Out of the Box Saturday

Sing, Sing a Song Saturday is now Out of the Box Saturday. It's all about me discovering something that is different. I don't want to post things that you and I have more than likely heard before. I want to find something different. I'll cover something sing | songy one week, and artsy | fartsy the next.

I know, I know I know I skipped this post last week. I actually started writing it, got side tracked, and more sidetracked. 

One of my favorite movies is Amélie. Have you ever seen that movie? I think everyone should. Well...except for kids because they have nude scenes. Otherwise it's a super great, feel good movie. 

Source

This week I'm covering the musician responsible for all the music in the movie Amélie. His name is Yann Tiersen. I've never looked him up. I do however like his music. Yann Tiersen is a French musician. His musical career is split between studio albums, collaborations and film soundtracks. His music involves a large variety of instruments; primarily the guitar, synthesizer or violin together with instruments like the melodica, xylophone, toy piano, harpsichord, accordion and typewriter.

Source

More from his soundtracks:

This is more of his newer experimental music:

Check out Yann Tiersen's website
Check out Yann Tiersen's facebook page 

Allons Danser! (Let's Dance!) CD Review

I have reviewed a DVD from Whistlefritz before. They contacted me once again to review a CD. I jumped at the chance. We listen to music a lot. I know when it comes time to take a trip this summer we'll be listening to tunes in the car.

Allons Danser! (Let's Dance!) CD is in French. There are times when I need some background noise at home. That noise keeps my kids occupied. What's really great is that they learn, while they listen!

When I was in school I had a hard time learning Spanish. I think I struggled so much because it was so dry when it was taught to me. Whistlefritz has so many fun language DVDs and CDs that make learning fun!

I was thinking the CD might be cheesy, but it's not at all. It was so it's easy to get in the groove of singing it. My kids recognized La Tête, Les Épaules, which is just like Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, and Le Vieux MacDonald, which is just like Old MacDonald, and more. We all started cracking up with Le Vieux MacDonald. The animal noises were just funny to us.

About the CD:

• There are 20 tracks.
• All the songs are in French.
• Some of the songs are traditional songs with a French twist, while others are new. 
• It's $14.99, which is a great price.
• It's newly released. It just came out this month!
• The artists are: Marie-Louise Desage and Didier Prossaird.

Line Up of the Songs:

1. Quand Je Serai Grand
2. Bonjour Les Amis
3. Un, Deux et Trois
4. Le Vieux MacDonald
5. La Danse des Mains
6. Ma Journée
7. Le Bain
8. L'Heure de Ranger
9. Des Jouets
10. La Barbichette
11. Il Pleut
12. Les Doigts
13. Y'a Pas de Fête Sans Gateau
14. Les Enfants Quand Ils Dansent
15. La Tête, Les Épaules
16. Le Camion de Glace
17. La Grenouille Reinette
18. En Haut, En Bas
19. Les Petits Poissons
20. Au Revoir

About Whistlefritz:

A mom started in 2006 to teach her son Spanish. The best time to learn another language is when children are young. Many school do not introduce another language until children are in middle school, or high school. Their main focuses are fun and education. They have free lesson plans that you can download. I think that's so helpful. Just to let you know how helpful they've been, they've won over 50 awards. It's less expensive than other language programs.

Mica Was Inspired by the Brochure They Sent Us That He Made This:

Like Whistlefritz on Facebook.

Disclaimer: The opinions on the post are my personal take on the product. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review. I did get a product to help with this review. 

 

Sing, Sing a Song Saturday

Sing, Sing a Song Saturday is all about me discovering something that is different to post. I don't want to post things that you and I have more than likely heard before. I want to find something different. It could be from another country, someone singing from the streets of NY, and more.

This week I found a new band that is French. I like listening to bands from other cultures. The band is La rue Kétanou. Have you heard of them?

They mix elements of reggae, and a bohemian style of life. Their work is theatrical. They sing songs that have poetry and humor. The band includes 3 people from Paris.

Their name translates as ‘The street which belongs to us’.

The first album of La Rue Kétanou, En attendant les caravanes (Waiting for the caravans) was finally produced in 2001. After some time doing tours throughout France, the group completed a second album Y’a des cigales dans la fourmilière (Cicadas in the ant-hill) in 2002. In 2004, they released a live album Ouvert à double tour.

Source

Many of their videos are disabled. I have to go with the ones that are not.

Les Mots

Les Hommes Que J'aime

Altitude La Rue Kétanou

16 year old David Thibault of Quebec, Canada

16 year old David Thibault of Quebec, Canada

16 year old David Thibault of Quebec, Canada

16 year old David Thibault of Quebec, Canada.

16 year old David Thibault of Quebec, Canada.

16 year old David Thibault of Quebec, Canada.

Check out La rue Kétanou's Website.

Connect with La rue Kétanou on Facebook.

Like La rue Kétanou on Twitter.

Whistlefritz, French for Kids {DVD Review}

One thing that my kids do not have in school is a foreign language. I know learning languages is best when kids are younger. In other countries it's common for them to know more than one language. Here in the US we're lucky if we know our own language. I'm trying to help our kids learn Spanish and French.

I have the wonderful opportunity to introduce to you the award winning Whistlefritz's new DVD. It's called: French for Kids: Dedans et Dehors (Inside and Out).

It's for ages 2 to 7. I tell you our 8 year old Mica is glued to the TV when it's on. He likes Whistlefritz! Mica likes it just as much as Isaak, who is 5 years old. We have one of their Spanish DVDs to. We got the Spanish one when Mica was about Isaak's age.

This is Mica's drawn version of Fritzi when he was 5 years old.

I can understand why they like it so much. Their company has won 49 awards! It's used in schools and purchased by many homeschool families.

A few things that their DVDs include:

• Cool Actions
• Animation
• Lively Music
• Tons of Fun

About French for Kids: Dedans et Dehors (Inside and Out)

Fritzi’s in the house!  But où est Fritzi?

Finding the mischievous mouse Fritzi is just part of the fun in this lively language learning program from Whistlefritz, the award-winning producers of the Spanish for Kids series of DVDs and CDs.

This French immersion DVD welcomes you to Fritzi’s house, where up or down, inside or out, there is lots to learn and plenty to do.

It allows kids to explore every area of Fritzi’s house, from la chambre (the bedroom) and la salle de bain (the bathroom) to le salon (the living room) and la cuisine (the kitchen).

It's an engaging interactive format teaches children basic greetings, positional words, food, daily activities, numbers, and more.  But that’s not all! Nous allons chanter et danser!  (We’re going to sing and dance!)

This DVD will have children on their feet dancing along to upbeat rhythms.  Dedans et Dehors is an engaging blend of colorful backgrounds, charming animation and live-action that kids will want to revisit again and again.

This DVD includes an easy-to-use translation guide for parents and teachers, who are first time learners of French, as well as French subtitles.

Designed for children ages 2-7, Dedans et Dehors is fun for all ages!

Like Whistlefritz on Facebook.

Mica and Isaak liked this DVD just as much, if not better than the Spanish one we already have. I'm glad we have something educational to pop in when we're busy making meals. That seems to be a good time to have them watch their movies.

Disclaimer: The opinions on the post are my personal take on the product. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review. I did get products to help with the review.  
 

 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Sing, Sing a Song Saturday

I started doing what I call Sing, Sing a Song Saturday.  I'm going to post one song on Saturdays that the boys or I like. 

The song may be part of a movie, a kid's video or just a song we like. I'll try and include why we like it and/or the history of the song/singer.

Do you ever listen to music in other languages? Sometimes I do. Of course not to sing to. Just to hear something a little different.

There is one exercise where I have my students draw all different cultures of people out of proportion. All during the exercise I play different cultures of music. Many of them like it, some ask me what this musician or that band is, and others want me to turn it off. I can understand those that don't like to listen to something different. I have to say that when I lived in Savannah, Georgia there were all other cultures that the school requited. When others talked in nothing, but their native language, and looked at me I felt self conscious! With music you know they are not singing about you, personally.

This week I'm featuring something French. The singer's name is Mélanie Laurent. She is an actress, singer, writer, and model. She won the César Award for Most Promising Actress for her performance in I'm Fine, Don't Worry in 2006. She is most known for being in Inglorious Bastards. In the movie she didn't know any English. 

Mélanie Laurent was born in Paris, France to a ballet teacher, and a voice actor. She is due any moment to have her first baby.

Source

En t'attendant

Kiss

Check out her website.
 Like Mélanie Laurent on Facebook.