I am a big fan of John Denver's music. He wrote "Sunshine On My Shoulders" during the difficult times of the Vietnam War. The song served as a reminder of the good, pure things in life. We love singing the song, and we adore this book. It is a great way to celebrate friendship and the environment in both literature and music.
I owe a big THANK YOU to Lynn from Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile for writing about Sunshine on My Shoulders in a post. I had no idea the book existed. We were very happy to find it at the library.
The illustrations by Christopher Canyon perfectly convey the warm feelings of the song. The book is so beautiful. It is a pleasure to look at and sing!We made a sunshine tambourine to play while we sing the song and enjoy the illustrations.
R painted two paper plates yellow, put a handful of dried beans in the middle, and stapled in a few hand print rays. Then she shook away while we sang about sunshine. It was the perfect day to sing this song - 65 degrees and sunny in Massachusetts in December!
You probably didn't notice, but this activity began in our old house (top photo) and concluded in our new house (the rest of the photos). I'm just happy that we didn't lose the library book in the process!
5 comments:
I've never heard of this song or book.
I like your tambourine and these are great pictures too.
Neat you began in your old home and finished in your new one!
we've read that book it is cute. Your new house has so much natural light :)
cute tamborine!
I'm so glad you liked it! I should take the book out of the library again too. Lately our son loves it when I sing books to him. My grandfather always sang that song, so it has such nice memories for me. Although, to be honest, as little kids, we used to make fun of it, " you listen to that old stuff, Grandpa: 'sunshine on my shoooooooooulder, blah blah.'" Now I love it! My husband bought the sheet music and played it for me when we were dating because he knew I liked it (he's a keeper).
I've never heard about the book or the song, but I love your tamburine - so pretty. It looks like you are settling in nicely.
I love that John Denver too! I am going to look for that book. Thanks so much for the tip and the craft!
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