"Heroes and Angels"

Silly Bus wrote and produced "Heroes and Angels" in support of Connor's Heroes Foundation. Heroes and Angels discusses childhood cancer, the unique issues associated therewith and the heroes dedicated to helping children with cancer and their families. Heroes and Angels is a song of awareness, strength and understanding. It is Silly Bus' way of helping Connor's Heroes turn fear into hope.

www.sillybus.net
www.connorsheroes.org

“Heroes and Angels”
© 2009 Silly Bus

Hey kid, don’t you look so down
Turn your fear into hope
Hey kid, I know that you are scared
But it’s OK because I’m right here

You won’t fight this alone
Your friends and family care

It’s all right
Don’t be afraid
Heroes and angels sing
Let’s find a cure

Hey kid, I know you miss your friend
That old seesaw is just not fun without him
Don’t worry, he’ll be back again
To run and play – to be a kid

He won’t fight this alone
His friends and family care

We are all heroes
Though sometimes hidden deep inside
Yes, we are all heroes
If we only try

Silly Bus

© 2007 Silly Bus

www.sillybus.net

Discovering and Maximizing the Benefits of Children’s Music

Discovering and Maximizing the Benefits of Children’s Music

Numerous articles have been written about the positive effects of music on early childhood development. Known for promoting succinct communication, enhancing comprehension and encouraging learning, music is regarded as an essential teaching tool. The use of music for educational purposes, however, should not be limited to the classroom.

Children’s music offers a unique opportunity for parents to support their child’s development. Content specific children’s music may be used to teach and reinforce traditional preschool and elementary school material. Such music also may be used to instill healthy eating and living habits. Parents should carefully select children’s music containing substantive, educational messages to maximize their child’s learning potential.

Children’s music also offers a unique opportunity for parents to enhance their child’s communications skills. Kids learn by mimicking sounds and internalizing messages. Parents should expose their children to music containing correctly pronounced words, speech patterns and sentence structure to ensure proper development.

To take advantage of these benefits, parents should not only select the proper music to play, but also determine the best times to play it. Children benefit from consistency and repetition, so setting a music routine is essential. A schedule could include playing music on the way to school, during playtime and prior to going to bed. The key is to turn recess and otherwise mundane, daily events, such as riding to school, into educational experiences.

Opportunities to discover, purchase and use music for educational purposes have never been so great. The prevalence of CD and MP3 players and the ability to find just about anything on the internet make this the perfect time for adults to introduce educational children’s music into a child’s daily routine. Whether a parent, a grandparent or a family friend, you could make a tremendous impact on a child’s life simply by taking the time to share the music.

www.sillybus.net

Branding Through Educational Media

Branding Through Educational Media

As consumers we are drawn to familiar brands that consistently provide great products and services. Brand loyalty is sometimes inherited from our parents (i.e., Do you prefer Pepsi or Coca Cola?). It is also earned through a company’s dedication to quality.

Even the best products and services, though, can go unnoticed or be forgotten. Competition is fierce, and no matter what a company’s line of business, there is almost certainly a comparable provider in the market. To raise awareness and to stay fresh in consumer minds, companies should break the mold and think of creative ways to make a lasting, meaningful impression. Branding through educational media offers just that.

Educational media, as used in this article, refers to kids songs and kids videos containing substantive messages designed to teach children subjects like math, science, fitness and green living. One way for companies to make an impact, raise brand awareness and grow goodwill is to supplement the traditional “pushing” of products with educational media. Educational media through kids songs and kids videos enables companies to use radio, television and bandwidth for the greater good.

By providing consumers and their children with useful and sometimes otherwise unavailable information in fun, entertaining kids songs and kids videos, a company enriches its brand in a number of ways. First, the company shows its engagement in the community and desire to be more than just a product or service provider. Second, the company builds its goodwill with current and future customers by using its resources to give back to the community. Third, the company shows its drive to do something meaningful for its customers. And fourth, the company gives consumers a reason to feel good about doing business with it.

Ultimately, a company wants consumers to know its name, associate good thoughts with its products or services and to remember this when opening their wallets. Commercials and traditional marketing campaigns are great, but sometimes it pays to think outside the box. Companies wishing to do something meaningful and beneficial for their community and their brand should explore educational media and all it has to offer.

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