Growing Up with Smithsonian Folkways

Yoto Says: Celebrate childhood with songs to dance, dream, and discover! Timeless tunes bring joy and wonder to every moment.

Celebrate the joys of being a kid with Smithsonian Folkways! The “Growing Up” card pack shares the joys of growing together by bringing adults and children on a full day of fun: checking out the animals at the zoo, playing and dancing around, then finally drifting off to sleep.

Each card features music created for children, showcasing our most iconic folk and children’s musicians (like Pete Seeger, Jean Ritchie, and Fannie Lou Hamer), and by children, featuring the unique ways children express and understand themselves and the world through song. And each is made with listeners of all ages in mind! Since its founding in 1948, Folkways has placed music by and for children at the heart of its mission to document “the people’s music.”

Bringing together new and traditional children’s folk music classics and music from diverse cultures, our “Growing Up” card pack encourages children to learn through interactive movement and develop their senses of self and community through song.