This album is written and performed by two dads, one of whom happens to be a favorite adult artist of ours - Andrew Peterson. You can tell they probably wrote a lot of these songs on the fly as they are bathing their kids or putting them to bed. Some of them are just plain quirky and goofy ("Backhoe, backhoe shootin' to the moon") while the final five tracks are tender going-to-bed songs that we will probably be singing to our kids for years to come. We never tire of this CD or their second one called "Slugs & Bugs Under Where?" The kids love listening to them during lunchtime. They also have a Slugs & Bugs Christmas album. Check them out Here or on Amazon here.
[Approx. listening age: 2-8]
My sister introduced us to Colin Buchanan, an Australian artist who has multiple CDs and DVDs out for children. I think every household should have at LEAST one Colin CD. We currently have four. =) His music is super catchy, fun, diverse and full of biblical truths. Some of his songs are straight scripture, and the ones that are not still teach a scriptural truth. Most of them are original songs, but you will recognize a few standards, too. We can't get enough of Colin! Unfortunately, since he is Australian and his music is hardly for sale over here, it is somewhat expensive. But worth it! =) If you go to his website, you can see all the CDs and DVDs he has available. We have (and recommend) "10,9,8, God Is Great", "Practice Being Godly", "Follow the Savior" and "Baa Baa Doo Baa Baa" - this last title is a complication of all his songs that are straight scripture. I found one of his CD's ("Colin's Favourites") available in iTunes which would be a great starter CD since it is a 'hits' CD and it's only $9.99. A lot of our favorites are on that one. Plus, when you go to iTunes you can hear samples of the songs. [Approx. listening age: 4-12]
Dan and I LOVE this CD. It teaches the value of wisdom as seen in the book of Proverbs. You will find songs about telling the truth, what a good friend looks like, listening to your parents, being generous, being cheerful and not being lazy. What's a parent not to love about all THAT? =) This is another must-have in our opinion. You can hear samples and purchase the album here, or follow its link to iTunes for a digital copy. You can also buy a digital copy on Amazon for a dollar less than iTunes here. There is also an album based on the fruit of the Spirit called "To Be Like Jesus" that we have now.
Note: If you came to our church's Fall ladies retreat, you will recognize Track #2 from this album. =)
[Approx. listening age: 4-12]
One listen to the samples on their website will get you hooked. Their instrumentation is gorgeous. Their self-description is: "So much more than a lullaby CD, 'Hidden In My Heart' weaves Scripture into music that sounds more like a movie score than a nursery rhyme song."
The songs are very soothing and comforting and are very appropriate to give as gifts to new moms, laboring-in-the-hospital moms, or anyone going through a deep struggle. I have already given several out as baby gifts and to a friend who is battling cancer. Also -- they are coming out with a brand new album tomorrow! So check their website tomorrow for their brand new release. You can also find them on Amazon in CD or mp3 format. Note: Anyone who went to Emmaus Bible College at the same time as us and remembers the singer Ben Glover from Colorado? He wrote and performs several of the songs on the CD. [Approx. listening age: all ages]
While the four CD's described above are "must-haves" in my opinion, this one isn't necessarily, but I included it because it appeals to older kids (tweeners??). There is a whole series of "Shout Praise Kids" and this is the one we own. They are modern worship songs with kids singing along. This particular album includes a lot of Lincoln Brewster songs if you are into him at all. You can listen to samples and purchase here on Amazon.
[Approx. listening age: 5 and up]
And here are some runner-ups that we also enjoy listening to: "Sing Over Me Worship Lullabies", the "Praise Baby" collection, "The Donut Man", and Steve Green's "Hiden 'Em In Your Heart" Vol. 1 & 2.
BONUS REVIEW:
This is not a music CD, but they are in our CD player more than probably any other CD!
We were introduced to these CDs by a college friend and are so glad we were! They are audio dramatizations of over 450 Bible stores on 75 CDs. Each volume comes with 10 CDs, each having six stories on them. We own Vol. 1 (which I would recommend as a great starter; it has all the significant stories from Genesis) as well as Vol. 2 (Moses through David) and Vol. 6 (Jesus' ministry). It should be noted that these dramas were probably recorded for radio in the 1960's (sound quality is still great), so they use King James language and quote from the KJV. Matthew doesn't seem to mind though. He listens to a whole CD almost every day while he's eating his lunch. They captivate him! We have since learned that he is an auditory learner... =) You can check them out on their website, The Bible In Living Sound, and can buy the CD volumes there for the cheapest- which I recommend because they are great for long car rides! (And they have FAST shipping.) But I just discovered that you can download the albums on mp3 for a fraction of the price on Amazon here. (Scroll down to see all the other titles.)
We would love to hear if you ended up purchasing any of these albums for your family!
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