If you are of a certain age and live in the Manassas, Virginia area, you may remember Saffan Andolsun and Janet Graham for their math and language arts songs from the 1980s and '90s.  After retiring from careers in education, Saffan and Janet are rekindling their love of involving children in activities with music.  Kathleen Barry, former Director of The Saturday Morning at the National, wrote, "Your songs are brilliantly designed to delight the imagination, lift the spirits, and teach mathematics and grammar in a fun and festive way." Janet launched her teaching career as a high school science teacher, but quickly moved on to elementary science and then higher math.  Her husband, Saffan, taught elementary and middle school, and early in his career he discovered music as a tool to inspire children to apply facts and concepts to their thinking.  Guitar in hand, he recruited Janet to help with the lyrics, harmony and art work.  In a review of Skip Counting: Number Songs with Class, NCTM's Arithmetic Teacher reports, "(Their music) is an enjoyable musical experience; it is also mathematically and pedagogically valid." Both road tested their material in their respective classrooms, adding stories, jump rope and pat-pat activities and performing at venues including The National Theatre's Saturday Morning at The National and Wolf Trap's International Children's Festival.  The couple -- and their two children -- produced Skip Counting: Number Songs with Class, originally on vinyl, in 1984 and Tools of the Trade: Ballads of Syntax and Semantics in 1985. Currently Saffan and Janet are making visual presentations to accompany their songs and have created a YouTube Channel for public viewing.  Check out Saffan and Janet YouTube channel by clicking here.  They are also posting previously unrecorded material they have found to be effective over the years.  Stay tuned to this website for new releases and information on upcoming Manassas area shows.

Lake Ridge 1984 In Manassas Ground Central Stations

Copyright © 1984 - 2031 Saffan Andolsun & Janet Graham. All Content Rights Reserved.