Future Hits has released their second album, Today is Forever/Hoy es para Siempre for Spanish- and English-speaking listeners ages 5 to 10. Designed for kids, families, and even teachers, each song on the album is performed once in English and once in Spanish to welcome those who speak both languages, as well as anyone either learning or interested in learning a new language.
Matt Baron, the group’s founder and lead singer, is an indie musician and Chicago Public Schools teacher who believes there’s a special magic in teaching through music. For that reason, Today is Forever/Hoy es para Siempre‘s songs are all steeped in Common Core standards and social/emotional learning. When listeners hear the songs for the first time, they’re going to fall in love with melodic fluting, the guitars strumming, and Baron’s mellow voice and catchy lyrics, and what they won’t notice at first is that they’re actually doing a little learning, too.
For example, in the song “Shell on the Shelf” or “Una Concha en la Mesa,” Baron sings about finding a shell and then wondering where it came from, but what kids don’t know is that they’re learning about the different approaches involved in making and keeping friends. They also learn about sharing in the last lines of the song which say, “I’ll give it to you someday/I’ll give it to you.”
Aside from the educational component, the songs are super fun to just jam out to no matter which language you’re listening to them in, and I love that I’m able to relate to each of the band’s songs. Whether Baron is singing about the feeling of not wanting to get out of bed on a stormy morning or the struggle of wanting a pet so, so badly that you’ll do whatever it takes to have one, there is a wonderful comfort in his lyrics, because you just know—this guy gets me.
In addition to the beautiful CD, activities, differentiated assessments, and lesson plans were also developed to enhance the meaning of each song. The music and materials can be used inside or outsides of a school to enrich and accommodate anyone’s learning and life experience! Today is Forever/Hoy es para Siempre is available online at Amazon.com, iTunes, and local retailers in Chicago. Happy listening!
