Music is a powerful tool to create atmosphere and bring joy. It is also a fun way to teach children values and help them memorize various phrases. Today I’m sharing an interview with Cheri Moon, the artist behind Snooknuk. Snooknuk’s CDs in the Once Upon a Day series, Volume I and Volume II, are two of my family’s favorites! We love the sound and, more importantly, the messages the music promotes.
To hear my kids singing about how we should try again, listen, and be patient is priceless!
Chelsea: I am so excited to share your music with my readers. My boys and I have been jamming to it every day since we received our CDs, and my husband loves it as well! We always end up dancing. What kind of style would you say your music is?
Cheri: I love hearing that you guys are just dancing away. That’s exactly what I wanted, kids to have fun while learning! And you Big Kids too 🙂 Snooknuk touches on many styles and genres. We wanted the style to be classic and timeless and the music to take you on a journey with each individual message. So the lyrics are simple but the music is fun and dynamic.
Chelsea: I was really touched by the messages included in your music, such as sharing and accepting that every person is different. What do you want listeners to take away from your songs?
Cheri: I think all the messages I sing about are the things we most want our kids to learn. So I figured let’s make those moments in our lives into a musical so it’s memorable for them. I wanted to definitely touch on basics like brushing your teeth, eating veggies, sharing but I also wanted to include deeper topics such as strangers, friendship, being afraid of monsters, patience and more. It can be difficult to talk to kids about certain things or for them to even remember what you say.
Chelsea: Do you have a favorite song from your albums? Or is there one that has been the most popular?
Cheri: One of the popular songs so far is “You Made a Potty” I think because potty training is by far one of the most difficult tasks and this song is like a celebration. It makes them dance. Also the video for the song is on Youtube and it’s FUNNY. It’s reached over a million views!
But kids also love “At Grandma’s” (it reminds them of a circus) & “Rub A Dub in my Tub.” I love “Nice to be Nice” and “Tantrum Song.” “Tantrum Song” keeps going faster and out of control then slows down sort of like a real tantrum. So I thought it was funny.
Chelsea: My boys, especially my two year old, LOVE the potty song – I actually took a video of them playing to it! But seriously all the tunes are so catchy that they totally get stuck in my head and I end up singing them all day! I love the beats. Did you write the lyrics and the melodies? Do you have a background in music?
Cheri: Yes, I’ve had Pop songs on the charts as an artist (Cheri Moon) as well as sang and written on many TV commercials. Music & Entertainment has always been my life. I came up with Snooknuk lyrics, melodies, ideas through my daily life with my own kids. And I collaborated with my friend/producer Sandy Chila who did the amazing compositions. We wanted to make the music so that parents would enjoy it too.
Chelsea: Can you tell us a little about yourself, your background, where you are from and about your kids?
Cheri: I was born in Memphis, TN but spent most of my life in NYC writing and performing. I had the privilege of working with talents like Timbaland, & Missy Elliott. When I became a mother of 3 children, OMG!! My center became their growth and happiness. I really began to enjoy engaging, singing and motivating them! Ultimately it motivates me! I want to continue to produce music, videos, shows & other products that will entertain kids and families and make childhood more magical!
Thank you so much Cheri for sharing your music with us!
To learn more about Snooknuk, visit the website and join up on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.
Enter the Giveaway
This competition is now over. Congrats to Chelsy who was the winner!
Would your family like a copy of the Once Upon a Day series, Volume I & Volume II? Simply comment with your answer to the question below to enter the giveaway competition. The most compelling or creative answer will win. The contest ends on 25 January 2014 at 9pm EST, and the winner will be mailed the CDs! This giveaway is open to residents of all countries. Please be sure to use a valid email address. The winner will be contacted to request mailing details and if we do not receive a response within 5 days, a new winner will be chosen.
Answer this question to enter the giveaway:
What is one message you would like your children to learn through music?
This post was sponsored by Snooknuk. For details about reviews and advertising on my website, visit this page.
I would truly want my children to learn the message of love. Love for God, Love for self, Love for nature and love for humanity 🙂
Oh, dear, there is SO much. Off the top of my head; you can take only one line if you want, but now I’m thinking about music and forgetting the parameters of the contest!
It’s a ladder to our soul. Each song, melody, beat, riff, can be a way to know our Beloved, to touch the mystery, to live mystery to be in the Mystery
It can transcend words and reason and go right into the heart.
It’s always accessible; a companion in solitude, in peaceful joy and united celebration
it can move you in your quiet moments
it can move a whole people at once
touch a place deep within you in your grief, curiosity, anger
music can sing your joy, move your angst, and bring you wonder
feeling something? sing it out! Move to it, let it move you.
takes you on journeys of the imagination, accompanies when you’re lost in thought
music can keep you company on a healing journey, while studying, while playing with family, playing blocks, cleaning the yard, your room, playing with your brother
Did I mention that Music can Move you?
You can Move to music?
Put on a song, and watch what happens!
you can forget yourself
remember yourself
Know yourself,
-connect to those who have left here
-connect to those who have not come here yet
It helps you to know the ocean, woods, branches, leaves, petals, rocks, stars, sun and moon, the soil, the creatures (Think Sleepin’ Bee)
teaches discipline
it develops your hearing of details, subtlety, relationship, logic
learn of our history, our traditions, who we are as a people, where we come from
there is silence in between the notes and beats
and in that between place, you can go, do and be … anything
touch the uncreated conscience of our race
That music can open our hearts and feed our souls.
So nice!
“I will be a good steward of my one and only home called earth” is the message I want my daughter to hear and learn thru songs so that she will have fun while learning basics of being environment-friendly like garbage segregation, conserving natural resources, recycling. etc.
I run a Children’s Ministry at our local church so I would love songs with values such as kindness, patience, joy, loving one another, helpfulness and other Godly virtues. If we can teach our children to love one another they will grow up and make a difference in this world where there is so much tolerance for the wrong stuff and intolerance for people who are different (culturally or racially or disabilities etc). If I win these CD’s I will use them in our classes and probably sing them non-stop!
I would like my children to learn that music can open many doors to their feelings and the feelings of others. Music has a way of removing all the “clutter” and helping you to process those inner thoughts and feelings. I guess, it would teach them mindfulness or peacefulness.
On a practical level, I would like music to teach them how to set personal boundaries- standing up for themselves, following their intuition, and telling someone no.
Ooh I would like my 3yo daughter and 7mo son to learn about feelings and how to manage them through music. Thanks for the chance to win this giveaway 🙂
One message in particular that I would like my kids to learn through music is that the easy path is usually not the best. Patience, unselfishness, obedience, respect, kindness, gratitude, compassion, and forgiveness do not typically come easily. I hope my kids will come to understand the value of continuously working on these virtues even when every fiber in their body wants to just do what’s easy. So many lyrics of popular music are filled with messages of selfishness and doing what feels good in the moment! Music is like food for the soul, which can either nourish us or fill us with garbage.
I also think it would be great to have some fun, catchy songs to teach kids about MANNERS. Then, when someone is talking with their mouth full, for example, we can break out in song as a reminder that would be more pleasant than my nagging reminders!
The one message I would like my children to learn through music is to be yourself only then are you true to others and yourself and truly happy. I never want my kids to think they should try and be like someone else or look like someone else I think these days we see so much on tv about how we should be, I would prefer my kids to listen and hear words through music you absorb them and focus on the words as you listen andalso focusing on yourself as you sing the lyrics. Thank you for a wonderful competition.
There are so many good and possible answers, but I think I’d like my son to learn that he can do anything he wants if he does the (ground)work that will make it possible.
One message that I would like my child to learn through music is freedom of expression. I love to play music on our piano or a CD player and dance or sing or both, with my two year old daughter. Her face lights up and we laugh and laugh. I never felt free to express myself through music in public – such as singing in church or dancing with friends. Having a child has changed all that! Every day we make time for music and joyfully sing and sway to the hymns at church, dance around our home or even in public when we get silly. I love exposing her to music from all decades and all genres. Music sets you free 🙂
If a person’s eyes are a window to his/her soul, then music is the train into his/her heart. Music has done so much for humanity that the list is too long to list.
I would like my children to learn that they can express themselves through their music, whether it be sadness, happiness, etc.
Also, I would like to let them know the love of Christ through music as well.
I am entering with hopes of winning for my very special 2 1/2 year old twin grandchildren. Music is already such an important part of their lives but if I could have them learn one thing from it I think it would be that it could be a “place” that they could go and learn so much about themselves, the world around them and use it as a place of inner peace.
How to serve the Lord super-effectively their whole lives down here. thank you for the entry.
I would love to pass on to children in my care, and to grandchildren, the value of being kind to and respecting others…and to help them express their feelings in socially acceptable ways.
I would like my son to learn the message of joy.