Oh we’re going, oh we’re going to the beach today,
It’s finally time to be on our way.
I can’t wait to play in the water
Splashing like a silly, old otter.

It’s a long, long trip and we’re almost there,
The sea breeze is starting to blow through my hair,
Once we park the car it’s still a long way to go,
And the sand is so hot on my toes.

Ouch, ouch, ouch, it’s burning my feet,
Slip my sandles on, oh that feels sweet,
We’ve got to walk but we’re almost there,
How I love, the salty, sea air.

Oh we’re standing on the top of a dune hill,
Looking down at the waves, how they sparkle and thrill.
Now I’m running I can’t wait anymore,
We’re finally here, at the sea shore.
We’re finally here, at the sea shore!

This song is available on Joanie Calem's Dancing Through the Seasons

     This CD includes 19 tracks, which takes a musical trip through the four seasons of the year. Twelve of the CD's songs are original, and seven are traditional folk songs with new lyrics.
All the songs have been "kid-tested" with children from ages 6 months to 8 years. The songs encourage children to sing, dance, and pretend. This CD is Joanie's solo performance, with Joanie singing all vocals, playing guitar, xylophone, and percussion instruments.

Joanie Calem

I am a musician, singer/songwriter and teacher. I grew up in a family that loved to sing. Long car-trips were filled with hours of singing of old folk, union, civil -rights and peace songs. As a teenager, I went overseas for a year abroad, and 22 years later, moved back to the United States! During that extended “year,” I learned to sing Israeli folk songs, and dance to Palestinian drums and Egyptian violins.

When I began teaching music, I realized that asking children to sit still went against their natural inclination to move. I discovered children learn and appreciate the music better when they are allowed to move.

When my children were born, I realized that before children can sing, they dance, moving their whole bodies, with eyes shining the lyrics instead of singing them! This collection of songs is dedicated to the hundreds of children who have danced their way through the seasons with me over the past number of years!

A special thanks to my husband and children………who put up with my glazed eyes and guitar and piano pounding when I am hatching a new song in my head!