Here is a song I wrote this past Thanksgiving capturing the feelings one might have like being thankful for your family, friends, health, having a roof over you head, and food to eat. I figured since there aren't many songs out there about Thanksgiving, I would write one to commemorate this very important holiday.

This is my take on the famous song, 'La Cucaracha', with original lyrics by Jim Gaven, and original music from the Traditional Mexican Revolution era. The twist is that I use the melody of the song to put my own twist on playing the percussion instrument, maraca. This makes for a fun time had by all in class to not only learn about the maraca, but play along with the beat. *I did not compose the music or the melody to this song, but merely used them as a guide to write my own lyrics to the already existing music and melody*.

This is a song that goes into detail about the percussion instrument, the egg shaker. Fun for the class to get into rhythm (in sync together) and keep the beat with directions in the song to follow along.

This is a fun, silly song sung a cappella style about the different things music makes you feel, do, or say. Have a lot of fun with this one--add in your own ideas, too!

This is a song about saying, 'Hello' to your students as they enter the room or can be used as a first activity when everyone has already entered the room. I wrote it on the ukulele, but you can most certainly use a guitar or piano to convey the same message. I find this teaching tool to be very useful for pre-K and Kintergarden age children as well as 1st and even 2nd grade. What a fun way to start the class by welcoming everyone and putting them in a good mood!

This is a song about the acoustic guitar and the main characteristics of the instrument. It is designed to be a teaching tool about the instrument, as well as allow children to have fun while listening and learning to sing lead and harmony at the same time.

This is a song about saying, 'Goodbye' to your students as the class is coming to an end and everyone is gathering their belongings to move onto the next class or go home for the day. I wrote it on the ukulele, but you can most certainly use a guitar or piano to convey the same message. I find this teaching tool to be very useful for pre-K and Kintergarden age children as well as 1st and even 2nd grade. What a fun way to send everyone into the halls or the world by putting them in a great mood!

This is a set of 6 songs (5 with a color associated with the tier of social skills, and 1 with all 5 colors combined into one) which lead us through the 6 Levels of Social Skills. Lyric and chord sheets along with the mp3's of all 6 songs are included in this zip file. Great for teaching kids about who is most important in their life, and putting everyone in their appropriate category.

This is an instrumental music recording done by Jim Gaven to make students more aware of their surroundings as well as increase brain function and relax your body. In addition to that, the recordings will most certainly increase awareness of your surroundings. You'll notice in the word document attached how long each section of the recording goes for as it is divided into 3 parts: A warm-up, main activity/exercise, and a cool down. Students will be taken on a musical journey that travels up and down, left to right, and in a circular motion through headphones. Have a listen for yourself and see what it's all about.

This is a song written to teach children about the importance of saying, 'Please' and 'Thank You'. Attached to the .zip file is a live recorded version of the song as well as the lyrics with the chords used to play the song.

This is a song written about the piano, played on piano, with the intention of using as a teaching tool to those in elementary school for interest and education on the instrument.

Ants in Your Pants (Just Dance) is a song about getting up and moving around to shake out the cobwebs so to speak. Follow along to the directions of the song, and the whole group/class will be having fun in no time!

This is a song which teaches tempo/rhythm by first starting slowly, and continually building up the speed in 4 different sections until the tempo reaches a crescendo, at which time, playing stops. I've used it where I encourage students to play along with a percussion instrument, sing-a-long to the various tempo changes, as well as practice stomping on the ground/running in place.

This is a song about opening and closing various 'things' in life. The song is designed to be a learning tool for early childhood education to reinforce the idea of opening and closing, as well as being 'open' to change in life as that's the best way to live!

This is an original song, lyrics and mp3 included, to teach young children about the power of themselves (one person at a time) as well as other things in the world that have 1 as their number (IE: the sun, moon). We all have to start as one person at a time in order to positively effect the world around us.

This is a song designed for any child who is afraid of the dark and learning to cope with that fear. Sing it along with your young one to make them feel more comfortable when going to bed, entering a basement, or playing outside at night.

This is a song written for children in elementary school to reiterate the importance of saying, 'I Love You' to people you care about in different ways. Some of it is even in French, so students will learn some of another language while singing it.

Handshakes and High Fives-This is an original song about personal space where some people may not like to be hugged or kissed right away, so we start out by greeting them with a handshake and/or high-five. The zipped file includes a rough live recording of the song (mp3 format) along with the lyrics and chords to use to perform the song.