My daughter is to young to sing but she and I love to dance. One really great way to keep the TV off and the fun going is to stream Pandora thru your home computer, gaming system or iPod. If you don’t know about Pandora yet- take my word for it- and check it out here. Log on to Pandora, create an account and start “creating stations”. Lets say you create a “Radiohead” station. Pandora will play Radiohead and bands like Radiohead using what they have coined the “Music Genome Project“. If you like the song they play you can “thumbs up” it and they will continue to stream similar music. If you do not like the song you can either “thumbs down” it or skip it (there is a limit to the number of songs you can skip per hour). Not only do they have millions of great artist stations they also have some great kids options. Pandora is free however you will have to endure periodic commercials, if that’s not your thing then a measly $36 for the year gets you commercial free awesomeness 24/7. Overall the best thing about Pandora is they know that Mommys and Daddys are listening so they do an excellent job of mixing it up- even the Disney station. You won’t hear song after song you’ve heard a million times, Pandora will surprise you with pleasant musical treats the whole family can enjoy! Here are my favorites to listen to with my daughter.
1. My favorite by far is the Children’s Folk Songs its actually a mix of folk, jazz, contemporary kids music and more. At times it can get a little to like “Am I in a Starbucks?” kinda music but all in all its my favorite.
2. The Muppets Kids Station- Let the fun begin. Super silly songs you haven’t heard in a very long time!
3. Toddler Radio- Everything and anything can play on this station. Great choice for kids learning to sing along while learning.
4. Free to Be You and Me Station- Eclectic kid’s music you may not have heard yet peppered in with classics you know and love.
5. Schoolhouse Rock Station- The 70′s are back! Conjunction Junction, what’s your function? Hooking up words and phrases and clauses!
6. Sesame Street Radio- Classics and rarities. Some songs I remember listening to on vinyl as a child.
7. Disney (sorry had to add this one) personally I skip the Mulan and Beauty and the Beast and go straight for the Marry Poppins and Snow White songs. Fun for a limited amount of time.
Enjoy!
