Okay so I’ll admit I’ve lived in Michigan my whole life and I still cannot stand freezing cold. Mind you I do get the kids outside for a bit as long as it’s not too bad to play. However if I can avoid being outside for a long period of time when it’s really cold I will.

Now the other downside is that the cold, and sometimes lack of sun, makes me just want to hibernate like a lot of animals do this time of year. Of course that then would lead to me becoming as big and/or as grumpy as a bear.

So an alternative is to bring some physical activity and fun times indoors — especially when the kids still need to get their energy out but even they are only happy with being outside so long to play when it’s dropped to certain temperatures.

It’s taken a bit of time and some ideas from other sources (such as our great children's librarian and the library's music that we borrowed to get a feel for what songs we really liked), but we have a music set that is primarily used for our music and dance time. Or if you have boys who may not like the word "dance," I’ve also called it "music and move it" time.

We do occasionally use other songs or CDs, but these are the ones we've found that we enjoy and use the most.

Having fun dancing!

Melissa Boehling | Contributor

Shake Our Sillies Out - There are two variations on this. One is by Raffi; this is the one our library uses and is great. There's also a version by the Wiggles. We currently use the version by the Wiggles, but I like the Raffi version better. This song was discovered from our story time adventures at the library. You can make it even more fun by using shakers along to the song. At the end of this post I'll list a couple of ways to make shakers for the kids.

Bop Til You Drop - This song can be found on the Kids In Action CD. Another fun add-in for this, again picked up from our great librarian, is to use scarves to move along to this music using the tempo and directions to move the scarf.

Bear Hunt - This song can be found on the Kids In Action CD. It's very interactive, and the kids love all the pretending.

Beanie Bag Dance - This song can be found on the Kids In Action CD. Of course you have to use Beanie bags with this one; a variation we've used at home is using Beanie Baby animals, which are just as soft, and the kids love picking out an animal. This is another song we picked up from the library's story time.

Round & Round We Go - This song can be found on the It's Toddler Time CD. It’s a short but nice song that teaches great listening skills without the kids necessarily realizing it.

The Hokey Pokey - A classic song that just can't be left out. It is also on the It's Toddler Time CD, but I imagine you can find many variations on many kid's CDs. I remember doing this as a child at family weddings. It's just a great song and makes you smile, and the kids love it. It also helps teach them left from right.

If You're Happy and You Know - Another classic song that just can't be left out. Again,it can be found on the It's Toddler Time CD.

This is our main list. It doesn't take too long to get through — approximately 20 minutes or so. If the kids still are up for moving and grooving, then I will pull out the Under the Shady Tree CD by Laurie Berkner. The kids really love the song, "I'm Gonna Catch You." It is one of the few times the kids are allowed to run in the house. We also made up a fun little dance to the song "Drive My Car."

Additionally, the kids enjoy the Alvin and the Chipmunks CDs for free dancing around the living room. This came up as the movies came out the past few years or so.

The library is a great resource from which to borrow music CDs. There are some that were cute and great for background music while playing but not so much for actual interaction and moving to. So we borrow a CD here and there, listen to it and see where it fits better or if the kids seem to enjoy it at all. We also leave the kid station on our satellite subscriber on; that way there is background noise but not cartoons/TV running all day.

For the "Shake Your Sillies Out" song, you can make shakers out of either empty baby food jars or old medication bottles. Make sure to clean them well. The baby food jars require some extra caution with the glass. Just fill either one with anything that will help make noise, such as rice, beans, buttons, popcorn seeds or pennies. Be sure that the jars or bottles are tightly closed. To be extra safe, you can glue them shut around the lids and/or put colorful electrical or other tight sealant type tape around the lid.

If you have questions about these songs and/or other ideas or would like to sure your own music time songs, please share them below. In the meantime, get out there and move it with your little (or even big) ones. You can even dance by yourself just to bring yourself out of the winter blahs. I dare you to try to stay in a blah mood after doing the hokey pokey!

Melissa Boehling is a mother of two, owner and primary care provider for Starry Night Child Care, IT consultant and writes about crafts and projects for children.