Peter Alsop‘s SONGS TO CHEW

Yecch!

    Today's 'Song To Chew' is YECCH! from my “Wha'D'Ya Wanna Do?" album.  I play this song at almost every family concert because almost veryone loves screaming "Yecch!" at the top of their lungs!  It's a 'scream-along' so you can join in with us!  It's full of make-believe and playfulness, and it's an example of how story and oral tradition grab our attention and engage us. There is an air of danger when we face unknown monsters.  When adults laugh with kids at "yecchy" stuff, kids recognize a kindred spirit.  They know I'm not going to be a 'judgmental' adult if I'm willing to sing a gross song like this, and they're more likely to listen to what I have to say. "Booger-humor" is as basic and as old as the pun and poop jokes!  The fun comes from watching 'normal' adults get 'grossed out' by mentioning snot or slime!  It's got elements of rebellion in it that appeal to those of us who doesn't always accept the family rules about 'being polite'.  We can be "gross" in defiance of the socially accepted norms and still not get in any trouble.  Kids often find themselves in overwhelming or abrasive social interactions, and they actually 'need' to embrace fantasy as a way of checking out from the usual 'family zoo' energy.  I’m Peter Alsop.  I’ll be back soon with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now! 
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

Let’s Face It!

    Today's 'Song To Chew' is LET'S FACE IT! from my “In The Hospital" album.  It addresses facial disfigurement, and all the unsettling emotions that we go through when we feel that we're different than others around us.  It's difficult emotionally, whether we're an adult or a child, to figure out how we're going to behave when others stare at us and feel uncomfortable. We have to cope with our own feelings of being left out and rejected. Maintaining a healthy, positive self-image is a lifelong process for all of us. Children born with physical "differences", or who become physically "different" are particularly vulnerable to the reactions of others.  These reactions strongly influence how we feel about ourselves. We need all the support we can get, so that we don't accept a negative self-image of ourself.  And this happens with our skin color too.  Nowadays black kids, and tan, yellow and white kids with freckles all get treated together in hospitals, and it wasn't always that way!  People's attitudes and behaviors change slowly, but they do change!
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

Inspection

    Today's 'Song To Chew' is INSPECTION.  I wrote it with Penny Pefley, one of the pediatric nurses who helped us make our “In The Hospital"album.  My buddy Bill Harley and I 'rap' this one.  Our personal privacy is challenged regularly in a hospital by doctors, nurses and assistants who want to make sure we're okay.  They even wake us up at night to make sure we're sleeping soundly!  Today's kids are taught that it's their body and they can say "No!", but this all changes in the hospital.  We can feel trapped, helpless, and angry as stranger after stranger invades our privacy.  We want to honor a child's sense of self-worth by answering their questions and making safe space for their feelings to surface.  They have a right to know what's happening to them.  Some hospitals have child-life staff who support children when parents can't be there, to be sure the child receives age-appropriate explanations for things that are done.  We never, ever tease, but enjoying a good laugh decreases stress and helps us get beyond some tough situations.  Being in a hospital becomes easier if we remember we're all going through this together in the hope of returning to good health.  I’m Peter Alsop.  I’ll be back soon with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now!
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

Juice

    Today's 'Song To Chew' is JUICE, from my “Stayin Over" album.  It's an uncomplicated song, about the complicated concepts of 'love' and 'energy'.  When we feel we’re not loved, we feel empty, and we search for any kind of 'juice' to fill us up, like booze, sex, drugs, money, food or approval from others.  But when we’re actually filled up with 'love', we don't have to go on that search.  We can pass on that love and energy we have to others.  We learn to love others from being loved.  Children act morally when they understand feelings, it's not just about 'following rules'. The best way to teach kids about feelings, is to be open about our own feelings with them.  As they gain the ability to "feel" for others, they will make decisions about how to behave, based on their own feelings and understanding of what's going on.  Our caring behaviors come from treating others, as we would like them to treat us.  (Sound familiar?). When we have "juice", we pass that "juice " along!  I’m Peter Alsop.  Sure would appreciate you telling others about this podcast, and I’ll be back soon with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now!
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

Stayin’ Over

    Today we'll 'Chew' on the title song from my STAYIN' OVER album.  Do you remember the first night you went to 'stay over' at a friend's house?  Maybe it was a camping trip with other families.  These adventures are loaded with memories and lessons we learned from our social interactions with others.  It's a big step in independence for most kids.  When we do it, we face separation from our own bed, blanket, our teddy bear, and from our parents.  Some kids are nervous about wetting our bed, or getting teased because we're afraid of the dark.  It's important to let kids know they can make their own decisions about sleeping overnight at a friend's house.  Slumber parties allow kids to take part in the creation of the "group stories" that become a part of our childhood.  We learn about friendship by spending time and sharing feelings and adventures with our friends. And having fun is great health care!  I’m Peter Alsop.  I’ll be back soon with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now!
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

Wiggle

    Today's 'Song To Chew' is WIGGLE.  It's a song about freedom!  We all “wiggle” when someone won’t let us do what we want to do.  'Being alive!" means that in one form or another, we just need to "wiggle"!  Some of us wiggle emotionally because we don't want to be 'pinned down'.  Some wiggle physically because we'll jump out of our skin if we can't get down and run around and chase the kitty cat!  And some of us do "ethical wiggling".  Politicians do it; business people, religious people too!  Legislatures make laws to eliminate as much 'wiggle-room' as they can, because when there's a lot of 'wiggle-room', there's room for mis-understandings and prevarications.  It allows 'wigglers' to "speak or act in an evasive way."  It's instructional for us grown-ups to remember what it's like being in 'kid shoes' once in a while.  This song is to remind us that, rather than get upset with a wiggly kid, we can practice having patience.  When we allow them some 'wiggle-room', we remember how important it is for us, and for those little 'inner kids' inside the big grown-ups around us.  I’m Peter Alsop.  Thanks for stopping by.  I’ll be back soon with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now!
~ Listen & subscribe to my Songs To Chew = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = be one of my patrons and support my music!
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs or downloads

The Prize

Today's 'Song To Chew' is THE PRIZE from my “Did You Walk?" album.  It's song lyrics without any music, so actually, it's a poem.  We're constantly being taught that it's important to 'come in first', to 'win the game', to 'win the race!'  Some of us do it to get approval from others.  Some think we have to do it so we can become financially independent and better able to care for ourselves and our loved ones.  To have a kinder, more sustainable way of surviving on earth, we need to learn how to be inter-dependent with one another.  That means we share resources and build awareness about our wastefulness.  It means that we help each other and share space and time together.  There are better ways to have fun, than playing a game where there's only one 'winner' and everyone else is a loser.  If we want to learn how to live a balanced life, we need to pay attention to how we feel as we go through our interactions with each other.  I’m Peter Alsop.  I’ll be back with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now!
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads
 

Sandwiches

    Today's 'Song To Chew', SANDWICHES, was written by Bob King.  One of the subjects that kids love to sing about is food!!  We'll 'chew on' ideas about kids and food and the interconnectedness of all the human things we do in our lives.  There's 'enjoyment' and 'sharing'.  There's 'mooching', which is trying to get something that someone else has, but not wanting to 'share' what we have.  'Mooching' is like a 'one way street' where everything on the road is coming in our direction, and real 'sharing' is like a two-way street where traffic goes in both directions.  We find 'anger', 'resentment', and 'bartering' in this song too, and we explore 'expectations' and 'boundary setting'.  Little songs like this can be powerful 'teaching tools' that can create great "A-ha!" moments of clarity for us.  We have to we pay attention and be willing to 'tease it out' and 'chew on it' in order to benefit from these little bits of wisdom. I’m Peter Alsop.  I’ll be back soon with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now!
~ Listen & subscribe to my Songs To Chew = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = be one of my patrons and support my music!
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs or downloads