When the world feels a little heavy, it does the soul a lot of good to hang out with little kids. They tend to wear their heart on their sleeves, nothing stops them from giving a new friend a bear hug and pure joy is accessible just moments after sadness.
They also tend to greet other kids with genuine love and acceptance. My preschooler immediately exclaims, "FRIENDS!!" when she gets to a park and there are new kids there. We can learn a LOT from the littlest ones in our life.
I run music groups at my daughter's preschool and am always looking for music that is promoting community and friendship. What's amazing to me is that after some repetition, preschoolers can absolutely connect to the lyrics of songs that might initially seem too complicated for kids their age. Why? My guess is that the feelings and emotions in the music (in the notes, tempo & performance) reinforce what lyrics they're able to pick up. And because of that, it's relatively easy for them to pick up on those nuances in the music.
Here are some of my favorite songs for community and friendship. They can be used just about any time, but are especially good in a classroom. But let's be honest here teachers... there are some days when YOU might need these songs more than the kids... and that's even more of a reason to play them in your classroom. <3
→ P.S. I'm sharing the chords + lyrics + audio of one of my original songs about community & friendship at the bottom of the page!
You may also want to check out these blog posts:
by Lyle Lovett & Randy Newman
by The Beatles
by Jack Johnson
by Mary Mary
by Frances England
by Elizabeth Mitchell
by Anna Kendrick & Justin Timberlake
by Bill Withers
by Ingrid Michaelson
by Sister Sledge
🎵Here’s one more song to add to your list 😊
K-I-N-D
by Stephanie Leavell
This song features my daughter, Charlie. We actually taught this song to one of her classes' spring program! The guitar chords are easy-peasy on this one, so feel free to adapt and customize it to fit your needs!
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Did I miss any of your favorites? Happy listening!
Stephanie
