Deb_PBnDeb: Pathway to Talking: A Fish Goes Swish, Swish, Swish

I've recently been exploring the educational value of PBnDeb's music. And as I read children and development articles, I am discovering many of our songs have unplanned benefits. I just learned that one PBnDeb song "A Fish Goes Swish, Swish, Swish (with its tail)" is a pathway to speech. Who knew!

Of course, I wasn't considering that when I wrote it. I don't start writing by sitting down and thinking, "Okay, Deb, how can you write a song that is educationally valuable?" How a song begins for me is a pattern of words, sometimes gibberish, but usually with some meaning, begins in my head. And then I hear the melody. I repeat the words over and over even using jargon words until the melody is set and then I start working on the lyrics.

"A Fish Goes Swish, Swish, Swish was written in 2009. This was the year I was adopted by my dog, Spenser. I've had cats for over 20 years. And then this dirty muppet face came up to me as I was pulling in my garbage cans.

I know this beautiful creature on the street and no one looking for him! I wrote a story about it entitled, "Proud Enough To Bark." Spenser wasn't a bark-y dog. In fact, he didn't bark at all.

One day as I was trying to teach Spenser to 'speak', I started singing to him, "A doggies says: Bow wow wow." And I would bark like a dog. Next thing I knew a song was born and I ran for my phone and recorded it so I wouldn't lose it!

Since children don't come out of the womb knowing what a dog, frog or monkey look like much less sound like, I thought making a simple song about many different animals and the sounds they make with a chorus about an animal that doesn't make a sound would be fun!

Developmentally making animal sounds and identifying the animal are all great speech development tools. Children need to learn sounds. This is a simple and fun way to do it! This is just a smidgen of what I learned on the World Wide Web about it.

"A cow goes: mooooo."
Moo Baa La: How Animal Sounds Can Help Your Child Talk

"A sheep goes: baaa, baaa, baaa."
How to Teach the B Sound by Chicago Speech Therapy

"A froggie goes: ribbit, ribbit, ribbit,"
Toddler milestone: Understanding speech and concepts

"And a fish goes swish, swish, swish."
"A fish goes swish, swish, swish"
"A fish goes swish, swish, swish"
"A fish goes swish, swish, swish"
"With it's tail!"
"A fish goes swish, swish swish."

With the song like "A Fish Goes Swish Swish Swish" once you get the pattern you can input any animal and the sound they make. I chose the fish as the chorus because I liked the creative balance that it doesn't make a sound. And then in performing the song, I learned it's fun to invite children to put the palms of their hands together and wiggle them around like a fish tail moving through the water.

Gabi, one of my dearest friends who I've known over 10 years, has two children, Parker and Xander. She has been playing PBnDeb's Zoo Dance CD for Parker since it was released in 2010 and now for his little brother Xander. Just the other day I received this on my Google+ Account:

Gabrielle Wagner Mann

Oct 21, 2013

Oh Deb, I can't tell you the fun Parker and Xander and I have listening to your Cds (STILL) - Fish Goes Swish is a HUGE hit in our house/car!!! Love it and you!

Her words are music to my heart.

I do have to mention, however, at a show the other day a very clever 5 year old told me a fish goes "glub glub glub." See even I am still learning!

"A Fish Goes Swish Swish Swish" is part of PBnDeb's "Zoo Dance" CD. You can listen to it on iTunes by searching on Pbndeb or head on over to CD Baby at: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/pbndeb2.

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