How to Write a Song Kids Never Forget | The Secret Formula of Richard M. Sherman

How to Write a Song Kids Never Forget | The Secret Formula of Richard M. Sherman

Send us an email: Delana@greenhousemusicak.com [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093926/fan_mail/new] You already know his songs. You just didn't know his name. "It's a Small World." "A Spoonful of Sugar." "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." "The Bare Necessities." One man — working with his brother at a piano in Burbank, California — wrote songs that have lived in your brain since before you could read. His name was Richard M. Sherman, and he was born on June 12th, 1928. In this episode, Miss Delana cracks open the secret formula behind the most unforgettable songs in Disney history — and it turns out, it fits in three words. What you'll discover in this episode: * The three-word formula Richard's dad gave him that changed everything (it's simpler than you think) * How a five-year-old boy's trip to the school nurse accidentally wrote one of the most famous songs in movie history * The wild true story of why "It's a Small World" was written in a single afternoon — and why Richard thought nobody would remember it * What Walt Disney quietly asked for every single Friday afternoon — and why it might be the most moving story in all of music history * Four rounds of Real or Ridiculous? — Sherman Brothers edition. Warning: the real ones sound completely made up. 🎧 This week's listening pick: "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins — Walt Disney's personal favorite song, and the one that started it all. 📚 Listen back: Episode 126 (The Drummer Boy Who Wouldn't Quit) · Episode 9 (Lin-Manuel Miranda) Whether you're a homeschool family, a classroom music teacher, or a parent who just wants their kid to fall in love with music — this episode hands kids a songwriting secret they can use today. The Greenhouse Music Podcast: the best music class you've ever heard. 🌱 Free worksheet + resources: greenhousemusicak.com  📲 Follow us: @greenhousemusicak Keywords: Richard Sherman, Sherman Brothers, Mary Poppins songs for kids, how to write a song for kids, Disney songs history, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, It's a Small World story, music education podcast kids, homeschool music podcast, children's music podcast, elementary music class, music for families green.myflodesk.com/podcast Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093926/support] Explore the World of Music with the Greenhouse Music Podcast 🎶 Nurturing Young Minds Through Music Education 🎶 Discover engaging music lessons and inspiring stories designed just for kids! Visit us at greenhousemusicak.com [https://greenhousemusicak.com/home]and follow us on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@greenhousemusic_ak] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/greenhousemusicak]for more musical adventures.

The Drummer Boy Who Wouldn’t Quit: Johnny Clem & Civil War Drums for Kids

Send us an email: Delana@greenhousemusicak.com [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093926/fan_mail/new] In this Memorial Day episode of the Greenhouse Music Podcast, Miss Delana tells the true story of Johnny Clem, the famous young drummer boy from the Civil War who refused to quit even after being told he was too small. Kids will learn how drums were once used as a real-life language on the battlefield, with different drumbeats telling soldiers when to wake up, march, charge, fall back, and rest. This episode also includes a big Memorial Day edition of Real or Ridiculous?, featuring surprising facts about patriotic music, Taps, The Star-Spangled Banner, Irving Berlin, and John Philip Sousa. This episode is perfect for elementary kids, homeschool families, music teachers, and anyone looking for a meaningful Memorial Day music lesson for children. In this episode, kids will learn about: *  Johnny Clem, the Drummer Boy of Chickamauga  *  How Civil War drums were used for communication  *  Memorial Day music and military traditions  *  The story behind Taps  *  Patriotic songs and surprising music history  *  Perseverance, courage, and the reminder that you are never too small to be brave  Plus, Miss Delana shares a listening challenge featuring Vitamin String Quartet and recommends past Greenhouse Music Podcast episodes for more learning. Johnny Clem, drummer boy, Civil War for kids, Memorial Day music, Drummer Boy of Chickamauga, music podcast for kids, homeschool history, kids history podcast, Civil War drums, military music for kids green.myflodesk.com/podcast Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093926/support] Explore the World of Music with the Greenhouse Music Podcast 🎶 Nurturing Young Minds Through Music Education 🎶 Discover engaging music lessons and inspiring stories designed just for kids! Visit us at greenhousemusicak.com [https://greenhousemusicak.com/home]and follow us on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@greenhousemusic_ak] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/greenhousemusicak]for more musical adventures.

Inside the Orchestra: The School Clubs of the Symphony

Send us an email: Delana@greenhousemusicak.com [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093926/fan_mail/new] What if the orchestra wasn't just a group of musicians — but a school full of clubs, each with its own personality? 🎻🎺🌬️🥁 In this episode of the Greenhouse Music Podcast, Miss Delana takes kids on a tour of the four orchestral instrument families — strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion — by walking down the hallway of an imaginary music school and peeking into each "club." Kids will discover what makes each family unique, how each one actually makes its sound, and which group might match their own personality. 🌱 In this episode, your kids will learn: - The four orchestral instrument families and the instruments inside each one - How strings vibrate, brass players buzz their lips, woodwinds use reeds, and percussion is the heartbeat - Why the trombone is the only orchestra instrument with a slide - That Wagner once wrote an opera using EIGHTEEN real blacksmith anvils 🤯 - Wild facts about a 16-foot folded contrabassoon and a 47-string harp with 7 foot pedals 🎮 Featured game: Real or Ridiculous? — three rounds of orchestra facts where kids have to shout out which ones are true and which ones Miss Delana totally made up. 🎧 What I'm Listening To This Week: Benjamin Britten's "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" — written in 1946 specifically to introduce kids to every section of the orchestra. A perfect family listen after this episode! 📚 Listen Back to Learn More: - Episode 13 — the original "Guess That Instrument Family" game - Episode 121 — Celtic Music (the same four families show up in folk music too!) ✨ Emotional takeaway: There is no "best" instrument family. The orchestra only works when every section shows up exactly as it is — and the same is true for every kid listening. Perfect for: homeschool music lessons, elementary classrooms, family listening, music teachers introducing the orchestra, and any kid curious about how instruments work. 🎁 FREE WORKSHEET: Want a free worksheet to go along with today's episode? Head to green.myflowdesk.com/podcast to subscribe to the newsletter — a new printable lesson ships with every episode. ⭐ Loving the show? Leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps other families find us, and Miss Delana reads every single one! 🌐 greenhousemusicak.com | 📱 @greenhousemusicak #MusicEducation #HomeschoolMusic #OrchestraForKids #InstrumentFamilies #KidsPodcast #MusicTeacher #ElementaryMusic #ClassicalMusicForKids #LearningPodcast #Homeschooling green.myflodesk.com/podcast Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093926/support] Explore the World of Music with the Greenhouse Music Podcast 🎶 Nurturing Young Minds Through Music Education 🎶 Discover engaging music lessons and inspiring stories designed just for kids! Visit us at greenhousemusicak.com [https://greenhousemusicak.com/home]and follow us on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@greenhousemusic_ak] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/greenhousemusicak]for more musical adventures.

What does music ACTUALLY do to your brain?

Send us an email: Delana@greenhousemusicak.com [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093926/fan_mail/new] What does music ACTUALLY do to your brain? 🧠🎵 Welcome back to the Greenhouse Music Podcast — the best music class you've ever heard! In this episode, Miss Delana takes kids inside the music science laboratory to explore some of the strangest, weirdest, most jaw-dropping music experiments scientists have ever done. We meet cows that give more milk to Beethoven 🐄, a 400-year-old Italian dance that people once believed could cure spider bites 🕷️, a Swedish choir whose heartbeats actually synced up while they sang ❤️, and a very real story about every newborn baby in Georgia going home with a free Mozart CD in 1998. Plus — kids learn how music can help people remember, speak, and heal. Music isn't just fun, music makers. Sometimes it's the strongest medicine in the room. In this episode, your music maker will learn: * Why music is called a "whole-brain workout." * How real scientists study music's effect on the body * The story of the Tarantella and music as folk medicine * How music therapy helps people with memory loss and speech difficulties * Why songs from childhood stay with us, even when other memories fade Vocabulary featured: whole-brain workout • tarantella • choir • music therapy • adagio What I'm Listening to This Week: Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber — a piece scientists have actually studied for the goosebumps it produces! Want to go deeper? Listen back to: * Episode 69 — Songs Are Full of Surprises * Episode 86 — The Secret Recipe for Spooky-Sounding Songs 🎓 Free student worksheet available at greenhousemusicak.com — perfect for homeschool families and elementary music classrooms. Subscribers get the answer key with rubrics, vocabulary deep-dive, and teacher discussion prompts! Follow Greenhouse Music on Instagram @greenhousemusicak and let us know — what song would YOU play to a cow? 🐄🎼 Music Credits: "Sonata No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1 — I. Allegro molto e con brio" by Beethoven, sourced via Pixabay (pixabay.com) "Tarantella Napoletana" by michelangeloop, sourced via Pixabay (pixabay.com) "Moonlight Sonata" performed by MusicRevolution, sourced via Adobe Stock (Asset ID: 643482372); no credit required. Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber — brief excerpt used under fair use for educational commentary. All music used with permission under their respective licenses. #KidsPodcast #MusicEducation #Homeschool #ElementaryMusic #BrainScience #MusicTherapy #GreenhouseMusic green.myflodesk.com/podcast Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093926/support] Explore the World of Music with the Greenhouse Music Podcast 🎶 Nurturing Young Minds Through Music Education 🎶 Discover engaging music lessons and inspiring stories designed just for kids! Visit us at greenhousemusicak.com [https://greenhousemusicak.com/home]and follow us on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@greenhousemusic_ak] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/greenhousemusicak]for more musical adventures.

Vivaldi: The Man Who Painted Spring with a Violin

Send us an email: Delana@greenhousemusicak.com [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093926/fan_mail/new] 🎻 He was a red-haired priest who kept sneaking out of church to write music. He taught orphan girls who became the most famous musicians in Europe. He wrote 500 concertos — and then the whole world forgot him for 200 years. His name was Antonio Vivaldi. And today, Miss Delana is taking you inside one of the most famous pieces of music ever written — The Four Seasons: Spring — to discover how a violin can literally paint a thunderstorm, a meadow full of birds, and yes… a snoring dog. 🐶💤 🌱 In this episode, your little music maker will discover: ✅ Who Vivaldi was — and why people called him "The Red Priest" 🔴 ✅ What program music is (music that tells a story or paints a picture) ✅ How Vivaldi used violins to describe birds, a rainstorm, and a sleeping dog — in 1725 ✅ The wild true story of how The Four Seasons was forgotten for nearly 200 years — and found again ✅ What a concerto is and what a ritornello means 🎮 Today's Game: Real or Ridiculous? Can you guess which Vivaldi facts are TRUE — and which ones sound too outrageous to be real? (Hint: some of the most ridiculous ones are completely true.) Shout out your answers! 🎧 This Week's Listening Challenge: Listen to the full Spring from The Four Seasons and listen for three things: the birds singing in the high strings, the moment the storm rolls in, and the viola note that's supposed to be a dog snoring. You can find it by searching "Vivaldi Spring Four Seasons" on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Music. 📚 Listen Back to Learn More: 👉 Episode 14 — Little Ears, Big Sounds: The Classical Tunes in Bluey — Vivaldi's Spring actually appeared in the Bluey episode "Fancy Restaurant!" You've heard him before — now you know who he is. 👉 Episode 12 — A Musical Journey with Camille Saint-Saëns — More program music! The Carnival of Animals uses instruments to paint animals, just like Vivaldi painted the seasons. 📩 Grab your FREE episode worksheet! Every episode comes with a printable activity page for your music maker. Head to greenhousemusicak.com or sign up for our newsletter to get it delivered straight to your inbox. 🔒 Subscribers also get the answer key, teacher notes, extension activity, and laminate-ready version — everything you need for a full music lesson at home or in the classroom. The Greenhouse Music Podcast is the best music class you've ever heard — new episodes every two weeks for curious kids ages 6–10, homeschool families, and elementary music classrooms. 🌐 greenhousemusicak.com 📲 @greenhousemusicak #MusicEducation #KidsPodcast #ClassicalMusicForKids #Vivaldi #TheFourSeasons #HomeschoolMusic #ElementaryMusic #MusicHistoryForKids #ProgramMusic #GreenhouseMusicPodcast #MusicForChildren #KidsClassicalMusic #PodcastForKids #MusicTeacher #HomeschoolPodcast green.myflodesk.com/podcast Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2093926/support] Explore the World of Music with the Greenhouse Music Podcast 🎶 Nurturing Young Minds Through Music Education 🎶 Discover engaging music lessons and inspiring stories designed just for kids! Visit us at greenhousemusicak.com [https://greenhousemusicak.com/home]and follow us on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@greenhousemusic_ak] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/greenhousemusicak]for more musical adventures.