From the Director's Headphones

I’m often asked what my family is reading and what music we listen to that is kid friendly. Since I’m so often asked, I thought I would put it all in one place that can be shared.

What do we listen to? Honestly, not a lot of music! Some of our most listened to are:
Caspar Babypants- If you’re of a certain age, you may remember a song called Millions of Peaches...the frontman is now a kid’s artist, and not an awful one either. His songs are catchy and fun. He has some very silly ones (Our favorites are Helicopter, Bad Blue Jay, and Run Baby Run), as well as a couple of night time music and some Beatles covers.

The Okee Dokee Brothers- We were introduced to these guys from another parent when my oldest was in the preschool here years ago, and we’ve continued to enjoy them! So much so, that we went on a road trip last fall to hear them play live and pick up their most recent album! They fall on the folk/bluegrass spectrum. Their four big albums all have wonderful back stories to them: hiking the Appalachian Trail, canoeing down the Mississippi, spending time on a ranch, and spending time in Canada in the winter. From each of these experiences they created an album of songs to match.

Super Simple Songs- They have a lot of nursery rhymes, learning songs, and catchy songs for really young kids. One of our favorites is Do You Like Broccoli?

And that’s about it music wise! (Occasionally we get sucked into JoJo Siwa or Kidz Bob, but I try to limit that for my own sanity!)

Now, we don’t just drive around in silence. We tend to listen to a lot of audio books and most of all podcasts! I’ve always listened to podcasts, but I never really thought of finding any for my kids. A friend told me about What If World, a storytelling podcast for kids, and we were hooked! Podcasts will often guest star one each other’s show, so it’s easy to find more (and more and more…) Some of our favorites are:

What If World- Mr. Eric is the host of this wonderful world of stories. Every episode he answers kids that questions that children sent in. But these aren’t your run of the mill questions, these are “what if…” questions. “What if the lion and the elephant met up for spaghetti.” was the question in a recent episode. Mr. Eric takes these questions and weaves them into a story with a crazy cast of characters that he has created.

Story Pirates- This is another story telling podcast. In this one there is a band of Pirates that sail in a magical ship and have adventures. That part is just one part of the podcast, the other part are the stories that children send in. The Story Pirates take these stories and act them out, or write a song about it. The music aspect is so popular that they’ve created a few albums of them. 

Wow in the World- Mindy and Guy Raz (yes, Guy Raz of Ted Talks and NPR) check out a science related topic every episode. This is far from a boring sit down lecture though. From getting stuck in a giant nose, to time travel, to making Guy Raz pretend to be different animals (all in the name of science, of course) Wow in the World makes science fun and interesting.

Pants on Fire- We all know the rhyme, but in this game show podcast they ask a kid to pick the expert from the liar. It’s an interesting listen and it’s fun to try to guess who the expert is and who is making stuff up as they go. Sometimes the one host can make some jokes that are meant for older kids, but everyone in my family enjoys it. (Gen-Z has a bunch of good ones, we also listen to The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian sometimes)

Noodle Loaf and Ear Snacks- These two are geared towards the youngest kids. They’re full of silly songs and jokes and are around 10-15 minutes long.

Be Calm on Ah-way Island- This is a great bedtime or quiet time one. They tell calm and meditative stories. The narrator's voices are so soothing!


Do you have a favorite I’ve missed? Please let me know in the comments!

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