Music for the Preschool Roadtripper

As anyone who ever put together a list of CDs, Tapes or MP3 for a roadtrip knows, listening to great music during a roadtrip heightens the experience. It reinforces the notion that “getting there is half the fun”.
With kids, having something great to listen to in the car (or train or plane) serves two purposes. First, it creates a memorable experience for both you and your kids. Additionally, it helps distract the kids from asking, “Are we there yet?”.
We are lucky enough to have a car that has an auxiliary option for plugging in an iPhone. This already turned out to be remarkably handy. It’s a small feature in the full scope of everything you look for in a car. But moving forward I won’t buy a car if this feature for high fidelity, troublefree connectivity to a smartphone or MP3 player isn’t included.
With so many good smartphone applications available these days, there are really several great options for planning what you are going to listen to with your kids.
This blog entry will focus on music that you bring with you. Future blog entries in this series will address music on the go applications such as Rhapsody and Pandora for your smartphone as well as listening to stories and books while traveling.
When I am listening to music with my kids, my preference is to listen to music by artists I like, that also happen to be kid-friendly. When it comes to adult-kid crossover music, perhaps the original and still the best artist is The Beatles. I hand pick the songs to play for the kids, and they love it.

Plus, let's be honest...The Beatles really are an entry point into the world of all kinds of good rock music. Everyone was influenced by them - even Black Sabbath (think "She's So Heavy"). When my kids are a little older, I want them to easily discover Led Zeppelin, The Clash, and The Who.

When The Beatles remastered CDs came out last year, it gave me a good excuse to re-discover the albums (I had owned a few tapes and LPs). I’ve put together a mix for the kids that include the following songs:

• Yellow Submarine (from Revolver)
• Eleanor Rigby (from Revolver)
• Good Day, Sunshine (from Revolver)
• Got to Get You Into My Life (from Revolver)
• Octopus’ Garden (from Abbey Road)
• Here Comes the Sun (from Abbey Road)
• For the Benefit of Mr. Kite (from Sgt. Pepper)
• With a Little Help from My Friends (from Sgt. Pepper)
• Ob-la-di Ob-la-da (from White Album)
• Blackbird (from White Album)

Yellow Submarine and Octopus’ Garden are not surprisingly the biggest hits. Often times, when we get in the car, Caleb will ask to hear “the Submarine song”.
Another artist that the kids really enjoy is the The Shins. The Shins make good, likeable easy to listen to music, with just the right amount of pop sensibility. Some of their music, especially from their Oh Inverted World and Wincing the Night Away albums, are very relaxing. We often put on these albums when we are driving and hoping that the kids will nap. It’s nearly been foolproof so far.
Several other artists we like have also made some very entertaining and enjoyable children’s albums. Included within this category are:

• The Barenaked Ladies – Snacktime
• They Might be Giants – Here Come the 123s (our favorite). They also have Here come the ABCs and a new album, Here Comes Science.
• Ziggy Marley - Family Time
• Johnny Cash – The Johnny Cash Children’s Album

As mentioned previously, this is just one way in which we’ve made roadtrips more fun and easier. Additional ideas will be shared in future entries.