Early Childhood Classics - Old Favorites With A New Twist

Hap Palmer | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 1, 2000)
• Original Release Date: February 1, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hap-Pal Music
• ASIN: B00004RDLD
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,616 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #4 in Music > Indie Music > Children's Music > Children's Educational
  • #22 in Music > Indie Music > Children's Music > General
  • #94 in Music > Children's Music > Educational

Track Listings

1. Itsy Bitsy Spider

2. Pat-A-Cake

3. I'm a Little Teapot

4. Old Mac Donald

5. Touch Your Toes To Your Nose

6. Circle Songs: The Mulberry Bush, Ring Around the Rosy, Hokey Pokey

7. Open Shut Them

8. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

9. Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

10. Bingo

11. The Elephant

12. I'm Glad I'm Me

13. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

14. The Wheels on the Bus

15. Good-bye Song

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Hap Palmer may be best known for his vocal contributions to the hugely popular Baby Songs video series, but parents of 2- to 5-year-olds, particularly those with a sturdier than average educational bent, will find a lot to love on Early Childhood Classics: Old Favorites with a New Twist. This release rids itself of tiresome attempts to turn performances of simple songs like "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" into minor personal masterpieces and instead injects its de rigueur dose of creativity directly into familiar lyrics. For instance, while there's the usual cow and pig on Old MacDonald's farm, we're also introduced to Henrietta's House, where there's a cat, Zebediah's zoo with its tiger, and the puppy in Pamelina's pet shop. Similarly, instead of the usual "Pat-a-Cake" cliffhanger, where the cake's put in the oven and that's all she wrote, we get to hear the ding-ding-ding when it's done and layer on the frosting. The sequence of songs is repeated instrumentally after Palmer's interpretations to allow for sing-alongs and the dreaming up of more new lyrics--a useful device for caregivers who think like teachers (those who don't, though, can make use of clever movement and activity suggestions in the liner notes). Each song's wordplay and simple rhymes are catchy enough to fall into the can't-fail category when it comes to enhancing vocabulary, phonics, and vocabulary skills, and the surprise lyrics lend themselves nicely to attentive listening. Early Childhood Classics delivers old-fashioned fun in a satisfyingly unsplashy way. --Tammy La Gorce

Product Description

Here is a joyful collection of all time favorite activity songs for young children. Hap Palmer's unique renditions preserve the charm and simplicity of traditional songs while adding new, original lyrics and melodies to extend and enrich the familiar classics.

The simplicity and repetition of these songs guarantee active participation by encouraging children to sing and move with the music. While having fun and participating actively, children develop motor and musical skills and learn about animals, counting, identification of body parts, and phonics. As children sing along, responding to the imagery and humor of the lyrics, reading readiness is also enhanced. Alliteration and rhyme develop a child's ear for the sounds of language - an important pre-reading skill.

These songs are developmentally appropriate for the very young child - infant to 5 years. However, the familiar melodies and contemporary arrangements also elicit surprisingly gusty participation from first and second grade students. A variety of musical styles adds new life to well known songs with swing, blue grass, country, classical, rock, pop, and blues arrangements.

Fifteen songs are presented with vocal interpretation. The sequence is then repeated instrumentally providing opportunities for singing along and creating new lyrics using children's ideas. The instrumental selections also familiarize children with the sounds of a variety of musical instruments including piano, bass, drums, guitar, violin, viola, cello, trumpet, trombone, tuba, French horn, saxophone, flute, English horn, accordion, and a variety of percussion instruments such as conga drums, bougaraboo drum, ouiro, shaker, wood block and tambourine.

The instrumental versions of each song can be used in the following ways:

1. After children have learned words with the vocal version, they can sing along hearing only the music.

2. Children can create their own lyrics and sing the song using their ideas.

3. The music can accompany sessions in movement exploration and creative movement.

Suggestions for activities and variations are not limited to those presented in this guide book. There are endless possibilities awaiting your creative impulse.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Fun!, June 27, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Early Childhood Classics - Old Favorites With A New Twist (Audio CD)

I bought this for my daughter who is 2 1/2 years of age. It turns out that my son who is 5 enjoys this CD too. I found the music upbeat and easy to listen to. Hap's singing is smooth and not annoying like the Barney music. He takes all the nursery rhymes and adds different rhythms. My kids love to dance to this CD. This definitely helps when the weather is not so permitting to go outside and play. The CD incorporates movements along with the songs. This is important to build music appreciation and make music fun for them. It also means that I do not have to sign my children up for expensive classes to enjoy music! Little ones need to move. I even find the children's chorus enjoyable. They actually remain in key! On some CD's, they use very young children who sing like Elmer Fudd. Not on this CD. These kids annunciate! I love the twists to the songs. The lyrics and suggestions for movements are included with the CD. This definitely helps! My daughter's favorite is "I'm a Little Teapot". My son's favorite is "This Old Man". It is a great investment in music! I highly recommend this CD for teachers and parents!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Creative, August 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Early Childhood Classics - Old Favorites With A New Twist (Audio CD)

My sister recently bought this for her son, who's nearly three years old and he absolutely loves it. She just puts it on, and he dances around and jumps up and down. He loves it and that's hard to come by as he's pretty picky about everything. It has great lyrics and I found myself chuckling over some of the new twists it takes on the nursey rhymes I heard as a kid.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A child's music library must-have!!, August 31, 2002

By 

MommyWest "Honey" (Centerville, UT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Early Childhood Classics - Old Favorites With A New Twist (Audio CD)

We LOVE this recording from Hap Palmer!! It is upbeat and perfect for ANY child, not just tiny ones. It is especially appropriate for toddlers and preschoolers, and the accompanying booklet outlines many activities that can be done along with each song. This is perfect for a do-together activity, or to use as part of a home/neighborhood preschool curriculum. Creative arranging, writing, and excellent musical talent make this a pleasure for all of us to listen to. My kids (4 and 1)love to run around and dance to this, as well as do the actions. You'll love it, too!!