Just for fun

More Mapua Fun!

2012-01-20T23:37:00.000-08:00

We have finished at the Park - you should really come next year (well from 27th Dec this year actually) and we'll be there doing things, making things and generally having fun! Here are some more photos!
Here we are trying to keep the tide back....eventually the tide won.....

We try not to injure too many people....but Josheph's toe looked pretty impressive....eeeouch!!!

BINGO!!!! The whole family love this game AND the prizes!

Wow, there were some awesome creations at Clay Play!! Nice one you guys, you made some coooooool things!

Next, cricket skills......CATCH!!

And in the evening....toasting marshmallows....yum, yum, yum!

........then the MUD GIRLS turned up!

Mapua Leisure Park

2012-01-14T16:30:00.000-08:00

Over a month has gone by since my last post! I've been down to Oamaru, Dunedin and Christchurch for a week on a Christmas holiday, then back to run the holiday programme at the Mapua Leisure Park. Wow, what fun we've had!! We've made dragons, dinosaurs, played with clay, made lanterns, treasure maps, pancakes, dart, painted pet rocks, played all sorts of sports and games, special Friday the 13th scary masks, icky scones and had a FEAR FACTOR challenge.

We've also made rafts out of bamboo - here are some pictures of some of them. The first one is the wnner!! Evie's was the only one that stayed afloat!!

Here's some pics of our scary masks on Friday 13th!

And here are our ICKY scones!!!! Eeeewwww! But they tasted GOOD!!

Brand New Shoes

2011-12-12T02:19:00.000-08:00

I often get asked how I come up with songs. Well here's how my Brand New Shoes song happened! I was at a Fair, looking through the second hand clothing, when I saw a cute little boy about 18months old, walking around in a pair of gumboots. He had his legs straight and was lifting them up really high as he stomped about. I smiled at his mum and said "how cute!" and she said "it's his first pair of real shoes".

On my way home in the car, I started thinking about it and started singing and came up with the chorus "New shoes, who's shoes?, my shoes, two shoes; red, yellow, orange, green or any colour in between; new shoes, that I choose". The rest of the song came as I imagined what small children would like to do in their shoes and how it would make them feel.

It's on my "i've got a dinosaur in my back yard" CD and you can listen to the song here http://songs4kids.co.nz/cds.html

See if you can come up with some rhyming words like the ones I use in the song, then you can make up your own song! It doesn't have to be about shoes, it could be about ANYTHING!

FRESH FM KATH BEE FOR KIDS!

2011-12-12T02:07:00.000-08:00

Yep it's here! My new radio programme on Fresh FM, Nelson-Tasman 104.8
Golden Bay 95.0 Blenheim 88.9 and streaming live here http://www.freshfm.net/
7.10am Saturdays and 8.10am Sundays. For a fun and tuneful way to start your weekend days, listen in to "Kath Bee for Kids"! On Sundays the 'Great Big Radio Show' starts at 7am, with Suzy Cato, so tune in early! On Saturdays you can catch Jumping Jellybeans with Peter Weatherall Jumping Jellybeans Radio Show is educational songs and stories for children presented by Red, Yellow, Green and Blue: the Jumping Jellybeans and Sundays at 6.40am - perfect if you're an early riser! Catch ya then!

Radio Show?

2011-11-08T16:02:00.001-08:00

Keep watching this space....A Kath Bee radio show is in the making....!

"Allsorts" CD Release concert

2011-06-30T03:08:00.000-07:00

"Allsorts" Release Party 28th May 2011 on PhotoPeach

"Allsorts" CD Release take two on PhotoPeach

Kath Bee's Song for Mums

2011-05-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

ALLSORTS!!

2011-04-28T01:58:00.000-07:00

Yep, ALLSORTS is due out on 28th May! This CD is a goody....so don't miss out! Tell your friends, friends of friends, and their friends about it. It's very funky (or so my daughter said today when I was listening to some songs today) - and she's right!! It really is....she said she'll put it on for herself (she's 21)!

It's got songs about Breakfast time, the Library, being afraid of the dark, Roadkill, the beach, being a tween and a few more.....

That's all for now!

D'Urville Island and more!

2011-04-16T21:41:00.000-07:00

I went to D'Urville Island last week. It's the second time I've been. It's a long drive, over gravel roads, but there are great views and it's a great adventure! Country Calendar were filming out there so we made up a "D'Urville Island" song and the chorus goes like this:

We live on D'Urville Island it's a very cool place to be
We live on D'Urville Island it's home to you and me
We live on D'Urville Island, we're surrounded by the sea
We swim everyday HEY!
Work and play HEY!
Very happily!!

We also made up a song about a Weka which is in the slideshow below so you can pause it and read the words if you like!

My new CD is getting close to being finished - well actually, I keep throwing in another song, so now it'll have 11 songs on it! That's if we have time to get them all finished. 9 have been recorded and just need bits and pieces put in and finished off - for example, tomorrow we are recording some saxophone (played by Jane Fisher) and some trumpet (played by Pete Rainey) - and I'm really excited about it!

Don't forget, if you are in Nelson, the release date is Saturday 28th May 3-4pm at Victory Community Centre. Come along to the concert and hear some new songs!

Now sit back, relax and enjoy the slideshow of my trip to D'Urville.....

D'Urville Island Adventure on PhotoPeach

D'Urville Island Adventure on PhotoPeach

Making Christchurch Kids Smile Tour

2011-03-31T04:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a summary of our tour to Christchurch. We had a great time. Everyone was so lovely and it was great to take everyone's mind off the earthquakes and all the difficulties they were having and make them smile and sing for a while. Enjoy the slideshow! See if you can pick yourself out! Let me know if you can!

Making Christchurch Kids Smile Tour on PhotoPeach

New CD on its way

2011-03-08T18:17:00.001-08:00

Yay, I am really looking forward to this CD. It's my 4th for those of you who may not know. I'm keeping the title and a lot of the songs secret until the release, late April. I had a great practice with Rich Kendrick and Rhys Clark (my bass/guitar player and drummer) yesterday and we are practising again Friday. We have recorded 3 songs which need a little bit of this and that, but are sounding good!

Planning a trip to Christchurch with Flossie the Balloon Lady to cheer kids up, next week. Will let you know more, when I know more.

Also, check out these three clips from Haiti - we don't know how lucky we are.

Purple Cake Day

2011-03-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! It was Purple Cake Day yesterday and we had fun going around different schools and preschools singing my Purple Cake Day song, dressing up in purple and hearing stories about how kids were raising funds and the gorgeous outfits they all wore to celebrate the occasion. Check out my photos on Facebook!

Slideshow of Tours

2010-09-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

Winter Tour on PhotoPeach

Here's a quick slice of my last 3 tours - North Island, Dunedin/Oamaru then back to Wellington!

Heaps of fun, heaps of kids, heaps of driving and map-reading. You might be able to pick yourself out!

Enjoy the slideshow. More to come soon =)

Wellington and custard

2010-09-07T02:35:00.001-07:00

Here I am in Wellington. So far I've been to Plimmerton School and Wilford School - all you guys rocked!!

I like Wellington - our nation's capital. The weather is not nice enough for long enough, for me. Although, today was nice and on a nice day Welly is awesome.

I was in Cuba St today. It's such a vibrant place. Lots of students - I think student life is a good one.....so have a think about what you'd like to be when you grow up and then, when you've finished College, go and study it!! Make lots of friends, have lots of fun AND come out with a qualification.....! sounds perfect! Well, it's one choice anyway.

I got stuck in a traffic jam today. I didn't really mind though, I wasn't in a hurry. It's a good time to turn up the radio/CD/ipod and have a good old sing - and that's just what I did!

I made custard tonight! Do you like custard?? I had it with Watties peaches and 2 pieces of chocolate, which melted into the custard......yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!! Another idea for a song perhaps?? Custard is a really easy pudding and it's cheap! Ask Mum or Dad or older sister or brother to show you how to make it one day - then you'll never be short of a pudding when you leave home and go flatting!

Song writing

2010-08-04T22:49:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried writing a song? Well here are some tips:

Listen to some songs first and pick out the Chorus, Verses and Bridge

Write some simple 4-line poems with different patterns, e.g. The 2nd and 4th lines rhyme. The 1st and 3rd lines rhyme and the 2nd and 4th too. The 1st and 2nd lines rhyme and the 3rd and 4th lines too......etc, try some different patterns.

Choose a topic - here are some suggestions: Friends, popcorn, aeroplanes, travelling, summer, vegetables, brushing your teeth, love.....

Brainstorm your topic - think of as MANY things that you can about your topic - try going off on tangents.....say your topic is "popcorn"...think about what it tastes like, what it looks like, what it sounds like when it's cooking, where you eat popcorn, how long it takes to make, what you have 'on' it.....

Then, start writing!! Your verses tell a story, your chorus repeats and should include the main word/s of your topic.....

E.g for Verse 1: My friend and I, on saturday
sat down to watch a DVD
we looked hard at each other
and I said "are you hungry?"

E.g for Chorus: Pop pop popcorn
a tasty treat
pop pop pop pop popcorn
is what I like to eat!

HAVE FUN!!!!

At the Library

2010-07-20T02:44:00.000-07:00

Hey there all. What's the BEST place to go to get a book?? The LIBRARY of course! Well, a bookshop is also good, but you have to pay to take one away, which is cool if you want a bookshelf full of books!

I have a song called "At the Library" and it's about the things you can 'do' if you lose yourself in a book - you can have all sorts of adventures, you can learn so much and of course it fills in a lot of time (time goes really quickly when you are reading). It's a good alternative to TV and DVDs, to PSP and all those other games I don't know the names of!

If you are not a member of your local library, ask Mum or Dad or another adult or your big sister or brother, to take you there and get yourself a card. Have a look around and see all the choices!! Tell a Librarian what you're interested in, and they'll find you a book you'll enjoy!

Libraries often have storytime and other things going on, so pick up a brochure about up-coming events too! I recently ran a song writing workshop at one of our local libraries - it was FUN!

Breakfast Time!

2010-06-28T23:01:00.000-07:00

I hope you all eat breakfast! It's a very important start to your day. I now have a new song called "Breakfast Time". It's even got a 'breakfast foods rap' in it. The first rap I've ever written! Have any of you ever written a rap? It's fun - have a go.

Also, think of all the things you can eat for breakfast. I like porridge, pancakes and toast the best - not all together though! And I like vegemite, peanut butter and honey on my toast - not all together though! And I like lemon and sugar and sometimes lemon and golden syrup, on my pancakes.

What are your favourite things to eat for breakfast?

"What time is it?"

2009-12-05T20:12:00.000-08:00

"It's breakfast time at last!!" HIP HIP HOOOOOORAY!! I've just written a new song about eating breakfast! It's going to have a "breakfast foods rap" in it and I hope to get a real rapper (not a famous one I expect, but not me, as I can't rap to save myself!) to do that bit. Anyway I'm so glad I've nearly finished writing a new song! It's been so long, I didn't think I COULD anymore!

It's raining today. I'm home alone and loving it! It's also been raining, which is a very good time to catch up on things inside. I spent 6hrs yesterday cleaning my house (which I'm not living in at the mo, my nephew is) and now it's looks sparkling clean and tidy! I like cleaning sometimes - it's very satisfying!

That reminds me, I have just finished a song, for preschoolers, called "Clean up and Tidy up" for them to put on when it's clean up time at their preschool OR at home I guess. It should be a fun song to clean up to and I'm sure will help to get the clean up done more quickly! I'm also working on a few other songs at the mo. One's called "We go to the beach", and another called "You've got food on ya face"

I'm hoping to make an action-song CD for 'up to 5yr olds' next year - it will have some of my songs from the Dragon and Dinosaur CDs but a few newies too. I'll let you know how I'm getting on.

I just ate some lollies - "Starburst Re-juiced" to be precise. I don't eat many lollies, but once I open a packet, it's hard to stop! I reckon 4 of those is enough at once - and it's better to eat them slowly, then you have more for another day AND you can share them with your friends when they come to your place.

It's getting very close to Christmas. If you celebrate Christmas, what have you asked Santa to bring you? I think I'd like................ummmmmmmmmm
................a Manager!! That's what I'll ask for! Do you think I'll get one?

I can't wait until the weather settles down and becomes summery every day. Last weekend it was so hot and I was at "Rabbit Island" (it's in Nelson, NZ), I went for a lovely swim - the water was actually still a little bit cold for my liking, but it was lovely and refreshing.

I've been in Christchurch recently and met some lovely kids down there. Have had some nice emails from some of them too, since I've been back.

I've got a good idea - if you have a grandma or grandpa who doesn't live near you, why don't you write them a letter or draw them a picture - or both?? If they have email then that's nice and easy, but writing a letter by hand can be a lot of fun too - and it's always exciting getting mail when you are an adult - especially mail that isn't a bill!

Have a happy Christmas and enjoy your school holidays, if I don't blog before then - I have a song about that.....it goes like this: "Comes in December each year without a doubt, it's like the weekend something to sing about, our work is over it's time for chilling out, it's Christmas, Christmas time"

Sausages

2009-07-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

What IS it with the word "sausages" that's so funny???? I was watching a band last night and they said "sausages" and then all got the giggles and so did the whole audience!!

That's IT, I really HAVE to write a song about sausages! Or at least have the word in a song somewhere..........I'll get right onto it! I think it will be a song with lots and lots of "s's" in it....

Have any of you ever been to Hokitika? Well that's where I am at the moment and I love it! It's friendly, the beach is awesome (although it's not a swimming beach, but right now, it's WAY to cold to swim anyway!), walking through town it feels like you've gone back in time as some of the shops are original buildings from way back, and I can just imagine horses and carts trotting up and down.

Thanks to all you lovely kids who came to my last few gigs. "Story Time Books for Kids" in Petone, "Next Page Please" in Takapuna, St Mary's hall in Hoki. I've had a lot of fun and special thanks to Leo who made me feel so good watching him smiling and enjoying himself so much - when I get back home I'll put some photos up for you all to look at =)

That's it for now - any suggestions regarding the sausage song, please don't hesitate to comment on this blog or go to my website www.songs4kids.co.nz and email me!

Hope all your school hols went well and you did lots of fun things and slept in and stayed up late and enjoyed the break from your teachers. Be good next week!

Kath =D

Auckland

2009-05-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Well I'm now living in Auckland for a while and really enjoying it! Aucklanders are friendly and great drivers!! I'm finding it hard to get used to the changeable weather though....

Well today I visited Bucklands Beach Primary and it was cool!! I performed with the whole school - not at once! - juniors first - we all had a good fun time; then the middles and they were lovely and enjoyed joining in; and then the seniors who were fantastic! So thanks all you guys for making my day fun =D Hopefully I get sent some photos so I can put them on my blog.

Yesterday I went to Kaukapakapa school, past Helensville. That was a lovely school too. One of the teachers asked me if I had written any songs on Medievel times (and knights and stuff!) but I hadn't. I offered to go into her class after my performances and help her class write one of their own. They came up with all sorts of ideas and together we made up a chant. Then some of the kids remembered that beat from "We Will Rock You" by Queen (you know, that "stamp stamp clap" one), so 4 of them did the beat and the rest chanted the song. It was cool!

I'm about to make a pot of vegetable soup - it's COLD today aye? I'm going to put pumpkin, onion, garlic, a tin of tomatoes, potato, parsely and anything else I can find, into it. It's really easy to make soup - ask someone to help you make some one day. Add some salt and pepper too.

Where else have I been and what else have I been doing.......I sang some backing vocals (that's when you're not the main singer but you sing some harmonies sometimes during a song)on TV3's "Sunshine" programme, for my friend Mel Parsons who's a really cool singer/songwriter who has just put a new CD out. It was fun - I've never been on tele before. Oh, wait a minute, yes I have! I was on Mainland TV in Nelson (but there was something wrong with the 'tape' and I kept getting stuck in one place for a long time! It was quite funny actually!) But I've never had makeup put on me or been live on tele until the ther day. All the people at TV3 were so nice and helpful. Maybe, hopefully I'll get on again singing my kidsongs! Fingers crossed.

I might have to go now. I'm cold and need to start chopping my veges up.

Sing loud, sing lots, smile lots and have heaps of fun doing it!

I'll blog again soon =) Look forward to your comments. Thanks Boris for your kind comment - I answered it, but you have to look at the post titled "Going Away".

Kath

Yay, a new CD!

2008-12-20T16:04:00.001-08:00

Hey there! So finally I have a new CD. It's called "I've got a dinosaur in my back yard!" and I really have!!!See!!

There are 13 songs and a poem (written by my mum) on the CD. It's got a wide variety of songs. Some action songs; some sing-along songs, some slower songs (my favourites!) and some fun, silly ones!

The CD release party was fun! Here are some pics

Here we are "Walking around in our Brand New Shoes" - that's one of the songs from the new CD. And here's a pic of Ocean attacking T REX!!!......

And here we are just having a good time - from left to right, Rich, me, Maria, Sian and Laura - in red.

And here we are (Rich and I) mid-song with a very appreciative line-up watching. Can you see my "Bee" t-shirt? I had them specially made for the CD release party, by a lady called Catherine in Westport.

Right, well I'm off to eat corn on the cob for lunch then go to work. Its a grey old day in Nelson, but "It's Never the Wrong time to go out!" or so one of my new songs says anyway!!

Have a really good Christmas if you celebrate and fantastic school holidays. Thanks to all of you who came to my party and hope you are enjoying my new CD if you have it =D

It's been 6 months!!!

2008-05-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been 6months since I wrote here!! That's a long time!

Most recently I went up to the Wairarapa, which is in the lower North Island. I performed at 5 Libraries up there. I caught the train from Wellington and got picked up at Featherston Station. The gigs were fun. Some small audiences and some medium-sized ones. At each gig I asked kids and adults to give me some ideas for new songs. Here are some of the ideas they wrote down:

Superheroes
How the world turns around and we don't fall off (I like this idea!)
Love
How to make rainbow jelly
Something about girls putting TOO much make-up on (Claudia, I agree!!)
Roses blooming
honesty
Silly people
Clothes
New friends and old friends (Good idea! I already have a song about friends)
Hope
Supercillyis Spider
With you
No one
Aren't mums and dads great (This is true!)
Lollies make me spew
Chocolate is yum
I have an alien on my head (Very interesting.....)
If you can do it so can I (I really like this idea!)

Thanks for all the ideas......I'll never run out of songs to write, will I!?

I met some lovely people up there. They werevery kind and friendly. I met a lovely girl called Te Uira. It was nice to me you =)

I also sang at a fundraising evening for "Operation Coverup". They knit blankets for orphanages in the Ukraine and Muldovia - see if you can find out where they are on a World Map or by searching the internet. It gets very very cold over there and often the children only have a small cotton cover on their beds. "Operation Coverup" give children their own warm and usually colourful woollen blanket! It keeps them warm and makes them very happy =D

I am still recording my 2nd CD. It takes a long time!! I really enjoy it though. I have 2 neices called Maria and Laura and they are very good singers. They are 6 and 10. (actually I have 4 neices, but the other two are grown up and one has a son!) They sang on "Don't Wanna" on my "Dragons Under My Bed" CD. We have recorded them singing one song for my new CD so far and they are practising another one - you might sing it at school. It's called "Seasons". I am recording a new version of it. My daughter, Sian, is now 18 and she sang "Individuality" on the Kiwi Kidsongs CD, with a boy called Theo Va'a, when she was 11yrs old and then we sang it together on my "Dragons..." CD. She is going to sing a lovely song about clouds on my new CD.

I really enjoyed the summer in Nelson! I hope you all had a good summer. I don't enjoy winter quite so much, but I suppose if it was summer all the time, I'd get sick of it. Do you think I would? Hmmmmmmm, I'm not sure!!

Well, this week I'm going over to Blenheim and Picton (top of the South Island) to perform at Schools and Kindys and also to start writing a School Song for Riverlands School. Looking forward to that!

I spent some time last week at Hira School as I am going to write them a School Song too! It's a lovely school with very friendly teachers and kids. It's a little bit country, is surrounded by bush and hills and has it's own creek running through it! They have a mud brick pizza oven and a mud brick letterbox!! I think I'll have to put those things in the song!! Don't you?

In my last post I talked about making shakers. I visited a Kindy and the Head Teacher there told me that using things like rice/macaroni in the shakers may not be appropriate in everyone's house. Also using empty toilet rolls may not be appropriate either. I suggest you ask your parents/caregivers what's OK to use and what isn't. Everyone is different, so it always pays to ask. There are lots of things outside you can use - like little stones, pieces of bark, gum nuts, acorns or other seeds perhaps. And you can use empty boxes - like teabag boxes - or cut a piece off an empty gladwrap roll, stick some paper over one end, put your shakey bits in, stick some more paper over the other end - decorate and "Bob's your Uncle"!! Have you heard that saying before? Ask a big person what it means if you're not sure! =)

Don't forget to comment, to ask me questions, to make suggestions and to KEEP SINGING!!!!

Have a happy day =D

Kath

Save the Planet and other things

2007-11-28T16:29:00.000-08:00

I have written a song called "Save the Planet". It's about being environmentally friendly, taking care of the planet. It takes good care of us! Simple things like beautiful roses to look at and smell; a buzzing bumblebee; the clouds; blossoms in Spring; a sun shower; mountains with snow on top; rivers, lakes and the ocean to swim in or ski on! There are endless things for us to appreciate every day.

I want every school and early childhood education centre to be singing this song. I'm trying to think of ways of getting it to all of you! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! I'll let you know how I get on.

Here's the lyrics to the first verse:

"Well there's a hole in the ozone layer (save the planet, help save the planet)
And there is global warming too (save the planet, help save the planet)
Simple things that we can do, like unplug the tele and the DVD too
And turn off the lights and the heater when we're not in the room........"

Today, when I finish on the computer, I am going to make a whole lot of shakers out of empty toilet rolls and other containers I have collected over the past year or so!! I thought I'd make up a song called "Shake It" and give out shakers to the audience to shake in the right places!! I'll have to get inspired while I'm making them! I've got glue, cellotape, white paper, colour pencils, felts, stickers and scissors. To fill them I have rice, popcorn, peppercorns, split peas, sunflower seeds, little stones from off my driveway, macaroni and sesame seeds. I have also saved some bottle tops and I'll make some sort of shakery-type instrument out of them too! Any other ideas?

I am singing at the Granary at Founders Park on Sunday 2nd Dec from 2.30-3.15pm! Come along and join me!! I'll need all the help and support I can get because I won't have Rich with me! I might have even finished the "Shake It" song!! I'm going to sing some Christmas Carols and some of my songs and even some Nursery Rhymes for the real littleys! It should be fun to have a sing-along!!

I'm also playing at the Tiny Tots and Teddys at Washbourne Gardens on Sunday 9th. Not sure of the time yet - it should be on the TDC website somewhere. I am half way through writing a special Teddy Bear song for the day and I have bought a pre-loved teddy for the occassion. My daughter wants to come and sing too, so hope she makes it!!

Well that's about all I can think of for now. Don't forget to tell your friends about my blog - I want to get LOTS of kids reading and commenting!!!

See ya out there somewhere =D

"It's Never the Wrong Time to go Out!"

2007-10-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Arts Festival is over! It started with the Mask Parade! I bet a lot of you made masks and joined in the fun!! There were some really cool masks out there that must have taken AGES to make!

I really enjoyed my kid's concerts. Lots of kids and adults came and had fun!

During the first concert I asked some kids up on stage and a whole LOT of them came up! The stage was pretty crowded. We sang "Dad I Wanna be a Camel".

Flossie the balloon lady made some really really cool 'creations' with her balloons. I'll put some pictures of the concert here when I receive them.

We sang some new songs like "It's Never the Wrong Time to go Out" about going out no matter what the weather is like, and "Save the Planet" about helping to care for the environment!! That's an important thing to do. My daughter Sian, sang a song I wrote called "Changing Clouds" about lying on your back looking up into the blue sky and watching the fluffy (cumulus) clouds or the whispy (cirrus) clouds and making shapes out of them!

Thanks to everyone who came and had a good time =D

I'm off to Wellington today to meet with other Children's Song Writers! It's going to be fun! I'm also visiting a couple of friends while I'm over there. I'll also see if I can get some more shops to stock my Dragons Under My Bed CD for the children of Wellington to listen to!

Don't forget to email me your ideas for songs, questions you may have or just to say "Hi Kath!"

The Arts Festival etc

2007-09-18T23:03:00.000-07:00

We are looking forward to performing in the Arts Festival. Liz and I have been practising and sorting out what to sing and how to sing it and what 'actions' to do! This weekend Rich, Liz, Sian and I will be getting together to have a practice. It's going to be heaps of fun! Lots of new songs and some of the old ones - well, they're not exactly old really!

Rich and I played at two Kindys in Motueka last week and at a Preschool too. They were fun gigs. The kids really enjoyed participating and also listened quietly to us singing and Rich playing guitar.

We also played at a Fair, but it was raining and I got quite wet!! The crepe and cup of tea were nice though!! Mmmmmmmm, yum. I love pancakes. (That's what I call them!)

At the Fair, I was looking at the 2nd-hand clothes and a wee boy with his Mum, took a liking to some blue gumboots. She helped him put them on and he walked around in a funny way. She said to me "he's never worn proper shoes before!" He must have only learned to walk a little while ago, but he was very happy and very cute walking around in his blue gumboots.

It inspired me to write a song - so I did! As I drove home I sang it out loud in the car and made up the tune and words at the same time. I finished it off later the next day. It's called "Brand New Shoes" and it's aimed at toddlers really - but I'm sure older kids will enjoy it too!

St. Pauls School, in Dallington Christchurch

2007-08-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

Well, while I was in Christchurch, my daughter and I visited St. Pauls School in Dallington.

The kids were really pleased to see us and we both felt quite famous!! It was a really neat experience.

Firstly the 2 classes sang "Individuality" with us while I played guitar. It is such a nice feeling to see kids happily singing along to my own songs!!

We talked about what it's like to be at that 'inbetween' age and I played them a song that I'm writing called "In Between" - here's the chorus

"In between - being a kid and being a teen
In between - who I am and who I've been
In between - what I'll see and what I've seen
'cos it feels like I'm in between....."

and they liked it!! Thought it was good!! So now I can finish it off and that'll be the first song on a new CD for Intermediate-age kids!! Don't know when it will be finished, but at least it's a start!!

They gave me some GREAT ideas for new songs to write - everything from the first time you kiss a girl (hmmmmm, thanks Jack!!) to chocolate, from little brothers and sisters to revenge on the teachers!!!! But my favourite idea was "do I get to hug my Mum still and do I get kisses from Grandpa/ma anymore?" - one day that will be a song!! Thanks to you all for such cool ideas!!

Then my daughter - Sian - sang a song I've written about the clouds and how you can see shapes and things in them. It's called "Changing Clouds" and it's a very relaxing song. It was nice.

Then I gave the teacher a copy of a song called "Save the Planet" about little things each of us can do to be a bit more environmentally friendly. The kids all listened and joined in on the "Save the Planet" bits!! It was cool to hear some kids singing it!! Yay!! Thanks again all of you at St. Pauls and to Louise (Mrs Bolton!) Keep up all the excellent singing!! You all rock!!

Going away

2007-08-13T03:55:00.000-07:00

I'm going away for a few days to Christchurch. I have to go to a funeral. Not a very happy thing to be going down there for really.

While I'm there I'm going to visit an Intermediate to 'hang out' with a class of kids who love to sing. They sing "Individuality" which is really cool to know! I want to write some songs for that age group, so they are going to give me some ideas. I think they want to ask me some questions about writing songs too, so that'll be fun!

We might stop at Maruia Springs and have a soak in the hot pools. I like doing that when I go to Christchurch!

I'll write more when I get back and let you know how I got on with the Intermediate kids.

See ya =D

A New Website

2007-08-08T18:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

I have a new website that you can go to to listen to some of my songs, watch a video, or buy one of my CDs.

Here's the address: www.songs4kids.co.nz Feel free to go and have a look and email me if you like!

I saw some children walking down the street with their faces painted today. Do you like getting your faces painted? I do!

I have started writing a song called "The Silly Song" - I'll sing it at my next big concert which will be at the Nelson School of Music in October. Tell you more about that another day!

Have a happy day =D

Ok!! Here we go......

2007-07-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!! This is a new blog especially for kids to come and read and comment and share their thoughts and ideas with me! I'll try to post regularly and think of interesting things to say!!

Feel free to ask me questions, via comments or choose something for me to write about!!

I'm really excited about it and looking forward to you telling all your friends and their friends and their friends and their friends about this so that HEAPS of kids come to my blog and read it!!

Not too sure about the picture of me - it kind of looks like I've been "squashed" - I look shorter and wider than usual!! hahahahaha!!

It has just started raining! I like the rain though - especially when I'm inside! I played soccer this morning and unfortunately we lost 3-1! =( We played well though and that's what matters the most =)

My toes are cold and I really should go and get my slippers on..............ahhhhhhh, that's better!!

Tonight I am cooking roast chicken and my daughter (who has left home) is coming for tea. Before I put the roast on, I'm going to play some piano (I can only play a few things, but I enjoy it sometimes) and maybe some guitar too.

Hope you all had a good weekend and I'm looking forward to your comments!

Kath Bee

PS - hope those Dragons haven't been messing up your bedrooms lately ;)