We interrupt animal classification to bring you a song

Wavin' Flag from Andrea Young on Vimeo.

Here are my children, myself, and some homeschooling friends singing at a rest home. I have singing time with my children every morning. We learn new songs, dance a lot, beat Emeline's drum, that sort of thing. Then every few months we sing the songs we've learned at a local rest home and an assisted living center.

They know us there. In fact, after we sang, the activities coordinator gushed about just how much Eli's grown. We've been singing there since I was pregnant with the little man, and this is the first time he hasn't clung to me in the hostile environment of strangers. He was really, really, really shy for a long time. This time he danced around and waved his flag, and even sang some of the words. Sniff, sniff. Yes, I'm having a small heart attack that baby is getting so big.

Whoa, sorry to get distracted. The point is that our family has a nice symbiotic relationship with the care centers and we really like to sing for the residents. We really like to sing.

Waltzing Matilda from Andrea Young on Vimeo.

I think "Waltzing Matilda" is my children's favorite song we've ever learned. I was surprised by just how much my children have loved learning folk songs this year. They resonate--maybe that is why we still sing them after all this time.

Our program:

Shortnin' Bread

Waltzing Matilda

Scarborough Fair

Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree (as a round)

She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain

Vocal solo

Piano solo by Miriam

Another piano solo

Wavin' Flag.

It was a nice length of program for the ages of my children. If you've never taken your children to a care center, I highly recommend it. My children are fairly comfortable with the elderly now and that makes me glad. I think singing at the rest home has had a lot to do with it.

Now that this program is over, we can move full throttle into Christmas music. At Christmas we sing at the rest home with all my family. That means a whole lot of really young children. It is a little crazy and a lot of fun. This year we're learning "Christmas in Killarney," "Silver Bells," "I Want a Hippo for Christmas," and "The Nativity Song" in the primary children's songbook. We're singing more than that, but we know all the other songs. I'm excited about our line up.

Do you carol at Christmas? Have any favorite Christmas songs you think my children would like to learn? I would love to hear what they are. You can never know too many Christmas songs.

Happy holidays!!

PS--And no, Timothy did NOT make all the flags for us. I made the Canada flag and Ireland--thank you very much. Timothy made the rest. Well, the children did what they could and then Timothy did the rest. You aren't supposed to mock me for my glaring inadequacies. You are supposed to praise my good judgement in marrying Timothy.