Three Kind Mice. Baa Baa Bright Sheep. Ring Around Sweet Roses.
We’re all familiar with the classic nursery rhymes that have been around for years and offer nostalgic appeal, but Pam Gittleman thought it was time to put a new spin on them. “They’ve been a standard part of early childhood for their memorability and musicality, their whimsical characters and rhyming benefits, but I noticed fewer kids were familiar with them in recent years and discovered that millennial parents and caregivers were avoiding them due to their outdated, dark, inappropriate and, in some cases, downright cringeworthy content,” says Gittleman, a Chappaqua resident and preschool music teacher who developed Nursery Rhymes for Kinder Times,™ a collection of updated children’s rhymes with music that nurture kindness, empathy, and gratitude.
Gittleman kept the characters and rhyme schemes but re-crafted new storylines. “Many teachers and parents had no desire to sing about Three Blind Mice whose tails get cut off by a carving knife or Baa Baa Black Sheep who has a master and a dame,” she says. “I saw an opportunity to leverage the inherent appeal of those rhymes to convey socially responsible messaging that would appeal and be appropriate to today’s young parents/teachers/caregivers and the children they love.” In Three Kind Mice, the mice help each other get the cheese, and when Humpty Dumpty falls down, his friends help him up and put on a Band-Aid.
Raffi, the famous children’s composer/performer, and his collaborator, Lindsay Munroe, released an album featuring 15 of Gittleman’s rhymes. “It was a dream come true,” she says. “I knew my desire to have the updated rhymes nurture kindness, empathy and gratitude dovetailed with Raffi’s Foundation for Child Honouring that includes principles focused on emotional intelligence, conscious parenting, and respectful love.
“Having him record my rhymes seemed like the perfect way to create synergy with what he stands for and to provide a vehicle for him and Lindsay to continue on their music-making trajectory in support of promoting kindness for all.” Raffi mainly uses a ukulele but also incorporates the harp, clarinets, violins, bassoon, and a trumpet. “Those choices create a light, airy feel to the music that supports the whimsy and enchantment of the stories and characters.”
Growing up in a musical family playing piano, guitar and flute, coupled with a 20-year career as a preschool music teacher honed Gittleman’s creative and educational skills. But it was when she participated in Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative in 2020-2021, which allowed her to take courses at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, that she deepened her knowledge of early childhood education, especially regarding social and emotional learning (SEL).
“Achievement, competition, and performance tend to be valued and rewarded more than kindness, caring and compassion,” says Gittleman, noting a ‘caring deficit’ in society. “The foundation for building soft skills, such as teamwork, collaboration, and empathy, starts with the right messaging and teaching of those skills in childhood. I wanted to create something that could be paired with research-based SEL tools but could be cheaply and easily integrated into daily routines in school and in homes that would help build and reinforce emotional intelligence.”
Believing SEL tends to get shortchanged in school, Gittleman’s mission is to help make the early childhood education landscape more equitable. “There’s a wealth of research on how much growth and development occurs in the first five years of life. What and how we teach our children during that time impacts their cognitive, social, emotional, and academic well-being for years to come,” she explains.
“Quality early childhood education is elusive for many, particularly for underserved families who don’t have the knowledge and/or socioeconomic capital to access programs built on evidence-based early childhood practices.” Gittleman doesn’t expect the rhymes to be life changing, but she hopes her memorable, easy content will create an opportunity for teaching SEL skills, nurturing positive relationships, and promoting kindness, empathy, and gratitude.
In the future, Gittleman hopes to publish a book of the rhymes and have her work available to schools and families. “It’s always been my intention for Nursery Rhymes for Kinder Times™ to provide a multi-modal experience for children and the adults who love them using illustrations, story and music,” she says. “I hope to continue to provide easy and fun ways for adults and the preschoolers they love to build relationships on a foundation of kindness.”
Three Kind Mice
Trad., Adapted by Pam Gittleman & Raffi
© 2022 Homeland Publishing
Three kind mice (three kind mice)
See how they run (see how they run)
They help each other to get some cheese
Asking nicely by saying “please”
Sharing with friends and families
Three kind mice
Three kind mice (three kind mice)
See how they play (see how they play)
They share their books and share their toys
They’re kind to animals, girls, and boys
When they’re happy they make some noise
Three kind mice
Jack And Jill
Trad., adapted by Pam Gittleman & Raffi
© 2022 Homeland Publishing
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down and began to frown
‘Til Jill helped him feel better
Giggling they did laugh and play
And filled the pail with water
They took turns to carry it back
Helping one another
Rock-A-Bye Baby
Trad., adapted by Pam Gittleman & Raffi
© 2022 Homeland Publishing
Rock-a-bye baby on the tree top
When the wind blows the cradle will rock
When the branch bends, brother peeks in
And says Hi to baby with love and a grin
Rock-a-bye baby on the tree top
When the wind blows the cradle will rock
When the branch swings, sister will tell
A sweet bedtime story, to help you sleep well
To learn more, visit forkindertimes.com. It includes videos and educational resources for many of the rhymes, as well as information about the Raffi album. The album is available on all major music platforms and on Raffi’s website: raffinews.com/store/childrens-music/nursery-rhymes-for-kinder-times/
Linda Zhang was a determined young woman with a passion to save the world. She lived the statement – “be that one person” – knowing the power of one’s voice and actions to enact environmental change. Through her zero waste lifestyle, her influential writing, and insightful YouTube videos on sustainability, Linda inspired others to join her in protecting and preserving the planet for future generations. 
To strengthen the connection between Linda’s talent in writing and commitment to the environment, the first inaugural Linda J. Zhang Award for Writing Achievement was presented this summer to Horace Greeley High School senior Erica Dunne. “Linda was very creative, and we encouraged and supported her writing,” said her parents, noting Linda was a gifted writer, an honor student at the Hoff Barthelson music school, and was the recipient of numerous honors and regional and national awards for her writing, including a Scholastic gold medal in poetry in 2018 and a Claudia Ann Seaman Award for Fiction in 2019. 
If you ever found yourself lost in the wilderness, would you know what to do? The natural environment is a complex place and it takes knowledge, confidence, and first-hand experience to survive.
Overall the classes encourage participants to expand their world. “I try my best to get people to go outside of their comfort zone, to get dirty, hands-on, to ask lots of questions and be involved in the process,” he said. “I try to create the feeling of community, which I think is one the most essential parts of life.”
The group welcomes any age at any skill level. All that’s required is an interest in some form of needlework, such as knitting, quilting, crocheting, and weaving. The Knitting Circle began six years ago when a Westchester County resident posted a thread on Ravelry, a popular social media site for crafters, seeking fellow knitters interested in forming a group near Pleasantville. What began as a handful of women meeting at a local coffee shop now averages 60 members, ranging in ages from 20 to over 45. They meet every Wednesday at the Pleasantville Library in Pleasantville and every Monday and Thursday at the North Castle Public Library in Armonk. Suzanne credits Linda Hellisum, a charter member, for keeping the group flourishing. “She spent many Wednesday afternoons knitting by herself at the Black Cow in Pleasantville. It took several months for people to make the commitment to the group, but once that happened, we quickly outgrew the coffee shop. We went from meeting twice per month to weekly meetings, and have been meeting three times per week for the past two years,” explains Suzanne. 
Art brings people together, and The Knitting Circle is a gathering where members feel comfortable being themselves while sharing ideas and exploring new techniques. “We keep the conversation light and pleasant. Knitting in a group allows us to work on our own knitting and offer inspiration for each other. We teach each other what we know,” she says. “For a beginner, this is a terrific way to build skills and get inspiration in a more personal and intimate way than watching YouTube videos or reading craft blogs. For the person teaching the skill, it’s empowering to see someone benefit from sharing the skills that you have to offer.” 
“When you sit around the table and see what others are turning out it’s easy to tackle a skill you don’t have experience with. If you get stuck there are people to help. People who did that last week and it came out great. Or, you can teach someone who just decided to learn to try a simple cable or more complex stitch and watch the sense of accomplishment when they create something they thought was way beyond their ability,” she says.
Field trips to local events in the Hudson Valley are an added bonus. The group recently attended the Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York and six knitters are planning a trip to the Shetland Islands. During the summer, Suzanne organized six Yarn Crawls to over 25 local yarn shops in CT, NJ, and the Hudson Valley. “They’re meant to be fun and educational,” she says. Additionally, some of the members contribute their knitted projects to charitable organizations such as Project Linus. 
Felicia mentions the popular trends are embellished yarns in addition to hand-dyed and speckled yarns used for ponchos, ruanas, shawls, and cowl head scarves. She notes knitters are moving away from basic scarves and blankets. “They’re working with various stitches on shawls, ponchos, and loose-fitting sweaters in luxurious fibers,” says Felicia. “If they’re knitting a blanket, it’s not ordinary. They’re working in multi-colors, stripes or working with exaggerated super chunky yarn.” 
Knitting offers immeasurable benefits to its paticipants. “It’s an affordable hobby that builds self-esteem. Improved health, social inclusion, networking, and friendship are just some of the reasons we get together as often as we do,” says Suzanne. “I really value the friendships I’ve made because of these knitting groups.”