1.07: Throw a Dance Party for Kids at Your Library

Traditional music and dance experts Peter and Mary Alice Amidon discuss their approach to performing for kids, creativity, singing games, and advice on how to present a community dance event. P.E. teacher Kelly Worthy shares her experience putting on an elementary school dance party. Plus lots of sample clips from songs that include their own dance instructions.



Listen to the show!

TPR 1.07: "Throw a Dance Party at Your Library"

^ Click the PLAY button to listen now.

To download, right-click the title (option-click for Mac).

Click here to use iTunes. (It's a free download!)



The Amidons

1. Peter and Mary Alice Amidon Homepage
2. Peter's List of Traditional Dance Resources (.pdf)
3. Jump Jim Joe: Great Singing Games for Children
4. Down in the Valley: More Great Singing Games for Children
5. West Music Company

Songs!

This episode is jam-packed with songs that are featured and/or mentioned in the interviews. Many of those songs are listed here, along with many many more. Consider these iTunes iMixes as a starting place for your own explorations. Both are filled with great useable dance music!



Note: If the links don't work, then you likely don't have iTunes installed. It's a free download. If you don't want to use iTunes, you can email me to request a text version of the list.


The Program Room Pop Dance Music iMix - These are songs kids probably know from popular media; many of them are connected to specific dances. Most of them work well with all ages - even teens. Do a quick YouTube search on any of these titles and you'll likely get to see these songs in action. This list includes songs recommended in the manual and songs recommended by Mrs. Worthy.



The Program Room Danceable Kid Songs iMix - These songs all included dance or movement instructions within the lyrics. These songs will appeal mostly to elementary age kids.



These lists are just the beginning - there's no shortage of great dance music out there for kids. Post a comment to let us know your favorites!

Dance Resources on the Internet

Country Dance and Song Society

The Dance Gypsy

Ballroom Dancers

Please Thank Our Sponsor!

Carole Peterson and her new CD, Dancing Feet!

1.06: Storytelling With Kids at Your Library

Storyteller Dianne de Las Casas discusses ways of inspiring kids to tell their own stories, including story theater, board games, and fractured fairy tales. Storyteller Bill Harley discusses prompts that inspire children to tell their own tales, and both touch on the importance of this type of work with kids. Plus songs from Monty Harper and Bill Harley.



Listen to the show!

TPR 1.06: "Storytelling With Kids at Your Library"

^ Click the PLAY button to listen now.

To download, right-click the title (option-click for Mac).

Click here to use iTunes. (It's FREE!)



Guests

1. Dianne de Las Casas - homepage
• Dianne's Blog
• Dianne's Story Collection
• Story Theater Scripts
• Storytelling Games
• Literacy Activities
2. Bill Harley - homepage
• Bill's Song and PSA on the ALSC website
• Bill Harley on Amazon.com

Dianne Recommends Many Great Books!

Dianne recommended a long list of reference books, including some of her own, to help you get your kids started telling stories! You'll find them all listed in our Amazon.com store.

Bill Harley Recommends These Songs and Stories

Bill recommended these songs and stories of his (at my request) as prompts for encouraging kids to tell their own similar stories.

"You're in Trouble," available on the CD You're in Trouble - (lyric .pdf)
"Is Not Is Too," available on the CD Play It Again: Favorite Songs (& One New Story)
"Mrs. Lunchroom (story)," available on the CD Weezie and the Moonpies
"You're Not the Boss of Me (story)," available on the CD Play It Again: Favorite Songs (& One New Story)

Featured Songs

"Frog Song" by Monty Harper, available on The Great Green Squishy Mean Concert CD
"At Your Library" by Bill Harley, available for free download from ALSC

Please Thank Our Sponsor!

The Music Box - 180 songs to use with young children, designed to make programming a snap.
Also available from TeacherStorehouse.com or Redleaf Press.

1.05: Theater Games at Your Library

Rozz Grigsby, Education Director for Oklahoma Children's Theater, speaks about how to do theater games and story dramas with kids. Learn how to play Red Light, Freeze Dance, Space Walk, Screen Test, Magic Toybox, Whatchya Doin?, Echo, Freeze, Zip Zap Zop, Sound Orchestra, and Questions. Plus, a song from Funky Mama.

Listen to the show!
TPR 1.05: "Theater Games at Your Library"
^ Click the PLAY button to listen now.
To download, right-click the title (option-click for Mac).
Click here to use iTunes. (It's FREE!)

Guests

1. Rozz Grigsby
2. The Uncut Rozz Grigsby Interview (.mp3)
3. Oklahoma Children's Theater
4. Funky Mama - "Freeze Dance"
   

Rozz Recommends These Reference Books for Theater Games

1. Theater Games for the Classroom: A Teacher's Handbook, by Viola Spolin
2. Drama of Color: Improvisation with Multiethnic Folklore, by Johnny Saldana
3. Structuring Drama Work, by Jonothan Neelands and Tony Goode
4. Acting Games: Improvisations and Exercises : A Textbook of Theatre Games and Improvisations, by Marsh Gary Cassady

Rozz Recommends these Authors / Books to Use for Story Drama

For young children:

1. Eric Carle
2. Antoinette Portis - Not a Box, Not a Stick
3. Dr. Seuss - The Lorax (Classic Seuss), Horton Hears a Who! (Classic Seuss), The Sneetches and Other Stories (Classic Seuss)
4. P.D. Eastman - Are You My Mother? (Beginner Books), Go, Dog. Go! (Beginner Books)
5. Julia Durango - Cha-Cha Chimps
6. Marcus Pfister - The Rainbow Fish
7. Leo Lionni - Frederick

For older children:

1. Neil Gaiman - The Wolves in the Walls
2. Daniel Manus Pinkwater - The Big Orange Splot
3. Allan Ahlberg - Previously
4. Chris Van Allsburg - The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
5. Louis Sachar - Sideways Stories from Wayside School

Also:

1. Anything with animals that can be acted out
2. Folk tales, fairy tales, standard stories
3. Shel Silverstein poetry - Falling Up, A Light in the Attic, Where the Sidewalk Ends
4. Books with no text, just illustrations
5. Anything that's your favorite!

Please Thank Our Sponsor!

The Music Box

Join Us For These Live Conversations!

Monday November 3, 1:00 PM Central

Rozz Grigsby

"Theater Games"

Tune in for a talk with Rozz Grigsby, Educational Director for the Oklahoma Children's Theater, about how to lead theater games with kids.

Friday, November 7, 1:00 PM Central

Dianne de Las Casas

"How to Tell Stories With Children"

Internationally-touring author and award-winning storyteller Dianne de Las Casas teaches storytelling to children in school residencies. Join us to discuss how to encourage children to tell their own stories!

Joining these live calls is easy! Your questions will make them all the more relevant to your needs. Please call in if you can. Visit our TalkShoe page for instructions. While you're there, click "follow this" to make sure you don't miss any upcoming live talks. 

If you can't make it to the live program, email your questions ahead of time to monty@montyharper.com.

Talk with you soon!

1.04: Using Music with Young Children

An interview with music specialist Carole Peterson on why and how to use music with young children, plus an exclusive song from Stuart Stotts, and an interview with Betsy Zahniser about The Music Box, an early childhood music programming tool.

Listen to the show!
TPR 1.04: "Using Music With Young Children"

^ Click the PLAY button to listen now.
To download, right-click the title (option-click for Mac).
Click here to use iTunes. (It's FREE!)

Guests

1. Carole Peterson
   
2. Stuart Stotts
   
3. Betsy Zahniser and The Music Box

Resources

1. "Singing Is Good for Your Brain" song by Stuart Stotts (.mp3)
   
2. "Singing Is Good for Your Brain" lyric (.txt)
3. The Uncut Carole Peterson Interview (.mp3)

Sources for Toddler and Preschool Songs

1. The Children's Music Network
   
2. Kimbo Educational
   
3. Kididdles
4. Ella Jenkins
   
5. Hap Palmer
   
6. Raffi
   
7. Sharon, Lois & Bram
   
8. Tom Glazer
   
9. Wee Sing

Sponsors

1. ReadingSongs.com
   
2. Mr. Billy's Big Pumpkin CD
   
3. Please browse our Amazon.com Shopping Experience!

About The Program Room

"The Program Room" is a free biweekly audio magazine for librarians who do children's programing, available as a podcast through iTunes. Much of the 2008/2009 season will be focused on the Collaborative Summer Library Program theme, "Be Creative @ Your Library." But this resource has plenty to offer for any children's librarian or elementary or preschool teacher. You'll find it at www.TheProgramRoom.com.

Each episode of The Program Room includes interviews with artists, performers, librarians, teachers, authors and other professionals who can help librarians create great programming for their youngest patrons. Library-related children's songs are included in every show, and reviews of books, music, websites and other resources are often included as well. Live conference calls and panel discussions are part of the show, too, so listeners can join in on the fun and ask questions of the experts! 

Currently available episodes of The Program Room are listed below. Each episode includes a show notes page, which provides links to all the resources mentioned in that episode. The Program Room episodes are 50 - 70 minutes long. They can be listened to online, or they are free to download, and can be burned to CD or easily transfered to an iPod or other MP3 player. 

To listen on this website, simply click the play arrow to the left of an episode title. To download, right-click (or control-click if you're a Mac person) the title, and select download from the pop-up menu. You can download episodes automatically as they become available by subscribing through iTunes.

A schedule of upcoming live events can be found in the right-hand column of the website at www.TheProgramRoom.com, or on our TalkShoe page.

The Program Room is financially supported by sponsors who are very carefully selected. Our sponsors offer quality products that are helpful to librarians in creating programing for children. We keep our sponsorships low-key because we never want you to feel that you're being bombarded with advertising! On the contrary, we want you to feel like thanking us for connecting you with these products and services. Our sponsors cannot purchase air-time within the show. If our sponsors are featured in the content of the show, it is because they have information to share that will benefit our listeners. If you benefit from listening to The Program Room, please thank our sponsors.

The Program Room Sponsors

ReadingSongs.com

Mr. Billy's Big Pumpkin CD

Contact

The Program Room is produced and hosted by Monty Harper.

The Program Room Episode List

Episode 1.01: "Be Creative @ Your Library"

CSLP president, Sally Snyder, and this year's manual committee head, Julie Tomlianovich, talk about the scope of the 2009 theme and the contents of the upcoming manual. Includes the songs "Imagine That" and "Take Me to Your Library."

Episode 1.02: "Make a Music Video"

An artist, a librarian, and a teenage brother and sister team who make animated videos using Legos all give tips on producing music videos with children. Find out how to access "Video-Safe" music that you can use, including award-winning children's artists Bill Harley, Eric Herman, Gunnar Madsen, Marla Lewis, The Hipwaders, and many others. Includes samples of songs from all of the above artists.

Episode 1.03: "Booking a Performer"

Children's Librarian Sue Busch tells how she books 16 performers each summer, and a panel of performers discuss what librarians should keep in mind when calling to schedule a program. Includes the songs "On Halloween" and "Scarecrow A-Go-Go" from Mr. Billy's new Halloween CD, Big Pumpkin.

Join Us For These Live Conversations!

Monday, October 20, 6:00 PM Central

Carole Peterson

"Music with Young Children"

Carole Peterson is a nationally renowned music specialist who regularly presents workshops for teachers and librarians. Come discuss with us the whys and hows of using music and movement with young children!

Friday, November 7, 1:00 PM Central

Dianne de Las Casas

"How to Tell Stories With Children"

Internationally-touring author and award-winning storyteller Dianne de Las Casas teaches storytelling to children in school residencies. Join us to discuss how to encourage children to tell their own stories!

Visit The Program Room on TalkShoe to learn how to join these live conference calls. It's easy!

1.03: Booking a Performer

An interview with children's librarian Sue Busch on booking entertainment, plus a panel discussion on what to keep in mind when calling a performer to book a program, and two Halloween songs from Mr. Billy.

Web References (from the Sue Busch Interview):

1. Magician Kevin Wade
2. Musician Monty Harper
3. Mexican Folkloric Dancers
4. Jump Rope Master Peter Nestler
5. Stillwater Public Library

The legendary lost panel discussion:

1. What to keep in mind when calling to book a performer (.mp3)

Panelists (from the legendary lost panel discussion):

1. Erin Lee Kelly
2. Eric Herman
3. Mr. Billy
4. Dianne de Las Casas
5. Steve Smith
6. Monty Harper

Web References (from the legendary replacement panel discussion + more):

These are places you can go to find/evaluate children's performers...

1. YouTube; Monty on YouTube, Billy on YouTube, Eric on YouTube
2. CDBaby - music by location (select a state, then click kids/family on the right)
3. Children's Music Network 
4. Children's Music Network on MySpace
5. Kids Music Planet on MySpace
6. Arts Over America - a directory of state arts agencies
7. Children's Musicians by State
8. National Library Performers Directory
9. Storyteller.net
10. What's your source for performers? Post a reply with your link and we'll add it to the list!

Resources:

1. Tips on Hiring a Performer, from Storyteller Priscilla Howe (.pdf)
2. Video-Safe Music (.pdf)

Sponsors:

1. Mr. Billy and his "Big Pumpkin" CD (Songs in the podcast are: "On Halloween" and "Scarecrow A-Go-Go")
2. ReadingSongs.com
   

1.02: Make a Music Video

Interviews with Steve McLinn, Rhonda Turley, and Kathryn and Andrew about making music videos, plus Video-Safe Music.

Web References:

1. Steve McLinn
2. Apple Video Software
3. Windows Video Software
   
4. Piedmont Public Library
5. Kathryn and Andrew's YouTube Page

Videos:

1. "Catch the Reading Bug" Video
2. "The Princess and the Farmer's Son" Video

Songs:

1. "Library Party" by Gunnar Madsen
2. "We All Laugh in the Same Language" by Marla Lewis
3. "READ" by Rick Hubbard
   
4. "Señor Don Gato" by The Cat's Pajamas
5. "Drop Everything and Read" by Monty Harper
6. "There's a Pea on My Plate" by Bill Harley
7. "The Library Song" by Sue Schnitzer
8. "Messy Room Song" by The Hipwaders
9. "Bernie the Bubble Breathing Dragon" by Mr. Billy
10. "Blast Into Books" by Monty Harper
    

Resources:

1. Video-Safe Music (.pdf)

Sponsors:

1. ReadingSongs.com
   

1.01: Be Creative @ Your Library!

Interviews with Sally Snyder and Julie Tomlianovich of the Collaborative Summer Library Program about the 2009 theme and manual.

Web References:

1. Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) Website
   
2. 2009 CSLP Children's and Teen Manual Outlines
   
3. David Catrow
4. Highsmith
   
5. Sally's desk!
   

Songs:

1. Imagine That by Monty Harper
   
2. Take Me to Your Library by Monty Harper
   

Books:

1. Plantzilla, by Jerdine Nolen, Brian Keliher, and David Catrow
   
2. Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon, by Patty Lovell and David Catrow

Sponsors:

1. ReadingSongs.com