Johnny, Get Your Haircut

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This is one of my new favorites!  I first saw it in Ruth Crawford Seeger’s American Folk Songs for Children, but I’ve since seen it in some of my other collections as well.

Lyrics:
Johnny, get your hair cut, hair cut, hair cut
Johnny, get your hair cut, just like me!

It obviously lends itself well for a child about to get a haircut, but, as with all these folk songs, the lyrics can be modified for the situation.  I find it’s a good song for encouraging a child to do something you’d like them to be doing.  Instead of nagging, try singing, and see!

Some examples:

Daniel, put your coat on, coat on, coat on
Daniel, put your coat on, just like me

or…

Amy, go to sleep now, sleep now, sleep now, etc.

or, don’t even use a name…

Now it’s time for dinner, dinner, dinner
Now it’s time for dinner, come join me!

I also liked this idea of “copying” what another kid is doing to encourage a group to follow.

Charlie, let’s clean up now, up now, up now
Charlie, let’s clean up now, just like me

then…

We can copy Charlie, Charlie, Charlie
We can copy Charlie, Just you see!

As I’m searching for a video or recording of this that I really like, I’m realizing I may have to record my own.  It’s lesser known, perhaps, and there are fewer choices.  There’s also the related “Hey, Betty Martin,” which is a fun one for movement.  Check it out!

Simple sheet music

Instrumental version

And despite my comment about formally trained voices in the SRF homepage, I actually really enjoy this one.

Mac and Cheese

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I really try to give our kids balanced meals, and they do almost solely snack on vegetables throughout the day, but, man, they love their mac and cheese lunches.  I feel better about the Annie’s brand than Kraft, but the environmentalist in me still cringes at the waste.  So, these are my two “easy” alternatives for macaroni and cheese.

Method One:
We started buying powdered cheese in bulk from King Arthur Flour.  This is exactly like making the boxed mac, except with bulk ingredients.  Just cook up the pasta.  Add either milk and butter or yogurt.  Mix.  And then add the powdered cheese.  If you’d like to get precise about it, you can weigh and measure from a boxed version, but I just go with what tastes/looks about right.

Method Two:
I love this InstantPot mac and cheese recipe!  It’s so gooey and delicious.  The bonus part for me, especially when my youngest was a baby, was that I don’t have to keep an eye on boiling water or check in with the pasta while it’s cooking.  So, in a big way, it’s actually easier than the boxed version.  I also love that I can customize the cheeses (I usually add less than it says.)  Instead of evaporated milk, I usually just use regular or try to evaporate it myself or add yogurt or sour cream for extra creaminess.

Method Three:
Lately, I’ve just been making pasta on our stovetop.  I mix in pumpkin and pumpkin spice, salt, butter, and cheese, and it is very delicious and fall-y!

 

The awesome part about homemade macaroni and cheese is that it allows you to handpick your pasta type, whether it’s the shape or using whole wheat or gluten-free and customize your cheeses.

Other mac and cheese ideas:
–Add homemade breadcrumbs to the top!
–Mix in a bit of pumpkin to boost the nutrition a bit.

 

Gotta love this Brad Montague!

Classroom Valentines

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Like many, I have fond childhood memories of Valentine’s Day and the exchange of those commercial, store-bought, cartoon cards everybody dropped into decorated paper bags.  But as the years have passed, many of these valentines have more and more cheap, plastic add-ons.  (I think the most ironic stack of valentine cards I ever saw were ones from the movie, Wall-E.)  And the more I think about it, I feel like these store-bought valentines kind of miss the whole point.  This article nails it, and estimates school kids in US exchange as many as 750 million.  (This is not, by the way, including cards exchanged by teens and adults.)  Understandably, schools don’t want kids to feel left out, so will require that everybody gets a valentine card for everybody.  I like the thought behind that and I like the exchange of cards…but, like so many of our holiday traditions, much of the meaning has been sucked out and left an empty shell of obligatory tradition.

Also, with the unpredictable numbers of valentine cards “needed” by any one family vs. the numbers sold in packs, people often end up with more than they’re going to use.  (Here are some “print as needed” valentine options, because despite my rant, I am a sucker for punny valentine cards…)  Perhaps families/friends could also come together and share odds and ends cards to at least eliminate extra waste.

As someone whose love language is words, I do have a weakness for cards and hand-written notes.  The thing is though, most of the classroom valentines passed out in schools are purchased by parents and quickly scribbled with a signature.  And after the kids go through their stash and pick out the cheap candy, the cards often end up directly in the recycling (or trash).  I don’t know what the solution is, but here are some thoughts:

nature-based valentines ideas

–Or, perhaps, as the linked article above suggests, Valentine’s Day card exchanges should just bypass the Under 12 group.

Traditions are great, and many of us get very caught up in memories of how our own childhoods looked.   But, times are changing, and it’s okay to shift to new traditions.  Not just okay, it’s necessary.  I think it’s wonderful to have a holiday that centers around LOVE, and despite this post, I actually really do love the idea of exchanging cards.  But maybe by exchanging of 750 million cards in schools, the meaning has gotten a bit lost…

Oh, Christmas Tree…

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I take issue with what is probably THE most treasured holiday custom of the year.  And I feel awful about that.  Because a beautifully decorated Christmas tree does hold magic.  BUT….

I just can’t make peace with it.  There are numerous articles out there discussing the pros and cons of real vs. artificial trees and which is better, but my choice continues to be -Neither.

In short, artificial trees are made with plastics, sometimes lead.  They are usually imported from China, which is a huge environmental footprint if you live elsewhere.  They emit toxins while being manufactured and in your home.  Even if you do reuse them for many years, their eventual landing space (and, yes, even those artificial leaves shed each year) is a landfill…  Nope.  Can’t do it.

Real trees, grown locally and –this is the really important part–recycled when they’re done, are supposedly the better of the two choices.  But, first off, as a tree lover, I just cannot make peace with cutting down a tree.  Ever.  Even if it’s grown for the purpose of killing.  I can’t do it, the same way vegetarians can’t eat meat.  Often times, wildlife do start making homes in these “temporary” trees, so that sucks.  And pesticides are often used in the process…  So, another ‘No’ from me.

And I totally get that there are bigger, other things with environmental impact.  I’m far from perfect, and I know I have many of these things in my life.  But, like I said, for some reason the Christmas tree is a sticking point for me.  So, this leaves me with “alternative” trees.  I’ve pinned a bunch of ideas for these on my Pinterest page.  But there are waaaay more than these ones out there.  These are just some of my favs.  I also really love the idea of potted, tabletop trees that can be planted after the holidays.  Living in rentals doesn’t usually allow for this though.

Several years ago, after years of decorating our wall with fabric or ribbon trees, I asked my husband to make a tree from an old pallet.  I painted it with some eco-friendly milk paint, which isn’t as bright and vibrant, but gives a bit of a rustic look that I like.  Anyway, we hang our lights (that’s a whole other post) and ornaments here.  At least once a year I wonder if we should just give in and get a “real” tree.  I research it and think about it all over again, and I just can’t bring myself to do it.

Yes, I miss the trees I grew up with during Christmas time, but there’s also something said for new traditions and for the creativity and togetherness involved in making our own kind of tree.  Besides, if I could give my kids a truly big gift for Christmas, it would be the chance at a more sustainable world for their future.  So, cheeseball as it sounds, there it is.  This is the tree that gives me “hope and strength throughout the year.”