Saturday, February 21

Cute and Catchy


I can't get them out of my head. The songs are fun and catchy. Many are classic tunes with words added to share a bible story in a cute, catchy way. I kept the cd in the van and we listened to it daily for a solid month. And now I can't get the catchy songs out of my head. Are you catching the word "catchy" here? Catchy can be good and catchy can be bad.

I am a firm believer in incorporating music into our daily lives and even our schoolwork. There is something special about music that help to break down chunks of information and store it in the mind of a child forever. The rhythm helps cement memory work in the brain. This is a wonderful tool for scripture memory, character training, history dates and facts, the periodic table, and more. But there was no memory work with this cd. This left us to enjoy it for enjoyment's sake. Only I couldn't. It was....cute. Very cute. My family just isn't all that into cute. The tunes are sung by a children's choir with simple accompaniment. The songs in our cd told part of the story of Moses and the children of Israel. If it had been scripture work put to the same songs, it would have been fun. But it was just a retelling of the stories set to music that didn't fit our tastes.

If there was memory work involved with these songs, I would embrace them wholeheartedly. I needed the cd's to have a relevance for us. The songs on this particular cd are basically intended to help teach the bible stories. I prefer to just read the bible stories. The music these songs were set to was an educational experience in itself...except the original words were rewritten. I'd rather the kids listen to the original, equally catchy songs and memorize the words to classic hymns along the way...or listen to classical music for classical music's sake.

So, not for us, but I think it would make great material for a children's program. You can order songbooks, sheet music, and puzzle pages to accompany the cd's. There are several cd's available to choose from.

If you're into cute and catchy, you might be interested in this. Me? I know without a doubt that if I am ever bitten by a snake, even if it's twenty years from now, I will start to sing...."Ouch! I've been bitten and it don't feel so good. It's affecting the whole neighborhood." And my children had better have the good sense to correct my grammar.

For other opinions on this, most much more favorable than mine, visit The Old Schoolhouse crew's website.

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