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Belonging at Home

At Home Activities for 5 to 7 Year Olds | 8 to 10 Year Olds |11 to 12 Year Olds

 

Teaching Empathy Institute’s School of Belonging:at Home resource for caregivers and children seeks to replicate the experiences I had with the songs I listened to when I was growing up. Instead of the traditional songs that I experienced, I have included songs that I have written and shared with thousands of children in schools as part of lessons on friendship, wanting to belong, wanting to be listened to, and being a supportive and caring friend to others. If the words to a song are part of a shared experience between a parent or guardian and a child, then that experience can be recaptured time and again by listening to the song or singing it with other family members and friends.

 

Belonging at Home is set up to help you and your children have a meaningful and shared experience in which you each have a chance to talk and be listened to. The doorway into this sharing is the music you and your child listen to along with the ideas for conversation about the topics the songs present. I have been teaching children in schools and conducting workshops with parents in communities for over thirty-five years. As a parent myself, I know how hard it can be sometimes to sit and listen to our children for a focused period of time. But I also know how important it is to understand what it is they are going through in school and with their teachers, their friends, and their classmates.

 

I hope you enjoy the music,

 

David Levine, Director
Teaching Empathy Institute
Stone Ridge, New York

Teaching Empathy Institute (TEI)

is proud to be delivering a unique approach to social and emotional learning that is focused on building relationships of belonging. Since 2016, TEI has been working in the Kingston City School District in New York with teachers, students and parents, helping them to experience what it feels like to be a valued member of a school, classroom or home of belonging.

At Home Activities

At Home Activities

At Home Activities

Creating a Home of Belonging with 5-to 7-Year-Olds

In my work with 5- to 7-year-olds, my experience is that they love to sing about friendship and the fun things they get to do with their friends. The following songs and activities focus on friendship, doing things together with friends and family, special places, special memories, and communicating what we need.

Songs & Activities

The following songs were recorded between 1989 and 2020. All songs are written by David Levine (Teaching Empathy Press) unless otherwise indicated. Thank you to all the amazing musicians who have contributed to this collection.

Darling Child

Activity

After listening to the song Darling Child, talk about the special times of day that you and your child share, happy memories, and/or your favorite songs to sing together.

 

Musicians: David Levine guitar and vocals; Jay Ungar, fiddle; Molly Mason, bass and vocals; Ruth Ungar Merenda, vocals.

Friendship is Coming

Activity

After listening to the song Friendship Is Coming, talk about what you each look for in a friend. For example, someone who listens to me, makes me laugh, or is always there when I need them to help me.

 

Traditional arrangement: David Levine
Musicians: David Levine, guitar and vocals; Debbie Lan, vocals; Dean Jones, vocals, drums, keyboards; John Hughes, vocals and bass

Three Special Words

Activity

After listening to the song Three Special Words, talk about the day your child was born: the time of day, how tiny they were, what they looked like. If possible, find a baby picture to show.

 

Musicians: Molly Mason, vocals, guitar, and bass; Jay Ungar, fiddle.

Lift Me Up, Don't Put Me Down

Activity

After listening to the song Lift Me Up, Don’t Put Me Down, ask your child what they need from others to lift them up when they are feeling down. Share what you need as well. Also, talk about what their favorite time of day is in school and why.

 

Musicians: David Levine, guitar and vocals; Dean Jones, vocals and keyboards; Mark Murphy, bass.

Things Are Beautiful

Activity

After listening to the song Things Are Beautiful, have your child draw a picture of your family. You draw one, too. Share with each other and post your drawings prominently in your home.

 

Musicians: David Levine, guitar and vocals; Molly Mason, bass and vocals; Jay Ungar, fiddle and mandolin; Ruth Ungar Merenda, vocals.

I Will Be Your Friend

Activity

After listening to the song I Will Be Your Friend talk about your child’s closest friend, what they like to do together, and how it feels to have a friend. Have your child draw a picture of the two of them doing something together.


Musicians: David Levine, guitar and vocals; Molly Mason, bass and vocals; Jay Ungar, mandolin and vocals.

I Feel Happy

Activity

Listen to the song I Feel Happy. Help your child express what they need by using “I feel . . .” at the beginning of a sentence. Instead of saying, “You made me mad,” they can say, “I feel mad when you . . .”  This little change in communication provides an opportunity to work things out rather than getting into arguments.


Musicians: David Levine, vocals, guitar, and fiddle; Dean Jones, vocals, party chatter, bass, keyboards, and drums.

A Quiet Place

Activity

After listening to the song A Quiet Place, talk with your child about a special quiet place where they love to go. This could be a room inside your home, a place outside, or somewhere or someone you visit. You share a quiet place too. Each of you draw a picture of your quiet place and hang it in your home, making the point that you can imagine yourself in that place whenever you want.


Musicians: David Levine, vocals and guitar; Dean Jones, keyboards and drums; Mark Murphy, bass.

Stop and Think

Activity

After listening to the song Stop and Think, practice breathing with your child. Talk about times at home, work, or school when it would be helpful to stop, think, and breathe.

Musicians: David Levine, guitar and vocals; Dean Jones, bass, drums, and vocals; Jodi Palinkas, vocals.

Flying High

Activity

After listening to the song Flying High, teach your child something new and work on it together. Afterward, ask them how it feels to learn something new.

Musicians: Molly Mason, vocals and bass; David Levine, vocals and guitar; Jay Ungar, fiddle and mandolin.

Jessie's Lullaby

Activity

After listening to Jessie’s Lullaby, and read a favorite bedtime story together.

Musicians: David Levine, guitar and vocals; Molly Mason, bass vocals; Jay Ungar, mandolin; Ruth Ungar Merenda, vocals.

Creating a Home of Belonging with 8-to 10-Year-Olds

In my work with 8-to 10-year-olds, my experience is that this is the time in their lives when the reality of how important it is to fit in begins to set in. The songs and activities that follow focus on how to make and keep friends and how to make thoughtful choices toward others. I also present the message that each of them has a special gift or talent to share with others; all they need is the chance to be listened to and celebrated for who they are.

Songs & Activities

The following songs were recorded between 1989 and 2020. All songs are written by David Levine (Teaching Empathy Press) unless otherwise indicated. Thank you to all the amazing musicians who have contributed to this collection.

Friendship Is Coming

Activity

After listening to the song Friendship Is Coming, talk about what you and your child each look for in a friend. For example, someone who listens to me, makes me laugh, or is always there when I need them to help me.

 

Traditional, arrangement: David Levine
Musicians: David Levine, guitar and vocals; Debbie Lan, vocals; Dean Jones, vocals, drums, and keyboards; John Hughes, vocals and bass.

Howard Gray

Activity

After listening to Howard Gray, ask your child why Howard was treated the way he was.  Make sure to share your ideas as well, including memories from your childhood.  Let the conversation unfold as you try to understand what Howard must have felt.  Ask your child what they do in school for other children who are being treated unfairly by their classmates.

 

Howard Gray ©1992 Lee Domann, Shuretone Music (BMI).
Musicians: David Levine, Vocals and guitar; Dean Jones keyboards, percussion, electric guitar;  Mark Murphy, Bass.

A Typical Day

Activity

After listening to the introduction and the song A Typical Day, ask your child why clothes or shoes are so important to them. You can also talk about the word typical and how it means regular or doing something without thinking. If something is typical, it’s easy not even to notice it. Ask your child if they ever do something just because others are doing it or because it’s the cool thing to do.

 

Musicians: David Levine, vocals and guitar; Dean Jones, drums, keyboards, and vocals.

Let Me In

Activity

After listening to the song Let Me In, talk about what if feels like to be left out of a group. Both of you share times in your life when you’ve known someone who was feeling alone, and you reached and helped them. Who was it? What did you notice? What did you do?

 

Musicians: David Levine, vocals and guitar.

Can You Hear Me?

Activity

After listening to Can You Hear Me?, talk about how important it is to listen to your child and for them to listen to you. You may want to make a family plan so that each family member gets a turn to tell the story of their day while the others listen and ask questions.

 

Musicians: David Levine, vocals, and guitar; Dean Jones, drums; Mark Murphy, bass.

Mrs. Lopez I’ll never forget you

Activity

After listening to the song Mrs. Lopez, I’ll Never Forget You, have your child talk about their teacher at school. What happens at school and what does your child like about it? You can also share about a favorite teacher whom you remember.

Musicians: David Levine, vocals and guitar; Dean Jones, piano; Mark Murphy, bass.

A Quiet Place

Activity

After listening to the song A Quiet Place, talk with your child about a special quiet place where they love to go. This could be a room inside your home, a place outside, or somewhere or someone you visit. You share too. Each of you draw a picture of your quiet place and hang it in your home, making the point that you can imagine yourself in that place whenever you want.


Musicians: David Levine, vocals, and guitar; Dean Jones, keyboards, and drums; Mark Murphy, bass.

Freedom/Friendship

Activity

After listening to the song Freedom/Friendship, ask your child what freedom means and how it feels when their friends accept them for who they are.

Traditional arrangement: David Levine
Musicians: David Levine, vocals and guitar; Dean Jones, vocals, keyboards, and drums; Debbie Lan, vocals; John Hughes, bass and vocals.

Creating a Home of Belonging with 11- to 12-Year-Olds

In my work with 11- to 12-year-olds, I focus entirely on what I call “social drama” or what happens when they are with a large number of their peers inside and outside of school. The following songs tell stories of having a close friend, wanting to fit in, and making mistakes by saying the wrong thing to a close friend. Middle school is not always an easy time socially, but by listening to the music and having conversations about the songs together, children will be better equipped to navigate this challenging social and emotional time successfully.

Songs & Activities

These songs were recorded between 1989 and 2020. All songs are written by David Levine (Teaching Empathy Press) unless otherwise indicated. Thank you to all the amazing musicians who have contributed to this collection.

I Lost A Friend

Activity

After listening to the song I Lost A Friend, talk about what happened between the two friends. Share times you’ve had disagreements with someone close to you (including your own children).  Ask your child what could be done so the two characters in the song can become friends again.

 

Musicians: David Levine, vocals, and guitar; Marianne Tasick, vocals; Dean Jones bass, keyboards, and percussion.

Let Me In

Activity

After listening to the song Let Me In, together talk about why it is so hard for new kids in school to make friends. If you were ever the new kid, make sure to share what your experience was like.

 

Musicians: David Levine, vocals and guitar; Jay Ungar, fiddle; Molly Mason, bass.

Howard Gray

Activity

After listening to the song Howard Gray, ask your child why Lee (the songwriter) chose not to be Howard’s friend. Ask further if this sort of thing happens in school and, if it does, Why do people treat other people this way?

Howard Gray ©1992 Lee Domann, Shuretone Music (BMI).
Musicians: David Levine, vocals, and guitar; Dean Jones, keyboards, percussion, and electric guitar;  Mark Murphy, bass.

What Did I Do Wrong?

Activity

After listening to the song What Did I Do Wrong?, talk about what it feels like to be left out of things in school. Make sure to explore what a person can do for another who is feeling left out.

Musicians: David Levine, vocals, and guitar; Dean Jones, vocals, keyboards, bass, and percussion.

What Do You See?

Activity

After listening to the song What Do You See?, ask what it means to “read between the lines.” Also ask what it takes to really understand another person—what they need, what they think, and what they feel.

Musicians: David Levine, guitar, and vocals; Jay Ungar, fiddle; Molly Mason, bass; Gary Burke, percussion; Fooch Fischetti, pedal steel guitar.

Mrs. Lopez I’ll Never Forget You

Activity

After listening to the song Mrs. Lopez, I’ll Never Forget You, ask your child who one of their favorite teachers is and why. You talk about a teacher from your childhood.

Musicians: David Levine, vocals, and guitar; Dean Jones, piano; Mark Murphy, bass.

A Quiet Place

Activity

After listening to the song A Quiet Place, talk about times when it can help to stop, get quiet and focus on what is going on before making any decisions.

Musicians: David Levine, vocals, and guitar; Dean Jones, percussion, and keyboards; Mark Murphy, bass.

Bridges

Activity

After listening to the song Bridges, talk about what it means to “build bridges” with others and how you and your family can build bridges with other people in your life.

 

Bridges  by Bill Staines © 1983 by Mineral River Music (BMI).
Musicians: David Levine, vocals, and guitar; Molly Mason, bass, and vocals;  Jay Ungar, fiddle, and mandolin.