Musical Monday: Songs from Our Childhood

During Intellidance® classes, there are certain songs I play that leaving me feeling very nostalgic. I’m four years old, listening to Raffi’s Singable Songs for the Very Young on my grandma’s record player. I’m five singing Skinnamarinka Dinky Dink on the Elephant Show with Sharon, Lois, and Bram. I’m six watching Fred Penner’s Place while Fred sings The Cat Came Back. These songs will forever live-on in my memory as part of my happy childhood. I love sharing these songs with the next generation of children since they are so iconically Canadian and they transcend the years. So, for this Musical Monday, here are some of my favourite:

There Came a Girl from France by Raffi

Who doesn’t love Raffi!? He’s been sharing his talent and treasure for over thirty years. During class, we march to the beat (Knees up Mother Brown! Knees up Mother Brown!), hop on one and whirl ’round and ’round. This is definitely a song that moves from the classroom to the home!

Jump Josie/ Skip to my Loo by Sharon, Lois, and Bram

This song is great for focusing on the concept of Speed: Fast, Medium and Slow. It begins with a slow tempo (adage), moves to a fast tempo (allegro) and finishes with a moderate tempo. While doing this circle dance in class, we sway to “We’re floating down the river…,” jump up and down to “two in the middle and you can’t jump Josie…” and skip or march to “Loo, Loo, skip to my Loo…”

The Cat Came Back by Fred Penner

The Cat Came Back was written by Harry S. Miller in 1893. It’s been performed by numerous singers and is a part of folk tradition in Canada, but my favourite version is by Fred Penner… probably because I heard his version first. I like to use this song while doing obstacle courses simply because it’s a fun song to dance and play along to.

Honourable Mention: AB-C-DEF-GHI by Big Bird

This song was on another record, Just Friends, that my grandma had. While I don’t use this song in class, we certainly sing it at home when working on the alphabet. Here’s the 1969 version with Big Bird and Susan.

Do you have favourite song from your childhood? I’d love to hear your memory of it! Share in the comments below!

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