Daria and Esther Crow Celebrate Earth Day

I could go on and on about the importance of Earth Day and how sustainability is something that everybody needs to take seriously. But I'm writing about kid's music, which means you need to run the content through the perspective of a child; being neither vengeful, judgmental, or ominous. During a program for school children a few decades back, Daria (Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou) was asked to conceptualize a song for the occasion. She used the chestnut "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and reconfigured it with the help of her students into "We've Got the Whole World In Our Hands." Their vision included not only recycling and ecology but also family and community outreach. She then took the song and crafted it into a workbook that can be used in educational programs about Earth Day.

You can hear the song on Spotify and Apple Music. Here is Daria singing "We've Got the Whole World In Our Hands":

Another performer celebrating Earth Day is New York City's Esther Crow has delivered a timely video for her song, "Stuff." The concept is easy enough to understand… you don't need to be a hoarder to find your living space overwhelmed by possessions. As her song explains, responsibility means previously-read books and used shoes can be given away to make another friend's day:

I got stuff in my closet, I got stuff in my drawers

I got stuff to deposit at the local thrift store

So much stuff that I never even wore

So much stuff I can't fit it through my door

So much stuff I can't take it anymore

The video for "Stuff" showcases the Crow fam (including 8-year-old son Vincent) and the Strawbitty Yops, under the engineering prowess of Grammy Award-winning über-producer Dean Jones. The one thing we can all agree is that there's not enough quality children's music and Esther is diligently working to overcome that oversight.

You can hear "Stuff" on Spotify and Apple Music. Here is Esther Crow's video for "Stuff":

New Kids Videos from Claudia Gunn, Todd'n'Tina, and Daria

Television had Game of Thrones. Film had The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Kids music has Claudia Robin Gunn's series of songs about the seasons. The latest, "Winter Snow" showcases two blue penguins frolicking in the middle of winter. They look at snowflakes, go ice fishing, shovel out their car, and have a snowball fight. Don't worry for these critters – they were blue in the previous videos, so the extreme cold didn't turn them blue. You can find more of Claudia's music on her Soundcloud page, including her "Sing Through the Year" collection of tunes. Here is the debut video for "Winter Snow":

Minneapolis-based Todd'n'Tina (songwriter Todd Millenacker and educator Krissy Mondelli) have released a new video for their song, "Silly String," featuring a classroom of kids with containers of the multi-colored string spray. What could possibly go wrong?

Bilingual folk singer Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou celebrates first responders with her pandemic kids song, "Thanks to the Doctors and Nurses." The tireless, thankless work done to protect families in the world community motivated Daria to write an inspirational anthem, in the tradition of her idols such as Ella Jenkins, Raffi, and Pete Seeger. 

Daria spent her pandemic running virtual workshops with children around the world. While working with a group of immigrant children in Australia learning English as a second language, Daria was galvanized to compose “Thanks To The Doctors And Nurses,” based on those kids' sincere expressions of gratitude for the professionals who had “saved their lives.”

Ancillary materials for "Thanks to the Doctors and Nurses" are available for families and educational programs on the Teachers Pay Teachers website. You can download lyric sheets, a karaoke version, posters, and thank you cards for classroom use that can be personalized to thank specific doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals.

Hear "Thanks to the Doctors and Nurses" at Spotify, Amazon, and Apple Music.

Watch the video for the song here: