Risa's debut album, "Oh Friends We Love You" 

This is my debut album and it contains a sample of the kinds of songs I write. These songs will help teach your children loving kindness and empathy. If your children love music - you will both love these songs.

I utilize these songs in my program, "Sing into Reading," an integrated curriculum of music, movement, an literacy.

Some songs on the album will encourage crossing the midline, an important benchmark in gross motor skills that affects literacy learning. "Directional Lines" and "First You Put Your Thumbs Up" help teach crossing the midline - which facilitates the left and right hemispheres of the brain to communicate with each other. As children move to the motions of these songs, they become more facile with crossing the midline, strengthening the neural pathways of the brain, and enabling social-emotional development and self-regulation. Crossing the midline is necessary for tracking print across a page.  

“I Love You (Yes I Do)" is a song that offers appropriate ways to show affection with different parts of the body (ie: “With my hands, I’ll draw for you. With my hands I’ll write to you. With my hands I’ll build for you because I love you.”) Teachers will sing this song to sensory-seekers who are learning to keep their distance. Parents will enjoy singing this song to children they love and acting out the motions.

 This album is infused with a growth mindset. “It’s a New Start” teaches the idea of goal setting for a new year - but more importantly, that every day or every moment is the chance to start again. And “Every Day I Grow” encourages children to learn, grow, and give. (“That’s how I live. I give every day.”) “Cause I’m Free” encourages kindness and generosity - not because we have to be kind - but because we are free to and those are the choices we want to make. “Our Classroom is Peaceful” is about being peaceful with our things, each other, and ourselves.

 The title track, “Oh Friends We Love You,” is a song to sing when your child needs extra love—feel free to insert their name instead of  “friends.” This is a great song for classroom teachers to sing at circle time, and with your child’s name, it becomes an ideal bedtime song for parents. It is sung in English, French, and Spanish.

We all want our children to be kind and caring. These songs will help instill values of gratitude, kindness, integrity, and love. They will be songs you sing to your children in “teachable moments.” More importantly, they will be songs your children sing to you. 

Browse the bonuses (while supplies last): mugs, stickers, limited membership to an online portal containing over 100 songs with videos and downloadable song sheets, or an original song written just for you! Find out more and choose your bonuses below.

Keep singing,

Risa

About Risa Beth Cohen

Risa Beth Cohen, M.S.Ed. is an educator, singer/songwriter, and storyteller. She works with people of all ages and abilities, leading music circles and storytelling workshops. As the Founder and Creative Director of Sing into Reading, Risa is passionate about teaching literacy through music and movement. Risa holds a B.F.A. in acting from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and an M.S.Ed. in Early Childhood/ Elementary Education from Bank Street College.

In addition to teaching children, Risa is a sought-after speaker at edu-events of all sorts. She frequently presents and performs for children, educators, and families at conferences, schools, libraries, and museums. Risa has performed nationwide, and internationally in Egypt, Australia, England, and South Korea. Risa and her program, Sing into Reading, have been featured on WTOL Channel 11, NBC Channel 24, 13abc, and in the Toledo Blade.

Risa has been called a literacy teacher “in disguise.” Her students think they just make music and have fun – and they do! Risa writes songs for young listeners that make them feel loved. She encourages children to be their best selves. "Oh Friends We Love You" is her debut album.

Oh Friends We Love You is available on Bandcamp.