Toy Thursday: Jammin to some music!

We love music in our house. Every since Judah could move to a beat, he has danced, drummed, and clapped. Often we will put some music in the player and stop to have a dance party with him. Judah bobs his head, does the tippy toe step, moonwalks, and sways back and forth. Other days, we get every wooden spoon out and stainless steel bowl and drum for hours. Still, during worship time in church, we have our little maraca out shaking it to the music. Then other times we march around the house with our tambourine. We also like to sing songs in the car and often you will hear a little voice say, "E-I-E-I-O."

Since music has become a big part of our lives, we have been listening for fun tunes. The key is to play music that mommy and daddy will appreciate many times over and not get annoyed. Thankfully our local librarian helped us find some good kids' music starting with Putumayo World Music and Putumayo Kids. Our library has a number of albums featuring different cultural sounds, styles, instruments, and beats that we can explore. So while drumming with our wooden spoons on our bowls, we find ourselves in Hawaii, Africa, France, or Rock and Rolling and Jazzing on a Picnic Playground!

Putumayo World Music has a little bit for everyone, especially Putumayo Kids. Check out the Playground albums for some funky, dance beat and silly kids' tunes about food, travel, or relationships. These albums contain kid friendly lyrics with a fun twist and a beat from many different artists that mommy and daddy can enjoy. While you are there, look for the Dreamland albums for baby lullabies that help you quiet down and fall asleep or the Sing-a-Long albums that you can sing with. While you enjoy a taste of genres of music, your child will learn to appreciate multicultural styles in different languages across the globe. Some albums even come with an activity-filled, educational workbook (activity kit) to aid further learning while all the albums provide translations and historical content regarding the local flavor and folklore.

So while you dance through life, dance to Putumayo Kids!

Here are some or our particular favorites: