Music as Play & Learning

Now you’ve grown and you’re on your way,

Making waves in the boundless bay

With your shining light and your dreams alive

For the young you’ll have one day.

Grown-up beluga, grown-up beluga –

Sing a song of peace, sing with all your friends,

We need to hear you!

This is a new verse of Baby Beluga, written for Raffi’s Beluga Grads. Baby Beluga first appeared on a Raffi album in 1980, and was an instant hit for many young Raffi fans. Today, many of those fans have children of their own, with whom they can share the joy of listening to music. Music is a way for children to sing, make their own music, and move to the beat. Children and their families can play with music and connect it to learning too. Families can play music that is made especially for children. My car was filled with the sounds of Raffi and Anne Murray singing about beluga whales, inch worms, and apples and bananas. When my oldest grandson was younger, Raffi singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame was on repeat, and we often went to Biscuit Brothers concert. These fun and exuberant songs help kids develop reading skills, sample music from around the world, make and play their own instruments, expand vocabulary, and recognize patterns. Exploring music through play is not only a learning experience, but a discovery process and a joyful experience for the whole family. Listen to Baby Beluga or Shake

Your Sillies Out while bouncing around the room with your kids. You will experience the joy of a child again, and provide fun and memorable experiences for your children.

Written by Rebecca Triana