50 epic songs you must introduce your kids to before you die

Despite all the Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Spottify, RDIO and what not social sharing of information and music there is every chance that your kids will not have discovered one (or several) of the following songs by the time they leave school (or before you kick the bucket). So here's a chance to have some cool father-son or father-daughter moments by playing one of the epic anthems (as in mood altering songs that are longer than 5 mins) of all time to them. In alphabetical order ...

* A Friend In Need - Placebo
* Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
* America Pie - Don Mclean
* Angie - Rolling Stones
* Ashes To Ashes - David Bowie
* Bakerstreet - Gerry Rafferty
* Black Magic Woman - Santana
* Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden
* Blasphemous Rumors - Depeche Mode
* Blue Monday - New Order
* Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
* Born Slippy - Underworld
* Brothers In Arms - Dire Straits
* Cafe Del Mar - Energy 52
* Creep - Radiohead
* Everyday People - Arrested Development

Top 10 songs to make a baby go to sleep

Here's our list of top 10 songs to make a baby go to sleep. It worked for our little man and we figured out he's definitely got a preference for female voices. Try them out ... you never know ... they might just work for you as well :-)

BTW - if you haven't seen the movie Samsara (#2) check it out ... it's a must watch.


#1: Katie Melua - Closest Thing to Crazy

Peter and the Wolf

Have you read Peter and the Wolf to your kids yet? If not - why not get a book out from the library (perhaps with a CD) or check out the following links. It's an absolute masterpiece by Prokofiev and a such a fine example of how music and instruments can be used to paint characters, describe moods or even convey what happens in the story!

Recently Se-ma-for Studios (Poland) have done an award winning animation of the story, check this out!

Tattoos, Rap and Saggy Pants

The journey from child, to teen, to young adult to parent seems to have similar stops along the way for most everyone. My college years were during the "age of stupidity," as a man I greatly respect refers to the ‘60s and early ‘70s. As a love-child and soon-to-be yuppie, I was thoroughly convinced that I would be a different parent to any children I might have than my parents were to me.

Peter Love - Daddy's Little Girl

A song about a Father's unwavering love for his daughter from birth through marriage and beyond. This song is excellent for weddings, birthdays, sweet sixteens, etc.!
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Are You Hands-On?

A new study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse says the key to keeping your kids off of drugs is to be a “hands-on” parent. What does that mean?

Well, these parents monitor their kids’ TV-watching and Internet use, they put restrictions on what music their kids buy, they know where their kids are after school and on weekends, and they give regular chores to their children.

How about you?

Warmly,

Mark Brandenburg

Mark Brandenburg MA, CPCC
mark@eqnow.org
www.markbrandenburg.com
www.eqnow.org
Phone (+1) 651-766-9976
"Helping Men Succeed"

Guitar Case

I was sitting on the couch playing guitar when I heard the bathroom door open. Alleke scampered into the room looking for music like kids after an ice cream truck. She had escaped her bath in her birthday suit, which made my music her victory song as she giggled and galloped circles around the room.

Much later after Alleke had exhausted herself with spinning in circles, she crawled into my guitar case with a blanket and closed her eyes.

I strummed a lullaby.

SPARC Active Movement - part 6: Music and Dance

What makes music and dance important?
From birth children really respond to music and movement. For example we use it to calm a baby who is tired or upset, or we can use it to energise children at a party.

Music and dance is a great medium for moving and learning because most children love music and dance. It helps to build an awareness of emotions and is a great form of physical and emotional expression.

For young children music and singing are great for language development and speech and memory skills because of the repetition. We know that children's brains develop very fast in early childhood and music and movement helps make connections between different parts of the brain.

How does music and dance help with physical activity and movement?

SPARC Active Movement - Part 4: Developing fine motor skills

Why are fine motor skills important?
Fine motor skills are important because children need them for activities like writing, playing instruments and playing sport later in their lives.

Once a child can hold a pencil or cricket bat without having to think of "how" to hold it, they can then concentrate on what they are going to write, or how they are going to hit the ball with the bat. This is called automaticity, which is the ability to do something without thinking about it.

It's important to note that being active isn't just about doing full-on physical things and playing sport. It's anything and everything involved in moving your body and having body awareness. For example, in younger children it's about knowing where their fingers are and what they can do.

SPARC aims to develop the skills in our children to be active and healthy from a holistic perspective – so it's about food and lifestyle too.

I love my father, says Bindi

"I love that he's funny, he's entertaining and he's always there when I need him most. I'm proud to have a dad like that, who takes on conservation issues around the world."

"I love him very, very much." - Bindi

Steve said his daughter had inherited his love of animals: "The most important thing in Bindi's life is that she's grown up in a zoo. Bindi's passionate about animals, but she's also into singing, dancing and dress-ups, like any other little girl.

"I'd do anything to spend time with my daughter." - Steve (Dad)

Loving words from Bindi and loving words from an INSPIRATIONAL Father