Sunday, August 14, 2011

I'm Singing Baby Beluga While Talking on My Bananaphone...

A 140 character tweet was not enough to express my excitement about finding Raffi on Twitter (@Raffi_RC)! When I taught kindergarten and pre-kindergarten, Raffi, Ella Jenkins, and Hap Palmer were my lifesavers!! It seemed that not a day went by without one of these musical geniuses playing in my classroom. As an adult, I didn't even know what a beluga whale was before Raffi told me. My kindergarten class wanted to know more about belugas, so we did an entire unit on the "little white whale on the go" just because of Raffi. We learned vowels by eating Apples and Bananas. When the kids got antsy, we would  "shake our sillies out". Raffi was the second teacher in my classroom, and he didn't even know it!

What warms my heart even more, is finding out that Raffi is more than a educator and musician. He's an advocate for children, an advocate for childhood, and an advocate for humanity. As a teacher, I appreciated Raffi for what he was able to teach me and my students. Now, as a manager of an early childhood program, I am able to connect with Raffi on another level. I am tearing up as I'm writing this...I'm happy to know that the children of the world have advocates like Raffi.

Dear Raffi,
Thank you.
One light, one sun...


Raffi Facts from Raffi News:
  • "Because of his belief that children should not be exposed to too much television viewing and that they should not be directly marketed to, during his thirty-year career as a superstar of kid’s music Raffi refused all offers for commercial television shows and commercial endorsements."
  • "After years of networking and reflecting on what it might take to create a world fit for children, in 2010, Raffi founded the Centre for Child Honouring on Salt Spring Island."
  • "An estimated 10 million kids who grew up with Baby Beluga now sing it to their own kids."  

Some of my favorite Raffi albums:
All I Really NeedSingable Songs CollectionEvergreen Everblue

 One Light One SunBananaphoneRise and Shine


Reading Raffi:

Baby Beluga (Raffi Songs to Read)Wheels on the Bus (Raffi Songs to Read)Down by the Bay (Raffi Songs to Read)
Spider on the Floor (Raffi Songs to Read)Five Little Ducks (Raffi Songs to Read)Shake My Sillies Out (Raffi Songs to Read)

4 comments:

  1. Smile on my face, tear in my eye. I love this! Karen

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  2. What a great tribute to a great artist. I admire him for never commercializing his trade and always putting the best interest of the child at the forefront of his career!

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  3. I've always been a fan of the Raffi, Ella J and Hap Palmer. I sing the songs even when kids aren't around. They're happy, upbeat, and just fun to sing.
    I was trying to remember an Ella Jenkins song at lunch today with my kids. It's a song I used in kindergarten at Mathew A. Henson many many years ago. I can't recall all the lines, maybe you know? It starts with, "I woke up this morning," (line repeats by kids) then I can't recall the next lines. Maybe, blues all around my head? Do you know if these are the right lines? I love this song!
    Marcia

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  4. Wow, I didn't know that about him. I do love his work. This info. makes me love Raffi all the more.

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