You can create a themed playlist for you and your preschoolers to listen to in the classroom or at home. Download the songs to your iPod or MP3 player or burn to a CD. Use the songs to enhance your existing curriculum, as background music for a quiet activity, or pull out the rhythm instruments and play along.
All the songs I list are easily accessible through amazon.com, itunes.com or walmart.com. Start with my suggestions and then add one or two more of your own. The possibilities are endless!!
ELEPHANTS
The Baby Elephant Walk by Henry Mancini
We're Going to the Zoo
One Elephant Went Out to Play
Nellie the Elephant
I Went to the Animal Fair
Animal Action
TOYS
I'm Putting My Toys Away, Now - Corey LeLand
Goin' On a Bike Ride - Lynn Kleiner
March of the Toys - from Babes in Toyland
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear - APM Music
Pick It Up - Wally Whyton (this song is competely silly, but a lot of fun!)
10 Little Indians - Bill Haley and the Comets (yes, the same group that performed Rock Around the Clock!)
BIG BAND MUSIC
Take the 'A' Train - Duke Ellington
It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing - Duke Ellington
Satin Doll - Duke Ellington
April in Paris - Count Basie
Swinging the Blues - Count Basie
Sentimental Journey - Les Brown
I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm - Les Brown
Chattanooga Choo-Choo - Glenn Miller
String of Pearls - Glenn Miller
Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me) - Glenn Miller
CARIBBEAN MUSIC
If You're Happy and You Know It by Asheba
Tingalayo by Raffi
A Sailor Went to Sea by Aardvark Kids
Go Itsy by Asheba
Day-O by Raffi (the version by Harry Belafonte has lyrics about drinking rum - not quite appropriate for preschoolers, but the Raffi version is a great one and is kid friendly!)
Jamaica Farewell by Jimmy Buffett
Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin
Down by the Bay by Larry N. Swenson
Brown Girl in the Ring by Raffi
Limbo Rock by Chubby Checker
FARM SONGS
Mary Had a Little Lamb by Stevie Ray Vaughn
Five Little Ducks by The C.R.S. Players
Old MacDonald Had a Farm by the Montreal Children's Workshop
Be Like a Duck by Sandra Boynton
Ten Little Bumblebees by Twin Sisters Productions
This Old Man by Thing-a-ma-kid
The Old Grey Mare by the Island Choral Experience
Inchworm by the Enchanted Garden All Stars
Baa Baa Black Sheep by Raffi
CLASSICS FOR KIDS
Symphony No. 94, Second Movement (Surprise Symphony) - Joseph Haydn
Flight of the Bumblebee - Rimsky-Korsakov
The Swan - Saint Saens
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Variations (Ah, Vous Dirai-je Maman) K. 265 - W.A. Mozart
William Tell Overture - Gioacchino Rossini
La Mer - Claude Debussy
Appalachian Spring - Aaron Copland
Rodeo - Aaron Copland
Minuet in G - J.S. Bach
ST. PATRICK'S DAY
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling - The Hit Crew
Macnamara's Band - The Hit Crew
I'll Tell Me Ma - The Kilkenny Brothers
The Leprechaun (You're No Irish Laddie) - Marc Gunn (I usually cut the first verse of this song in class due to the lyrics, but you can listen to it and make your own decision about it)
Stain the Grout - Gaelic Storm
A Sailor's Song - The Irish National Anthem
Amhran na Bhfiann - The Irish National Anthem sung in Gaelic
The Sailor's Hornpipe - The Hit Crew
The Kid on the Mountain - The Columbia Minstrels
St. Patrick's Day (Traditional Set Dance) - Ellery Klein and Ryan Lacey
VALENTINE'S DAY
I Love You (No Matter What) - Jack Hartmann
It's Love - Jack Hartmann
Learning to Love - Jack Hartmann
I Can Do That - Jack Hartmann
I Love Myself - Jack Hartmann
Goodbye for Today - Jack Hartmann
EASTER
Here Comes Peter Cottontail - The Hit Crew
Hop Little Bunnies - The C.R.S. Players
Spring Dance - Geoff Johnson
Have You Ever Seen a Bunny - Granny Vee
Little Bo Peep - The Hit Crew
Oh Easter Egg - Nooshi the Balloon Dude
Deck the Eggs - Nooshi the Balloon Dude
Mary Had a Little Lamb - Stevie Ray Vaughn
La Primavera (Springtime) - from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons
DINOSAURS
Five Big Dinosaurs - Jack Hartmann
The Dinosaur Stomp - Jack Hartmann
Those Dinosaur Blues - Sandra Boynton
Iguanodon - Tessarose
Flying Purple People Eater - Sha Na Na
Walk the Dinosaur - Was (Was Not)
BUMBLEBEES
I have listed several different versions of The Flight of the Bumblebee. Doing so gives children exposure to different arrangements of the same song and helps them to recognize different instrument sounds.
Flight of the Bumblebee - Bach to the Future
Flight of the Bumblebee - James Galway
Flight of the Bumblebee - Linda Maxey
Flight of the Bumblebee - Wynton Marsalis
Baby Bumblebee - Cedarmont Kids
Spring Dance - Geof Johnson
10 Little Bumblebees - Aardvark Kids
Zoey Bumblebee - Penny and Pals
HENRY MANCINI
The Baby Elephant Walk
Theme from The Pink Panther
Moon River
Jazz Hot (from Victor/Victoria)
King's Can Can (from Victor/Victoria)
Sorta Blue
Session at Pete's Pad
Love Story
Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet
African Symphony
The Thornbirds Theme
INSECT SONGS
Ten Little Bumblebees by Twin Sister Productions
Zzzooming Everywhere by Sandi and Stevie
Flight of the Bumblebee with Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin
Flight of the Bumblebee with James Galway
Flight of the Bumblebee with Wynton Marsalis
Be a Bug by Priscilla Lamarca Kandel
Caterpillar Conga by Tim Russ and Jedda Roskilly
Baby Bumblebee by Thing-a-ma-kid
Blue Tail Fly (Jimmy Crack Corn) by Homer and Jethro
Inchworm by Enchanted Garden All Stars
FREEZE DANCE SONGS
Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and the Comets
Hit the Road, Jack by Ray Charles
Life is a Highway by Rascal Flatts
That'll Be the Day by Buddy Holly
You Know I Love You by Howard Jones
Consider Yourself from the musical "Oliver"
Shimbleshanks from the musical "Cats"
Benjamin Calypso from the musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"
Rockin' With the Rhythm of the Rain by The Judds
My Tennessee Mountain Home by Dolly Parton
Rocky Top by the Osborne Brothers
Dancing on the Ceiling by Lionel Ritchie
Surfin' Safari by The Beach Boys
Rockin' Robin by Michael Jackson
Beatin, Bangin and Scratchin by Danny Kaye
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy by The Andrew Sisters
Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival
BEETHOVEN PLAYLIST
Moonlight Sonata (Opus 27 No.2), 1st Movement
Pathetique Sonata (Opus13), 2nd Movement
Symphony No. 5
Take the 5th (An Adaptation of Beethoven's 5th Symphony) by Brian Seltzer
Fur Elise
Concerto No. 5 (The Emperor Concerto)
String Quartet No. 2 in G, Opus 18 No. 2 (3rd Movement)
The Ruins of Athens
Roll Over Beethoven by Chuck Berry (OK, I know this isn't Beethoven's music, but the kids will love it anyway!)
Beethoven Boogie by Roddy Barnes
Elise Steps Out by Sally Harmon
HALLOWEEN
There Was an Old Witch - C.R.S. Players
Five Little Pumpkins - Munchkin Music
Oh Halloween - Nooshi
Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater - Kidz Now
Oh, My Darlin' Pumpkintine - David Polansky
Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead - Barbra Streisand and Harold Arlen
Flying Purple People Eater - The Hit Crew
Fossils - from the Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens
Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett
The Adams Family Themesong - The Hit Crew
Followers
