Spiffles

We’ve got some great new stuff for you this time…and, man…it REALLY runs the gamut…from classical music to hip-hop…and it’s all FUN. Let’s dig in!!:

• Gunnar Madsen is a hoot…this guy must be a lot of fun at parties! Awhile back, he brought us his song Ants in My Pants, which we loved…but, just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, he’s here again with Mozart and I’m Growing…both from this new album I’m Growing. It’s smart, sophisticated, vocally-adventurous music for kids. It’s simply impossible to groove with this stuff and complain about how lame kids music is in the same breath! You’ll find Gunnar’s music on the Artists M-N page.
• Jeff Hunter has spent a life time writing singing and composing his original songs while mastering the acoustic guitar. Best known for his years with The Previously Lost Dogs playing their original folk fusion and producing five albums…and in Fourteen Strings with world-class violinist Denis English and renowned bass player Jack Grosse. But what bring him here is the release of his first children’s album called Elemenope (L-M-N-O-P). He’s sharing two songs with us: The Animal Train and Insects Are Everywhere. You’ll find Jeff’s music on the Artists E-H page.
• The folk music of his native Canada, especially of the maritime provinces, made a strong impression on Owen Duggan at an early age. He loved the jaunty rhythms and lively tunes of Newfoundlander songs. He began singing and playing multiple instruments before he was 10. By the age of 12 he had recorded two long-playing albums of popular songs of folksingers like Burl Ives, the Irish Rovers and Tom Paxton. Later formal studies led Owen to a career in music education and church music and he currently resides in San Antonio, TX with his wife and two kids. His album An Elephant Never Forgets contains a really fun version of The Ants (Go Marching), which he’s brought to share with us this time. You find Owen’s music on the Artists C-D page.
• The Dino 5 is a creation of the folks at Baby Loves Hip Hop. Hall-of-fame hip-hop producer Prince Paul has teamed with other successful MCs (Chali Tuna of Jurassic 5, Wordsworth, Lady Bug Mecca of Digable Planets and Scratch of Roots Crew). This funky musical journey tells the story of five best dino friends who come together to teach key life lessons and, of course, have a little fun! From their new album, they’ve brought us a sweet little groove called What About 10? You’ll find the music of Dino 5 on the Artists C-D page.
• Mr. Steve (Steve Piperno) & Miss Katie (Katie Burtnick) hail from New Jersey…where he’s a professional musician and she teaches music at an elementary school. From their new album, Are You Ready? Here We Go!, they’ve brought to us a paean to politeness, Please and Thank You. And it looks like they are practicing what they preach. It appears that Mr. Steve has asked Miss Katie to “please” become Mrs. Katie (or Mrs. Steve…or something like that!) in the near future. You’ll find Steve & Katie’s music on the Artists M-N page.
• Maureen Conlin is an early childhood music entertainer/educator from Phoenix. She’s a writier, lyricist and composer who is inspired by her young audiences. She encourages children through her music to create, explore, experience and have fun. She’s the owner of Happy Notes Music and has recorded four CDs, is a monthly contributor to Kids Celebrate Magazine and provides workshops for early childhood educators. From her album, Nature Notes, she’s sharing her song Ugly Buglies with us. You’ll find Maureen’s music on the Artists C-D page.
• And…lastly, but certainly not leastly…we present something a bit different. We’ll call it “baby rock” for the moment. Matt Clark is father to a boy named Rowan. And he’s been inspired by his experiences in raising this lttle fella to write some songs which we found very catchy. They’re not slickly produced or anything…rather, they’re all fairly short and all well worth the time to download and listen. We’ll present two of them here (Top of the Stairs and Too Busy), but you’ll need to visit his website to check out the rest. Matt’s music can be found on the Artists C-D page.

To find ALL the above music, just visit FreeKidsMusic.com!

We’ve just posted six new games on LightUpYourBrain.com:

• Frog Zen Pond
• Giggly Pops
• I Lost My Puppy
• Math Mountain
• The Equator
• Wordelicious

As always, we endeavor to add games that are not only safe for kids, but also engage the brain on some level: hand-eye coordination, math skills, problem-solving, etc. While we do play the games before selecting them, NO ONE gets to know a game like the kids who play them. So if you ever see anything that concerns you, please contact me right away and we’ll take a look and possibly remove the game. We’ve heard from some incredibly helpful parents and teachers who have helped us save face on more than one occasion. Your assistance is much appreciated!
The quickest way to find these games is…from the Games page, of course!

We had a crash and lost our previous posts. For now, just know that our three featured sites are FreeKidsMusic.com, TheColoringSpot.com and LightUpYourBrain.com. We’re in the process of adding some cool new stuff to all three sites and we’ll be posting here when the stuff is online. Thanks for your patience!

Oh…and as long as you’re here, please take a minute and join the bunches of other people who’ve already subscribed to our blog via email or RSS. We won’t spam you…we’re just here to let you know when great new stuff has been posted.

Thanks again!