car decal photoI like to call myself a Boston lifer, but that’s not really true. We actually just moved back to Boston after spending 12 years in New York City. And it’s been an adjustment, to say the least.  But we’ve started to settle in and shift to our new lifestyle.

The biggest change we’ve faced is kind of funny: car time. See, in Brooklyn we walked everywhere. There, my stroller was like my car. I’d have extra diapers and changes of clothes, toys, snacks, hand sanitizer, and billions and billions of wipes all stashed underneath that thing. But here, we do a lot of driving. Granted, many of the rides are short, but it’s a change to be sitting in the car versus walking. (Though let me tell you, driving in heated car is waaaaay better than walking in sub-zero temperatures like we did last winter in NYC!)

But my kids (ages 5 and 2) tend to get a bit bored in the car. For a while I had a big bag of toys in there, thinking that would help keep them distracted. Turns out the kids had more fun throwing them than playing with them. Flying toys in a moving vehicle is just not a good idea, so I got rid of those. We had the same problem with books–which, coupled with the fact that some of us occasionally suffer from carsickness, just didn’t work. And I’m not giving my kids an iPad or DVD player for short little rides.
I’ve finally settled on music as the distraction of choice. There’s some really stellar kids’ music out there, in case you didn’t know. And I know that we’ve only just begun to tap the surface of it. My kids love listening to Yellow Sneaker, our local puppeteers/musician friends from Brooklyn. And we all sing out loud to Joanie LeedsMore Cowbell song (yes, I really do think that she wrote it based on Will Ferrell’s Saturday Night Live skit, though I haven’t asked her personally.) I’m also partial to City Stomp, another New York-based band, and if you haven’t yet listened to Laurie Berkner, the queen of all children’s music, then you need to go fix that right now (follow this link). We have one CD by Laura Doherty from Chicago and I like her style–catchy tunes about her city (Riding on the El Train, something about a Chicago hot dog…)
But our rotation is starting to feel old and tired. After all, we spend a lot of time in the car. And, more importantly, it’s time to get to know the musicians in our new town: Boston!

So I’m turning to you, dear readers. Can you help? Who are your favorite Boston-based kiddie musicians? I would love to buy some CD’s and then take the kids to a few concerts this summer. Any recommendations? I can’t wait to hear them!

 

Thanks!