Listening Loop: Folk Songs of 2015-2016

imagine she's learning a folk song

You can read about our listening loop here. Today, I'm just going to write about our folk song list.

When I decided we needed to add folk songs to our school year, I turned to the wise members of the Mater Amabilis facebook group and asked for a book recommendation, something that would provide a good list of folk songs from which I could choose a handful to learn along with the children this year.

They recommended lots of wonderful books, many of which I was able to check out from our local library. The ones I found most helpful were:

• A Treasury of Children's Songs: Forty Favorites to Sing and Play
• Gonna Sing My Head Off!: American Folk Songs for Children
• American Folk Songs for Children (illustrated by Barbara Cooney!)

I knew I needed a playlist because I cannot sing, so therefore, I cannot teach my children to sing. I spent way too long on Spotify, searching for versions of the songs I wanted. Some of them were completely new to me, but I was pleasantly surprised at the number of "folk songs" that appeared on our Making Music Praying Twice CDs. Because we were continuing those CDs, I chose other songs for our folk songs list. I wanted a playlist twenty to thirty minutes long, a balance of male and female voices, and songs that would appeal to my boys and my girls.

So...here's our final list of folk songs for 2015-2016. We listen to them together at the appointed time and the children enjoy them. I've heard them singing some on their own, too, so I know they're learning at least some lyrics.

• All the Pretty Little Horses from Tumble Bee
• Bicycle from Mind of My Own
• The Cat Came Back from Ultimate Laurie Berkner Band Collection
• Simple Gifts from Angel: Sacred Anthems for Treble Voices
• Lavender's Blue from Last Rose
• Bought Me a Cat from American Folk Songs for Children
• If I Had a Hammer from Around the Campfire
• Shortnin Bread from Here I Am!
• Riding in a Buggy from Perfectly Purple From the Learning Groove
• Lula Gal from Come Along John!
• Summer Is Icumen In from Blue Clouds
• The Little Old Sod Shanty from Canada's Story in Song (Spotify has a recording of the song.)

The Cat Came Back is far and away their favorite song in this list. I think my favorite is All the Pretty Little Horses, mostly because it was my favorite song on the lullaby CD we played for First Son every night for something like three years (though that was on Bedtime Prayers: Lullabies and Peaceful Worship). Of all the artists above, I think Elizabeth Mitchell is my favorite (Blue Clouds).

Any favorite folk songs we should learn next year?


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Links to Spotify are not affiliate links. I receive nothing from them, but I highly recommend the paid subscription to Spotify as some of the commercials are not family-friendly.