induce silly, crazy dancing while wearing equally silly, crazy clothes.

Creative Extensions
1. Find some fun clothes to dress up in, pump up the volume on some upbeat music and dance around while pretending to be on your own photo shoot.
2. Make a mini magazine with you little person based on something they are really into (or perhaps a magazine all about your little person - great for family presents). Take photos or draw pictures for your magazine. Help your little person write articles and stories for their magazine. Make copies to give to your loved ones.
The Video

Happy dressing up,
Creatively yours,
Maya :)

Music Video Monday: Musica

The Rundown
This Sesame Street video features Rosita (for those of you who aren't avid Sesame Streeters, she's the blue Latina monster) and a host of various animals, including a sheep, a collie dog and some chickens, playing percussion instruments while singing an incredibly catchy song (it has been running through my head on repeat since we watched it this morning before our breakfast picnic) about musica.

Why We Love It
I'm happy to report that Aiden's Grandpa has just finished building a house in Costa Rica. In the upcoming months, when we manage to squeeze in a trip to our new holiday home, we will need to know a few Spanish words, and what better word to start with for a little musician than musica? And what better way to learn the word for music than through a song about music? Also, who doesn't love a music video that has a collie playing maracas? Enough said I think!

Creative Extensions
1. Create your own instruments from cardboard tubes, paper plates, metal pie plates, jars, beans, pasta and rice. Decorate the instruments with various craft supplies. Make a sound word for your new instruments and add additional verses to the song.
2. Play some more Latin or other world music. Listen for specific instruments. Make up a song about the instruments that you hear.
3. Teach your little person about volume and tempo by playing your instruments quietly and loudly or fast and slow. Encourage your little person to move to the music using quiet and loud steps or fast and slow steps. Be sure to get in there and dnce alongside them.

The Video

Happy musica making,
Creatively yours,
Maya :)

Music Video Monday: Letter J Robot

The Rundown
This is yet another uber cute video from Sesame Street. It features one of the cutest robots I've seen (believe it ot not, he's even cuter than Wal-E), who sings about all kinds of things that begin with the letter J (yep, the letter J not the letter R as he's the Letter J Robot!)

Why We Love It
Like many little guys his age, Aiden has entered the Robot phase and he adores robots, so of course this one was a huge favorite when it came up on the Sesame Street channel uploads list. The only problem with this video is that the robot is so adorable that every time he comes on screen Aiden yells "Hold" as in "I want to hold/hug the robot". I think I'm going to have to try my hand at making a plushy robot.

Oh, and of course the educational factor of this video - it teaches little ones J words in a fun and memorable way.

Creative Extensions
1. Make a plushy robot (see above)! Have your little person draw a robot or draw it with them if they are little toddlers. Photocopy the drawing and enlarge if necessary. Cut the picture out to form a pattern. Cut two pieces of fabric in from the pattern. Sew fabric together and add embellishments like buttons for eyes and pompoms for buttons etc. Stuff the shell and voila you have a plushy robot designed by you and your little person.
2. Make robot masks: Provide your little one with paper plates, foil, buttons, electrical tape and any other miscellaneous craft supplies. Find some robot pictures for inspiration or look through robot books at the library, and then create a mask based on the robots you found. Dress up in your masks and play robots with you little person. Make up names and characteristics for yourselves as you go on your robot adventures.
3. Make edible robots http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/edible_robots.htm

The Video

Happy beep, boop, beeping,
Creatively yours,
Maya :)

Music Video Monday: Three Primary Colours

The Rundown
In this video OK Go (you know the treadmill guys) show us the three primary colours and what you get by mixing the colors with each other..

Why We Love It
Now that Aiden has his letters and most of his numbered mastered, he's working on his colours, and what better way to start with a video featuring OK Go. The video does a great job of showing little people exactly what happens when the primary colours are mixed and what colours you get. And true to OK Go form, it is a very unique and creative way to teach primary colours. I only wish this had been around when I was an art teacher!

Creative Extensions
1. Go on a colour scavenger hunt. Go for a walk and find as many things as you can that are in a certain colour. Take a picture of your finds and frame it for some cool artwork for your little person's room.
2. Have a colour based meal: Choose a colour and make a meal using things that are only in that colour.
3. Experiment with colour mixing by making tie-dyed paper towel or coffee filters: Wet the paper towel or coffee filter. Give your little person some washable markers. When the markers touch the paper towel or coffee filter the colours will run into one another, mixing to create new colours. Take this one step further by asking your little person to create names for the new colours you made.

The Video

Happy colouring,
Creatively yours,
Maya :)

Music Video Monday: Letter M Day

The Rundown
We stumbled on this video several weeks ago and it quickly went to the top of Aiden's favorite videos list being requested almost every time we have a video session. The video features a boy who raps about his day with his new friend, the letter M.

Why We Love It
Not only does this video teach little people about the letter M, it also teaches about story telling, rhyming and rhythm, which are all excellent skills for a little creative toddler. the animation uses drawings that look like doodles that kids (both little and big) would draw in the margins of their notebooks. It's simple, not too flashy and definitely harkens back to the old-school Sesame Street videos that I used to watch when I was young.

Creative Extensions
1. Letter M Puppet.
Make a letter M puppet with your little person: Draw a big letter M on construction paper, cut it out and have your little person decorate it with various art supplies. Stick the finished M collage onto a Popsicle stick.
2. My Day With The Letter M.
Go on an adventure with your new M friend. Take the M puppet with you during the day and take photos throughout the day. Print out the photos and stick them to construction paper. Write a caption underneath each picture. Punch holes at the edge of each page and tie them together with yarn or ribbon to make a book out of your day with the letter M. Make sure your little person creates a cover for the book. Read the book with your little person. This is also an excellent way to talk to your little person about daily routines.
3. Making friends.
In the video the boy makes friends with the letter M. Talk to your little person about how to make friends and play with other kids. Practice the friend making skills with their stuffed animals. The next time that you are on your way to a class or playgroup or playdate remind your little person of the friend making skills and ask them to practice those skills at the event.

The Video

Happy letter M day,

Creatively yours,

Maya :)

Music Video Monday: Jack Johnson Upside Down

The Rundown
This sweet video pairs an animated Curious George with Jack Johnson, who sings the song from Curious George the Movie. Jack slips on a banana peel while walking down a beach, falls into the water and joins George for an adventure underwater and in the jungle. It's such a cute, mellow video that is sure to calm the most active of active little people.

Why We Love It
1. Curious George, 2. Jack Johnson 3. Underwater adventures (Aiden is a little fish who loves the water) and 4. Guitars (Aiden's favorite instrument)...need I say more?

Creative Extensions
1. Go on your own, imaginary underwater adventure: Ask your little person what they might see if they were underwater. Draw pictures of these and stick them up on the walls. Then get dressed in swim or scuba gear and go on an imaginary sea safari. You could also follow this up with a trip to the swimming pool.
2. Play Opposite Tag: Talk to your little person about opposites, like up and down, top and bottom, in and out and big and little. Then play a game of tag where "it" yells out a word and the person who is tagged yells out the opposite word or they become "it".

The Video

Happy under water adventuring,
Creatively yours,
Maya :)

Tune-y Tuesday: One Fine Face

For this week only Music Video Monday has been replaced by Tune-y Tuesday due to a sick little guy and a Mom who needed to catch up on some sleep while said sick little guy napped.

One Fine Face
The Rundown
In this oldish school Sesame Street video, Ernie teaches a rather scruffy but still cute Elmo the words for the parts of his fine face.

Why We Love This Video
This video is the video that started responsible Aiden on the road to being able to identify and tell us almost every part of his body (which now includes shoulders and knuckles...pretty amazing for an eighteen month old!). It is catchy, fun, interactive, getting kids to join in by singing along and touching their faces during the song, and has a great (non-annoying) melody.

Creative Extension Activities
1. Make paper plate faces: Take a paper plate, some yarn, some construction paper, some macaroni, some buttons and any other miscellaneous craft supplies. Glue the materials to make faces on the paper plates. Be sure to name each part of the face as you glue it to the plate.
2. Make silly faces in the mirror with you little person. Ask you little person if they can show you their teeth, stick out their tongue, puff up their cheeks etc.
3. Play Mom Says or Little Person Says with parts of the face, e.g. Mom says touch your nose, Mom says close you eyes etc.

The Video

Happy face discovering,
Creatively yours,
Maya :)

Music Video Monday: Find The Letter A

The Rundown
Alright, so I'm taking a bit of poetic license here with the term "music video" as this one is not so much a music video but is more of a general sesame street video with a music track. But it is a good one so I wanted to include it in our selections.

In this short video a letter A is hidden somewhere in the yard, but it's not your typical written or cut out A. The kids (through voice over) try to see if they can spot the letter A.

Why We Love It
We love this video because it teaches little people and reminds big people that letters can be found anywhere, not just on the printed or digital page. The video points out the fact that things are not always as they seem and if we are observant enough we will find wondrous examples of letters, shapes and numbers in our everyday world.

Creative Extension Activities
1. Go on a letter or number hunt while you are out for the day with your little person. Challenge yourselves to find the most creative example of your chosen letter or number. Aiden has managed to find a Y in the crease of a seat cushion at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
2. Create letter or number shapes out of unusual items in your house.
3. Make letters or numbers out of food items that are on your little person's plate at breakfast, lunch or dinner, e.g. make a letter A out of rice grains or a letter Y out of pretzels. This is especially good if you have a picky or antsy eater in your house - this can keep them entertained long enough for them to actually get a few bites in before they want to leave the table.

The Video

Happy watching and observing,
Creatively yours,
Maya :)

Music Video Monday: Why I Love The Letter Y

Welcome to Music Video Monday's. What I intend to do every Monday is showcase a music video that you can share with your little person. These will be videos chosen by Aiden (he really does request certain videos when we are sitting by the computer). I'll give you a quick rundown of the video, tell you why we love it, give you ideas for creative uses of the video and then I'll provide you with a link to the video so you can check it out yourself.

For the inaugural Music Video Monday I'll go with one of Aiden's current favorites:
Sesame Street Why I Love The Letter Y
The Rundown
In this delightfully animated music video a very likable and friendly letter Y sings about why he loves being the letter Y. His reasons for liking himself range from doing yoga with a yo-yo all year in his yard to eating yoghurt on a yam knitting yarn with a yawning yak - all fantastic reasons if you ask me.

Why We Love It
The animation is über cute yet highly stylized and makes me instantly happy when I watch it. The letter Y is extremely likable and someone that I would be happy to have Aiden hang out with. The song is very catchy (watch out, it will get stuck in your head) and the lyrics use a multitude of y words for your little person to learn. And the overall message of the video is wonderful: y loves being himself which is something we should all aspire to.

Creative Uses of The Video
1. Go on a Y scavenger hunt with your little one: take your little person for a walk and find as many things as possible that begin with the letter y. Take photos of the items, print out the photos and review them with your little person later.
2. Make a list with your little person of all the reasons why they love being themselves. Choose one or two items on the list and make collages together illustrating these things. Hang the posters up in their room as a constant reminder of how great they are.
3. Choose another letter and make up a song about why that letter loves being itself. Sing the song and use any instruments (homemade or otherwise) that you have lying around to accompany your singing. When your other loved ones come home hold a concert for them featuring your song.

The Video

Happy viewing,
Creatively yours,
Maya :)