Can you tell me how to get...

This song is a Sesame Street original.  It's called A Very Simple Dance To Do.  It first appeared in the mid-1970's and has been reused and remained popular since. 



That is the original song and my 2 year old loves it.  But you know I like to take everything a step further.  Once you have the dance down pat, I think you should add your own little step or two.  If your child comes up with anything extra cute, please be sure to put it in the comment area so we can all give it a try.  :-)

Dinosaurs in Cars!

I am cheating this week.  There is a website that I'm in love with.  I wish I could move to Seattle so I could hire this woman to do my daughter's birthday parties.  She writes a new song with activity every month and posts them on the website.  They are sorted by month, by topic, by holiday, however you want to sort it.  The music is all free and I have even used one of her songs in a school performance before, it is that good.  My favorite song of all, is Dinosaurs in Cars.  It is just a fun song that is worth singing and doing.  When you click on the link the music will start to play on its own.  But there are links on each page to download the song file and you can burn it to CD, put it on your mp3 player, whatever strikes your fancy.  I hope you enjoy this website as much as I do!

If You're Happy and You Know It

If you don't know this classic, here is a video of the song.  Did you grow up singing "and your face will surely show it?"  No problem.  Sing it that way.  We are going to be changing things up anyways. 

This song is great because it gets your kids moving.  It can teach young toddlers different movements by name and give practice in mimicry, and it can help older children learn about other emotions and to create their own song.

The Activities

1.  As usual, just start with the basic song.  I don't think you gain anything by singing this with the video, so once you learn the song, just sing together with your child.  But remember, if your child is younger than 5 they might not sing along.  It's ok, they are still learning.

2.  Once your child is familiar with the song, then start adding your own movements.  This is one way that a child can make his or her own music, but simply changing out the motions.  Take turns so that you can teach new and creative things.  i.e. blink your eyes, wave your arms, etc.

3.  For the older child who is beginning to recognize different emotions (beyond happy and sad), then change the song to If You're sad and you know it wipe a tear.  Fill in those blanks with whatever you and your child want.  If You're angry and you know it stomp your feet.  I generally allow free rein to the kids with their creativity, except violence.  I don't allow punching or hitting for a negative emotion.  Even though it's pretend and no one would get hurt, I don't advocate punching when you are angry, so I wouldn't let my kids pretend they were punching either. 


This is a great song to practice creativity, learn emotions, practice gross motor movements, practice fine motor movements, and to practice using their singing voices.  It is good for ages 6 months up.  Go have fun with it!