How My Young Kids and I Learn Folk Songs

The Children's Band by Victor Gabriel Gilbert

 (French, 1847–1933)

Recently, I shared (HERE) how I learn hymns alongside my children (mainly my 4.5 year old, but I am sure my 1.5 year old is picking some of it up too). Today, I want to shift gears to another area of music we have been loving: folk songs.

Sometime last year, I learned a bit about why some teachers and parents are passionate about passing along folk songs to children through a wonderful interview between Pam Barnhill of Your Morning Basket (a Charlotte Mason-based podcast) and her guest, Prof. Carol Reynolds. The International Folk Music Council defined folk music as “a product of a musical tradition that has evolved through the process of oral transmission.” Most cultures and countries have their own folk songs and they can vary from extremely simple to extremely long. They usually have these three distinct qualities in common:

1. Folk songs connect past to present. Years ago, grandparents and parents often passed on beloved folk songs that would link generations through music that told a story of who they were. Whether at bedtime, bath time, playtime, around the fireplace after dinner, or in the fields working, folk songs found themselves welcome in every crevice of life for a family. Folk songs are birthed out of history, both joyful and painful moments and everything in between, so singing folk songs can be a fun way to immerse in history of your own country or other countries. For example, Michael Row Your Boat Ashore and Follow the Drinking Gourd were sung about African American  escaping  slavery in the South. We also can learn a bit about other countries through folk songs. The Happy Wanderer was originally written in German, while Frog Went A-Courtin was written in Scotland.
2. Folk songs are full of variation. The same folk song will have a ton of different verses and rhythms since it depends on the region it is sung in (Appalachian vs the Deep South, for example). I have found so many versions of the same song, it can be confusing at first because I want to know which one is the "original" or the "right" one, but they are all originals in their own right. We just pick our favorite, usually the one by a singer we like or a picture book version. Now I enjoy finding different variations with different tempo, style, voices, and even different verses. Once a folk song is memorized, we sometimes make up our own verses and/or input our names into the song, making the folk song our very own. 
3. Folk music connects the singer to the listener since the songs are usually easy to learn quickly and join in, either with the lyrics or at least keeping a beat. And what I love is that neither the singer or the listeners need to be a professional musician. They are all welcome to enjoy the history and beauty of the folk songs together without worrying about following sheet music perfectly. With kids, this means handing them instruments like maracas and tambourines and letting them join in.

Another thing I have noticed and love about introducing more folk music into our family is that it helps us practice simple, early music lessons since we can sing the song loud vs soft, fast vs slow, have call and response (I sing part and my son responds with another part), and other fun music techniques. We love learning and singing hymns, but those are usually done slowly and reverently since we are wanting to honor God through those verses. But with folk songs, we let loose a bit and have fun with music, showing my kids that music can be goofy and make us laugh as much as it can also stir our hearts to worship. Both are a beautiful display of "making a joyful noise" (Psalm 100). 

I knew some folk songs and played some for my son, but last summer, I was interested in more intentionally learning folk songs together. Music is a big part of our family culture, so it would be fun to add in new songs that were steeped in culture, both from North America as well as other parts of the world.  The language is so rich and creative in these songs that are full of stories and oftentimes, humor.  I began slowly adding songs to a playlist of soothing folk songs that I felt were appropriate and enjoyable for children (because there are definitely a lot of folk songs that have adult themes of drinking, relationships, and death). We listened during his playtime  (usually while he was playing independently and  I was cleaning the kitchen and could listen along). Folk singers we have come to love include:

• Elizabeth Mitchell (anything and everything by her. HERE and HERE are our two favorite albums)
• Raffi (many of his songs are written by him (like Baby Beluga, a favorite of ours), but he actually has some  folk songs too, like Aikendrum, Over in the Meadow, Mary Wore Her Red Dress)
• Pete  Seeger (specifically his album Stories & Songs for Little Children) 
• The Hound & Fox (Moon Songs is an awesome bedtime album w/a mix of folk and contemporary)
• Mickey's Top 40 Tunes: Best of Children's Favorites (this was the first intro to folk music, through Mickey Mouse; we don't listen as much, but he recognizes folk songs sung by other singers from originally hearing them on this old album of folk songs and he loves when Goofy sings, so it's fun)
• Woodie Guthrie (Songs to Grow on For Mother and Child )
• FolksandHymns (a homeschooling mom who recorded herself singing the folk songs and hymns  from Ambleside Online's folk song rotation. SO soothing and simple.

Around the time my son turned four last fall, I wanted to be more intentional and actually learn and engage with some folk songs more than just listening during the day. So I made a list of ones I thought would be fun and easy for us to learn together over the next year and planned on one  song a month. Depending on the songs, since some are very simple, we add another song per month, but we never rush. I also researched to find picture books about folk songs and that opened a treasure trove of more folk songs that were new to me. We have loved learning and engaging with these folk songs, making them our own. 

Our Favorite Folk Songs We've Learned Together

Here is the list of folk songs we have learned so far and the picture book we used, when there was one available. We checked these books out from the library rather than watching YouTube videos for most of them, but  wanted to add a link to the picture book so you can see the illustrations and decide whether you want to find it at your library too. 

Over in the Meadow: This was the first sing-along book I read to my son when he was a toddler and it is very special to us because it was so calming and easy to memorize, though I didn't originally think of it as a folk song since it is based on a poem by Olive Wadsworth.  There are several versions of this beloved classic poem, but the illustrations in this one are my favorite. I linked a read-aloud in the title. We also like THIS song version by Charlie Hope.

The Fox Went Out On A Chilly Night. This was our first folk song we memorized this last fall and it all began because I love Peter Spier's books and happened to find this one at a library while visiting family out of town. It came with a CD recording of the folk song and we listened to it on repeat during a long car ride. We fell in love with it and I later purchased the book and found different variations that we have enjoyed listening to. My 4 year old son absolutely adored the song and committed it to memory (all seven verses) before I could! He just enjoyed the story that it was so natural to him to learn it.  The version in the linked video above is a bit too fast for our liking. The version we first heard on the CD that came with the library book was slow and soothing, so we have searched for a similar one. This one by Hound + Fox is really more our style and pace. 

This Land is Your Land by Woodie Guthrie. I like Woody's original version, but we LOVE Elizabeth Mitchell's version on an album dedicated to his songs. THIS picture book, illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen is so beautiful and had some great info about Woodie that sparked our interest in him. I went down a rabbit hole looking for more of his children's folk songs and found more we love...

Riding in My Car by Woodie Guthrie. Every time I push my 1.5 year old daughter in her little truck, I sing this fun song. The picture book (linked above), illustrated by Scott Menchin, is so great with its flaps and other interactive elements and info about different American cities. We also love Elizabeth Mitchell's version of this song.

Bling Blang by Woody Guthrie. Another fun picture book and song (this one is illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky). And also another version we love by Elizabeth Mitchell. We like acting this one out, hammering, sawing, and building. 

New Baby Train by Woody Guthrie and Frankie Fuchs: This is a fun picture book about where babies come from. We love singing this one whenever I pull the kids in our wagon. Woody wrote it but never recorded it. Frankie found the song in Woody's manager's office many years later and made his own blues version, which I think Woody would have approved of. Marla Frazee's illustrations are so fun and whimsical; we love the details and humor. 

Fiddle-I-Fee (also known as I Had A Cat as well as Bought Me a Cat). This song has so many different versions, but if your child loves farm animals, they'll likely love this fun one. THIS picture book by Will Hillenbrand, was really fun way to learn one version of the song and also a great way to notice the months of the year. 

The Farmer and the Dell. We thought the (linked) picture book version, illustrated by John O'Brien, was hilarious.

She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain: I am linking a silly Cedarmont version with the original lyrics, but we really liked THIS picture book version of the lyrics of  this old song by Philemon Sturges where a town full of animals eagerly anticipate the book lady to come. (I am not a fan of the YouTube singer/reader's voice; we just sang it ourselves, but it helps show you the pictures and lyrics). The text is different than the original, which we also enjoy, but that is one of the things that makes folk songs so fun: you end up hearing so many versions and like them each for their own quirks.

Hush Little Baby/Mockingbird. These are both delightful versions of this classic bedtime folk song from two great illustrators (Allan Ahlberg and Sylvia Long). We love them both! The Victorian setting and cute story told in descriptive illustrations are entertaining and lovable in Mockingbird while Hush Little Baby's animal illustrations are whimsical and comforting for a bedtime read-aloud/song

Frog Went A-Courtin': This is a fun and silly song with many versions. I linked Pete Seeger's in the title. The picture book  by Langstaff offers a happier ending for the frog and his new wife (HERE'S a read-aloud and HERE is John Langstaff singing it himself! We liked this version a lot). The illustrations are great, with fun details. The Elizabeth Mitchel music video is absolutely precious, though the rhythm is very different.

There Was A Tree (aka The Green Grass Grows All Around): There are a lot of version of this song. We enjoy the (linked) Pete Seeger version, but we loved THIS picture book version by Rachel Isadora with rebus symbols to help us as the song kept building on each verse. The African setting was also very unique and fun about the picture book

Jane Cabrera's nursery and folk song picture books: These are fun for babies and toddlers, though my preschooler still loves them. Some are nursery songs and some are (nursery?) folk songs, but they just kinda blend together, so I thought I would mention them. Our favorites are The Bear Went Over the Mountain, One Two Buckle My Shoe, The Wheels on the Bus, Row Row Row Your Boat. I haven't watched those videos with my kids since we have the picture books from the library, but they can help you see the illustrations, which are bright and simple with cute animals. These are a great first step if some of the other books on this list seem too long.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star: A calming well-known lullaby adapted and illustrated with Sylvia Long's sweet woodland animals as they head towards home to get ready for bed. Additional verses made this a fun surprise since I only knew the first verse

All the Pretty Little Horses (aka Hush a Bye): This is a short but oh-so-sweet lullaby that I have been singing a lot to my 1.5 year old daughter recently. This beautifully illustrated picture book by the talented Susan Jeffers was a perfect way to learn and enjoy this folk lullaby together. We all loved the illustrations of the horses so much. And THIS beautiful version by Hound + Fox adds verses and is so soothing.

The Train is A-Coming : We like this version by Pete Seeger, especially when we are playing with trains and add each other's names into the song.

Oh, John the Rabbit. This music video by Elizabeth Mitchell is so adorable. My son and I take turns singing the main verse while the other says the ending "yes ma'am" and he loves singing the final "no, ma'aaaaaam)

Little Bird, Little Bird by Elizabeth Mitchell The kids and I love birds, so this is a fun one with the bird sounds.

Who's My Pretty Baby by Woody Guthrie.  We actually prefer Elizabeth Mitchell's version.  I have been singing it to my 1.5 year old daughter the last six months or so and she loves it, pointing to herself... she knows the answer to that question :) 

Pretty Little Baby by Angie Who blends really well with Who's My Pretty Baby, so I sing them one after another.

Some of the Folk Songs We'll Learn in the Next Year:

The Happy Wanderer

Michael Row the Boat Ashore

Aiken Drum

Crawdad Song

America the Beautiful

The Star Spangled Banner

Yankee Doodle

A Tisket A Tasket

The Big Ships Sails on the Alley, Alley O 

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Who Fed the Chicken?

Go Tell Aunt Rhody

Simple Gifts

How We Learn Folk Songs

I have an identical approach to folk songs that I have with learning hymns outlined HERE:

1. Pick your folk songs. 

It can be ones you learned as a child, ones on my list to get you started, or ones that others recommend to you. Find the lyrics you like, since there are so many different versions. I recommend you print them out and put it somewhere easy to see. I like having a restaurant menu (a sheet protector or a binder is great too) to protect the sheets, but a simple binder is fine too. Or, if you just want to read/sing from a picture book, that is fine too.  Make a playlist you can use during the day with a version or two of the folk songs you choose. I have a playlist of a ton of folk songs that we cycle through over months. I don't expect us to know all of those; they're just ones we enjoy and I am often adding new ones to listen to. Then I have a separate playlist with hymns, folk songs, Scripture songs and Catechism songs that correspond to ones we are actively trying to learn that year. This is a more intentional playlist that I use during Morning Time. 

2. Learn the folk song together

• Carve out time in your day when you can sing the song together. During breakfast, we have Morning Time, when we read a Bible story, pray, recite and discuss Scripture and catechisms, and sing hymns and folk songs. We don't do all of these things each day, but throughout the week, we hit each subject 3-4 times. A different time of day may work better for you. Play around with the timing and find a time that makes most sense for you when you and your kids are relaxed and not rushing. 

• When I introduce the folk song, we listen to a recording and I have a printed copy of the folk song so I can follow along, either singing along or just pointing to the words as we listen. I play this recording on the days we have time to focus on the folk song and I sing and invite him to join along. I never force him to join. He does when he's ready and it's much more enjoyable that way. 

• Listen to the folk song playlist throughout the week. We like listening while the kids play and sometimes in the car.

• Use instruments like rattles, harmonicas, tambourines, maracas, etc. You don't need to be a professional musician and your kids don't need to keep the beat. Just have fun making a joyful (and maybe off-beat) noise. This helps make the song their own, which naturally helps them learn it better.

• Define any unfamiliar words, but don't focus too much on it. Kids can surprise you with how many they catch on from the context. Some of the grammar may seem off to you (like in Appalachian and Deep South folk songs) and you can choose whether to tweak it or leave it. 

• When the mood strikes you, make it your own by adding verses or putting you name or other funny words into the songs when it feels right. Don't force it; just engage with the songs when it seems you can make it personal and fun for your family. When my 1.5 year old comes barreling around corner pushing her toy shopping cart, I often sing "She'll be coming round the corner when she comes.... she'll be pushing her shopping cart when she comes..." and my 4.5 year old son thinks its hilarious and joins in with his own verses. 

• Don't focus on memorizing the whole song. My son isn't reading on his own, so it's a lot to expect him to memorize full songs, whether folk or hymns. We focus on the chorus and the first few verses and often times, he memorizes the songs quicker and better than I do, but I don't require him to memorize a song before moving onto a new one. Since we revisit songs often, as he grows he will learn more and be able to read along with the words as well. 

3. Occasionally review the songs

I have a binder with hymns, folk songs, and poetry we have memorized. At least once a week, I will pick one hymn and folk song to review so that we don't forget it. Listening to your folk song playlist also helps with this. As he will grow older, our binder will hopefully grow thicker and thicker. I am excited for when he begins to read and can follow along the verses. Often times, an older folk song will come into our heads in a context where it reminds us of the song. Like when we read a book about a rabbit in a garden, like Peter Rabbit, I will often start singing the quick "Oh, John the Rabbit" because it's just perfect for the moment. 

Do you have any folk songs you enjoy singing? I would love to hear about them in the comments below!