Sing, sing a song

Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud, sing out strong
Sing of good things not bad
Sing of happy not sad

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not good enough
For anyone else to hear
Just sing, sing a song

I love singing. I love hearing my voice. I love listening to the lyrics of songs, and try to figure out the story behind the lyrics. I love making up my own parodies/alternate versions of songs.

I've listened to my fair share of the radio when I was young, taping songs off 98.7FM's Say it With Music, and playing+stopping the tape to listen to the lyrics to write them down etc. It's so much easier now, to search for lyrics off the internet. The two stanzas above are from Sing A Song by The Carpenters, by the way.

So now, with the kids, I sing a lot to them. It started when Isaac was in my stomach. Never too early to let him listen to Mummy's voice, I thought. So even when I was pregnant with him, I'd sing to him. When the kids were wee babies, singing was also a useful tool to lull them to sleep. 

Interestingly, the twins seem to be more musically inclined than Isaac was, in the sense that they took to singing and songs much earlier than Isaac did. Then again, it could also be due to the fact that the twins started childcare earlier than Isaac did. *shrug* or that could be a coincidence.

Anyway, one day, many months back, while listening to the kids singing along to BINGO - I realised that the twins, despite being younger than 2 years old (at that time) knew how to spell the blasted dog's name "Bingo"! Dang! I thought to myself! Why is it that a child would know how to spell some fictional farmer's dog's name - even before they knew how to spell their own name?! Something is not right! So I had an excellent idea - I'd use the Bingo song to teach the kids to spell their own name! And so I embarked on one of my favourite pastimes - creating personalised alternate versions of known songs! :p

 

Sing to the tune of "Bingo"
There is a handsome boy I know
And Asher is his name, oh
A S H E R! A S H E R! A S H E R! and Asher is his name oh!

There is a pretty girl I know
And Shawna is her name, oh
S H A W N A! S H A W N A! S H A W N A! and Shawna is his name oh!

There is a clever boy I know
And Isaac is his name, oh
I S A A C! I S A A C! I S A A C! and Isaac is his name oh!
 ...
And that's how Asher and Shawna learnt to spell their names before they even turned two. Isaac already knew how to spell his name, at this point in time. Asher and Shawna even know how to sing each others' name! Asher's name is easier to spell, coz it has 5 letters and corresponds directly to the Bingo. Shawna's name has an extra letter, which you must speed up the spelling a little when singing along to the Bingo tune - but it still works.

 

Ring a Round of Roses
Ring a round of roses, a pocket full of roses
Asher! Asher! We all fall down!

Ring a round of roses, a pocket full of roses
Shawna! Shawna! We all fall down!

Ring a round of roses, a pocket full of roses
Isaac! Isaac! We all fall down!
...
I didn't start this one. Shawna did. Think coz "Ashes" and "Asher" sounded similar, so Shawna really thought it was "Asher! Asher! We all fall down."

 

Sing to the tune of "Old MacDonald had a farm"
My father is Mr Tan, E I E I O
And in his house there's Asher Tan, E I E I O
Asher cry cry here, Asher cry cry there, here cry there cry, every time cry cry
Asher Tan must be a good boy E I E I O

My father is Mr Tan, E I E I O
And in his house there's Shawna Tan, E I E I O
Shawna pull pull here, Shawna push push there, pull here push there, every time so rough
Shawna Tan must be a good girl E I E I O
 
My father is Mr Tan, E I E I O
And in his house there's Isaac Tan, E I E I O
Isaac whine whine here, Isaac groan groan there, here whine there groan, everyday moan moan

Isaac Tan must be a good boy E I E I O

haha this one irritates Isaac to no end. He'd start whining "Noooooo....." when I start singing his stanza, until I change the adjectives to something good about him. The good thing about all these songs is that it's very easy to change the lyrics on a whim.

Pictures all taken on 22nd April 2012

Last night, in trying to get the kids to sleep early, since it's a working day today, we switched off the lights and told the kids "Sleep!!!" Asher was lying next to me, and he started singing the following in the tune of "Wheels on the Bus (goes round and round)"
Asher:" The Mummy on the bus say ''Go to sleep','Go to sleep','Go to sleep' The Mummy on the bus say ''Go to sleep', all night long"
Hubbs:"Asher!!! Go to sleep!!!"
Me:*snickering away*

A few weeks ago, while hubbs was playing "London Bridge is Falling Down" with the kids, Shawna substituted her name in:"London Bridge is falling down, falling down, London Bridge is falling down, my fair Shawna!"

So! The kids are starting to learn the knack of substituting lyrics with their own words! Faboo!!! So proud of them!!! :) Hubbs says they are definitely my kids indeed!!! :)