Available now is a new musical album Hunk-Ta-BUnk-Ta SEASONS: Songs to Celebrate All Four Seasons from children's music artist Katherine Dines that can be purchased through her website, at SongsforTeaching.com, and at major online outlets and streaming platforms, including Amazon, Pandora, Bandcamp, Spotify, and more. This is Dines 13th album in a musical career focused on performing for youth that has seen her recognized with 39 national awards for her work. Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta SEASONS: Songs to Celebrate All Four Seasons is recommended for a listening audience of kids six months to six years old.
A treasure trove of gentle melodies ideally suited for fingerplays, “tickles,” and other fun movement activities for young children, Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta SEASONS takes little ones through the seasons of the year, connecting them to the simple wonders of childhood and creating a sense of peace, trust, joy, and stability. Several fingerplays and other activity ideas for Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta SEASONS came from educator Brigid Finucane, who, during the pandemic, invited Katherine to contribute one song a month to a Facebook page called “Lullabies, Tickles, and Fingerplays". Fingerplay, commonly seen in early childhood, is hand action or movement combined with singing or spoken-words to engage the child's interest. According to Dines, creating songs for this Facebook page was the motivation for her newest album and its heavy incorporation of fingerplays into its content.
Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta SEASONS kicks off with the lyrical imagery of “It’s Spring,” which speaks of new growth and the many wonders of springtime. Other highlights include “Summertime,” portraying such outdoor delights as baseball, picnics, Fourth of July, and camping. “Autumn” has a jazzy feel and paints a picture of beautiful leaves, back-to-school, and harvest time. There’s more jazz on the finger-snappin’, toe-tappin’ “Five Jack O’Lanterns,” which connects little learners with counting, fingerplays, the excitement of Halloween, pumpkin carving, and even pumpkin pie! Few things are more magical to a young child than snowflakes that simply melt and disappear, and “Snowflake Snowflake Where Did You Go?” is truly entrancing. This sweet seasonal album comes to a holiday postcard ending with “Sleigh Ride,” a bouncy lapsit that takes little ones on a joyful ride into a snowy forest.
Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta SEASONS is $9.99 for a digital download of the album and $15 for a physical media compact disc (CD price includes tax, shipping, and handling) from Katherine Dines website. The album has a runtime of 27 minutes. This album would make a thoughtful gift for a baby shower or early ages birthday present with its focus on parent interactions with children through fingerplay. Based upon its early childhood development value and the connectivity that fingerplay promotes between parents and children, Katherine Dines Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta SEASONS: Songs to Celebrate All Four Seasons gets a heartfelt Geek Daddy nod of approval.
Thanks so much for this review, Tim Burns, AKA GeekDad. Super appreciative.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this review, Tim! You are the best Geek Dad ever!
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