April 2025 – Music Moments
April is JAZZ APPRECIATION MONTH! (Jazz only gets one month?! Rude!) I definitely sprinkle in jazz throughout my music classes all year long but with extra reckless abandon in April! Be sure to scroll down and check out my suggested listening for ears of all ages, there’s some extra goodies in there in honor of Jazz Appreciation Month.
In addition to my jazzy-excitement, April also feels full of anticipation. We start to see the explosion of colors in flowers in gardens and yards. The sun sets later. The doom and gloom and darkness is slowly rolling out, and warm weather just might make an appearance here in the PNW.(…or it’ll just rain through June-uary and summer will arrive July 5th) But it really is the time of year for new growth and birth – both in the garden and in the barn!
April Music Activities
In Little Kiddos Music classes, we spend much of April (imagining we’re) at the farm – singing about the animals, things that grow there, etc. Many of the songs for this month are classics – Old McDonald Had a Farm, BINGO, and Six Little Ducks, for example. I think it’s so valuable to share these traditional songs with kiddos. We live in a beautifully diverse area where many of our students aren’t familiar with these. Plus, early childhood is the ideal time in our lives to learn the simple, traditional tunes and nursery rhymes that are a part of the culture in which we live.
Our Farm Animal Morning Song is a fun one and perfect for adding some sign language. The Little Kiddos Music curriculum also includes printables most months for when not doing sign language, other motions or patting the beat on our legs. April printables include an adorable farm scene with animals that can be added when singing songs like our farm animal version of The Wheels on the Bus. I’m a Little Piggy is one of our featured movement songs this month. (Did I make sure that my classroom’s window covering was down before filming? Yes. Yes, I did.) We also venture into other things that happen on the farm – like all the things that grow! Five Plump Peas is a great one for discussing some of our Fancy Pants Music Words – especially, the dynamics (FORTE! when it pops). Five Springtime Flowers is an especially cute one (including this throw-back version featuring one of my very own little kiddos way back when).
Now, it’s time for some amazing awe-inspiring auditory treats for you to enjoy. I definitely made zero attempt to narrow down my list to just a few!
FOR EARS OF ALL AGES:
Hush Little Baby by the phenomenal cellist, Yo-Yo Ma and insanenly skilled vocalist Bobby McFerrin. Why would I recommend this for April? Well, first of all, April makes me think of babies (you know, the animal farm-kind and just new life, in general), and this is a traditional lullaby with a perfectly nontraditional arrangement! Plus, since April is Jazz Appreciation Month, Bobby McFerrin’s scat-tastic vocals are timely.
Trashin’ the Camp from Disney’s animated Tarzan is one of my favorite ways to introduce kiddos to the concept of scat-singing. (It’s also a ridiculously fun example of using different objects as instruments and it’s jazzy.) I dare you to sit still while listening. I double-dog dare you! Bonus fun points for you if you watch the scene from the movie.
April in Paris is a jazz classic. This version by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong?! Puh-lease! As if I wouldn’t include this track this month! It’s ideal in every single way: April ✔ Jazz ✔ Two of the best Jazz musicians of all time ✔ Taking a musical trip to Paris ✔✔✔ I also absolutely love Count Basie’s swingin’ version complete with a cheeky Pop goes the Weasel moment.
What a Wonderful World, also, by the one and only Louis Armstrong, is more pop-feeling ballad than jazz-standard. It’s definitely a great song for the springtime as the world around us seems to be filled with color again.
Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony (No. 6) feels like a jaunty carriage through the countryside. It feels very Jane Austen to me. I can see the rolling hills, stone garden walls, and grazing sheep. You?! Well, even if you can’t, I highly encourage a listen as this is the perfect time of year for it. Plus, this link lets you watch the orchestra perform it – always a great way to experience music!
Since many of our songs in Little Kiddos Music, this month, are about farm animals, La Poule (The Hen) by Jean-Philippe Rameau, is a fitting piece. The notes are tapped and plucked with the same intensity as a clucking, pecking hen. Though this Baroque piece is composed for harpsichord, I’m personally thankful for the full symphonic sound with varied instruments. The oboes, low brass and strings all build layers of sound together. (Full confession: harpischord is one of my least favorite instruments. Sorry, not sorry. I said it. Because many Baroque pieces feature it, I have a hard time finding many pieces of work from that era that I enjoy. This is one of them though!)
Lastly, for a fresh, modern take on Vivaldi’s Spring, I highly recommend Max Richter’s Spring Remastered. Absolutely gorgeous. I love how he builds with slow chords underneath the original melody of swirling strings.
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:
Little Bins for Little Hands helps your kiddo be a gardener/farmer with a Seed Jar Experiment.
When the weather takes a turn – for the better! – Susie of Busy Toddler suggests getting those kiddos outside for an Outdoors Potions Science Activity.
While eggs cost a small fortune these days, with Easter falling later in April, you might just be planning to invest in some. If you’ve got leftover egg shells (and can carefully crack and peel), DIY Kid Activity Eggshell Planters would be a fun way to repurpose those.
