Song, Heritage, and Bambini

[browngirl]

So, I sing to my small redheaded roommates a lot. In general little children like being sung to, and both of these particular children are very musical (J sings quite beautifully already).

I often sing while staring into a gaping baby maw trying to soothe an angry child, so I sing whatever comes first to mind, which is usually one of the hymns I learned when I was Joshua's age or a bit older. I feel a little guilty about this, since their parents are raising them as Jewish, so I figured I should learn some other songs to have in my mental queue when trying to calm a hollering baby.

I could certainly look up some songs from Hanukkah and beyond, but I wanted people's perspectives on this (what should I do, what should I not do, etc), so I thought I'd post something.

Comments

[jenny_evergreen]

I make stuff up. I also alter the lyrics and use melodies that are familiar and easy (in my case, often Chrismas songs).
As a parent, I'm not wild about extra exposure to already dominant paradigms I don't agree with, but I very actively and seriously take intentions into consideration and will tolerate quite a bit from people I love who have good intentions. :)
You, being actually a good singer, could probably make up WAAAAY better stuff than I do. (Although sometimes just "go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep little one" is all one can manage!)