Mother’s Day Music Activities

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It’s nearly here! The day we set aside to celebrate mothers and all they do for us. Whether you celebrate by serving up breakfast in bed or making a coupon book for “free hugs,” we all know she’ll love whatever it is you do as long as it’s overflowing with love.Speaking of hugs…

One Mother’s Day, my boys and I cooked up a special gift. We bought a sweater – a simple sweater in a color we knew their mom would love. We then took a picture of the boys hugging the sweater, wrote a little poem, and boxed everything up. The idea was this – anytime my wife wore the sweater she’d be constantly receiving hugs from our boys. It was a big hit!

Mother's Day hug sweater
Our boys and the “Hug Sweater.”

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]That idea is free to the world – but this is a music blog, right? How can we celebrate our mothers in a musical way?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Write a Song!

You don’t need to be a professional musician to write song! Music belongs to everyone! The easiest way to start is picking an existing tune and writing new personal lyrics. Hey – if Weird Al can do it, so can you! Remember, the thought behind the action means so much to Mom! And the simpler the tune, the easier it will be for the little ones to sing along? How about this to the tune of Frère Jacques:

Mom we love you!
Mom we love you!
You’re the best!
Your’e the best!
Thank you for your kisses
Now we’ll do the dishes
After lunch!
After lunch!

It’s silly but singable. You can do it, too! Have fun, be creative, and tell her how you feel![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Make a Mix CD for the Car!

Remember when we were kids? The sweetest thing you could do for someone you liked was to make a mix tape. Well – tapes are pretty much a thing of the past, but we can still make a mix CD…or even a playlist. Find Mom’s most favorite tunes and create a personalized album. You could even create a custom insert for the jewel case with pictures of the little ones. What about adding little recorded messages from the kids between each track – simple things like “Mommy, I love you!” or “Thanks for tucking me in at night!”

A custom CD or playlist complete with little audio notes of love from the kids will be a big hit![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Music and Movement – a Mother’s Day Dance Off!

After the aforementioned breakfast in bed, how about finding some great music – maybe even some Kindermusik tunes – and have a family dance off! Everybody could take part or perhaps Mom can serve a judge and decide who has the best moves. Here are some crazy ideas:

  1. Who can dance like their favorite animal the best?
  2. Who can dance with only their face?
  3. Can you only dance with your legs and not move your upper body?
  4. Who can dance the longest without smiling?

I bet you can come up with your own fun variations on the dance off theme. Get those bodies moving to music as a family![/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

dance_off
Dance Off!

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Dinner Time Opera

We’ve done this before. While you’re eating, when you’d normally have wonderful family conversation, sing instead of talking! This is easier than it sounds. Think about Will Ferrell in Elf...everyone can sing. If you can speak, you can make up a tune for that sentence. Believe me, it’s a woot. You’ll have a hard time not giggling as your conversation and melodic speaking develops.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Eto6DU_2oI”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]However you celebrate Mom, the most important part is time together. She’ll love whatever you do if it’s done from the heart. Have fun infusing music into the day…and if you do Dinner Time Opera, record it. We’d love to include a video or two in a future post!

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there from the Kindermusik family![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Music and Mothers: Songs that Celebrate that Special Someone

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It’s coming! That special day when we celebrate our moms is right around the corner. How will you celebrate? The musical legacy of mothers is long and varied; you can find a song about mom in just about every genre. Many of us had moms who would sing a special song just to us. Let’s take a look at musical ways we pay tribute to moms – I promise – we’ll try and hit as many genres as possible…[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_custom_heading text=”The Backstreet Boys” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23dd3333″][vc_column_text]Ok. We start by going old school – at least for me. This term is pretty relative. But we’re talking 17 years ago when the boy band released Millennium. One of their songs is really a beautiful tribute to moms – The Perfect Fan. Just take a look at the lyrics (for those that might not remember them):[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]You showed me
When I was young just how to grow
You showed me
Everything that I should know
You showed me
Just how to walk without your hands
‘Cause mom you always were
The perfect fan[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Come on, now. Admit it. That pulls at the heart strings and perhaps takes you back to 1999. Let’s take a listen to a “live” performance. We didn’t even care that they were lip-synching…just look at those suits![/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od3e3x87y-U”][vc_custom_heading text=”M-O-T-H-E-R: A Word that Means a lot to Me” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23dd3333″][vc_column_text]Now this is a serious throw back – back all the way to 1915. Howard Johnson (no, not the restaurant/ice-cream guy), was a lyricist, Navy vet, and a native of my home state, Connecticut. I like this guy. His classic, which has been around since dirt was invented, has been the go-to poem for little kids celebrating their moms – or perhaps the inspiration behind their own acrostic poetry. You know…

M is for the million things she gave me,
O means only that she’s growing old.

We get how this works. Each letter stands for a word that represents mom perfectly. Sure, it’s a little outdated, but still, charming with a sweet candy shell of nostalgia. Let’s listen to a recording from 1916…[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Somebody’s Hero – Jamie O’Neal” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23dd3333″][vc_column_text]So far, we’ve hit pop and early 19th century schmaltz. How about Country? This genre is full of sweet songs; it’s hard to pick just one. Jamie O’Neal’s 2005 hit, Somebody’s Hero, fits the bill quite beautifully. This song reminds us that just by being mom, doing all the important mom things like fixing skinned knees and serving up Cheerios, she’s a superhero to us.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_uMQTw7v2g”][vc_custom_heading text=”The Story Goes on – Baby” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23dd3333″][vc_column_text]Here’s a gem from a largely unknown 1983 musical, Baby (it was up against some heavy hitters that year – La Cage and Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George). While more about being pregnant, it certainly plays to our theme. Lizzie feels her baby kick for the first time, and she finally realizes what her mother had always told her about the beauty of motherhood and the endless connection of mother to child, in both directions in time.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhi4xNxL-Pk”][vc_custom_heading text=”Lady Madonna – The Beatles” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23dd3333″][vc_column_text]I think I’d be drummed out of the music world if I ignored The Beatles. A couple of my students would pretend they didn’t know me. Don’t let fancy professors fool you – one of the most important, most influential things to happen in any musical genre during the 60s was the work of the Fab Four. Lady Madonna poses the question – how on earth does she do it all? Jamie O’Neal was right…she’s a superhero, indeed.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LJp39-lDE”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”What about you?” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23dd3333″][vc_column_text]What songs do you associate with mom? Did she sing a song to you as a child? Let us know in the comments section below. Share your stories – maybe you have a special song you sing to your kids. Heck…I’m 42 (shhhh…don’t tell anyone) and I can still hear my mom singing I’ve Got a Crush on You (thanks, Mom!). I suppose it helps that she still does it. Happy Mother’s Day everyone![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]