Halloween is coming. Costumes are in the making. Pumpkins are being carved and decorated. Here are a couple of Trick Or Treat poems you can use instead of knocking on doors and saying “Trick or Treat!”

CONTEST-CONTEST: Send your own poem in to info@cathymarcy.com. We’ll publish the BEST ones on this blog on November 1st.

Trick or treat trick or treat
Give me something really neat
May I sneeze one hundred sneezes
If I do forget my pleases
By Marcy Marxer

Roses  are red,
marshmallows are white
If you eat too many
Your pants will get tight!
By Jesse Hicks Silverberg

Thanks you for your candy
Thank you for your kindness
I’ll be back next Halloween
So thank you your highness
By Spencer Perkins

Howdy, Howdy, Halloween
I’m in disguise I can’t be seen
My eyes are blue, my tongue is green
And every color in between
Anonymous

Click for photo Conjurer Meets Pumpkin

Homemade Hoops Happen!

Hoopin’s Here! As many of you know, Marcy’s Big Band “Hula Hoop” song on the Grammy winning CD, “Bon Appétit!” inspired us to get hooping. We make our own hoops and think it’s a way funstyle of exercise. It’s also fun to make and decorate your own hoop. We hoop to that song and lots of other great musical choices.We often have hooping contests at our family shows.

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August 8, 2008 is WORLD HOOP DAY. Check it out at http://www.worldhoopday.com. The event spreads the word that hoping is fun and encourages folks to get hoops in the hands (and hips) of needy kids. Events happen worldwide, so you can see if there’s one in your neighborhood.

For our new video podcast, we had a hooping party that was FABULOUS. We made hoops, lots of friends hooped. Some never tried before and found out how fun it is. We took a batch of hoops to a seniors’ center and they had a blast! Marcy’s mom is in that part of the video. We also teach YOU how to make a hoop. AND, Cathy hoops on video for over 10 hours (we edited it down to 2 minutes so your computer won’t freeze).

Send us your hooping stories and pictures to info@cathymarcy.com.
Tell your friends about WORLD HOOP DAY and about this podcast. The more people who see it, the more we can aim for peace through hooping!

Check out the video podcast at www.cathymarcy.com

Listen to the song here 08-hula-hoopmp3

Summer is a perfect time to take up a musical instrument.  Of course, any time is a good time to take up a musical instrument!  Parents are asking us more questions than ever about starting their kids in music.  We’re happy to answer!  There are some great choices for every age and attention span.

The question we hear most often is, “How old should my child be before I enroll him/her in music lessons?”  There are as many answers to this question as there are kids and instruments but here are some ideas and basic guidelines.

Let’s start with guitar.

Guitars are long.  Children need to be as tall or taller than the guitar they are trying to play or they may not be able to reach the first fret in a relaxed position while holding the guitar on their lap.   The child should either sit in a chair that allows them to put their feet on the floor or sit in a regular chair and put their feet up on a box.

Many kid sized guitars come with steel strings.  Young fingers usually do well with light gauge steel strings or ball end nylon strings.  If the guitar comes with steel strings, it is usually possible to string it with nylon strings BUT if the guitar comes with nylon strings you can almost NEVER string it up with steel strings.  Steel strings will damage a nylon string guitar.

One favorite small guitar is the Martin LX.  It is well built and sounds great!  The LX comes in kid-friendly colors: Red, Blue, Pink, Purple, Black and White.  The total length of the guitar is 34”.  It comes with Medium Gauge Steel Strings.   They can easily be replaced with Light Gauge, if necessary.  It’s made of a high pressure laminate material that should last through an entire childhood and beyond.

Other good guitars are:  Oscar Schmidt OG1 3/4 size guitar

Daisy Rock Pixie Acoustic Guitar

The ukulele is a great inexpensive instrument for a budding musician.  The ukulele is a beautiful instrument by itself but if your child decides to eventually take up the guitar, all of their ukulele knowledge and practice will still apply.

Here are 3 great little ukuleles you can find for under $30.00:  Johnson, Rogue and Lanikai.

If kids and parents learn TOGETHER, it’s more fun. And if you’re using a DVD or video to help learn, the parent can operate the machine, so the kid can focus on playing.

Good places to look for these instruments:
Elderly Instruments: http://www.elderly.com
House of Musical Traditions: http://www.hmtrad.com
Homespun Tapes (DVD lessons & kid – size instruments): http://www.homespuntapes.com
Musician’s Friend: http://www.musiciansfriend.com

We’d love to hear from families who are playing music, or kids who are playing. That includes those who are enjoying their home-made cardboard instruments! end us an email, picture or both!