If you’re of a certain age, what you probably retain from your elementary school music songbook is that Old MacDonald had a farm, the fact of which, for some reason, required you to cry, “E-I-E-I-O.” Also, there was a guy called John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, who musically insisted — and this part didn’t make sense — that his name was your name, too, even though John Jacob Jinglemeimer Schmidt WASN’T your name.

Today, children’s music is a vastly different and complex proposition with all sorts of possibilities and rewards. It’s become an estimable part of the entertainment industry as well as a progressively evolving educational component — and those two aspects can work in productive and symbiotic ways.

For example, on Saturday at New London’s Mitchell College, the Artists & Educators Children’s Songs Conference & Festival provides a one-two punch of purpose and entertainment.

The “conference” segment, taking place in the morning, will be geared towards educators and musicians and consists of theoretical and how-to workshops such as Music in the Classroom, The Business of Children’s Music, Teachers Making Music and Contemporary Recording Techniques.

Instructors are Chris Clouet (head of the education department at Mitchell College, a children’s music songwriter whose tunes are typically paired with children’s books and the former superintendent of the New London Public School system); Al deCant (longtime Connecticut educator known as “The Singing Principal,” with a catalog that spans musical styles and storytelling); Greg Lato (Providence-based family musician and songwriter and children’s book author); and Steve Elci (Waterford native recently inducted into the New England Music Hall of Fame for his work as a musician/songwriter in both family and adult music).

In the afternoon, those four will perform at the Children’s Songs Festival, a family-friendly, public-welcome concert that will feature familiar and original material, singalongs and other participatory elements.

The idea of a dual-purpose, day-long event came about — ideally enough — when Clouet and Elci were jamming one day.

“We were just playing; some of my songs and some of his — and Steve’s obviously more adept,” Clouet laughed. “But we were having fun and somehow, as we were talking, it came up: ‘Y’know, we could do this on a bigger scale and we might have something.’ There are a lot of teachers that are writing their own songs and wanting to take the next step but don’t know how.”

Fortuitously, Elci had recently returned from a conference sponsored by the Children’s Music Network, a nonprofit organization of teachers, performers, songwriters, radio hosts and parents who are actively engaged in the development, quality and content of children's music.

“It had me thinking how cool it would be to do something like the Network conference,” Elci said, “but I never thought about doing one at a local college till Chris brought it up. I thought it was a great idea and I said, ‘Well, I can help you down this road because I’ve learned a lot about it.’”

A hummable evolution

Children’s music began to evolve in the mid-’60s when kids’ TV icons like Captain Kangaroo and Shari Lewis elevated the form from generic song textbooks with more modern melodies and learning components. Simultaneously, established folksingers like Peter, Paul & Mary and Tom Paxton began writing material for young people.

And when “Sesame Street” hit television with music from composers Joe Raposo and Jeff Moss, there was an explosion in terms of quality and appeal. The songs were catchy but also contained educational lyrics ranging from spelling and math to history and even ethics and cultural awareness.

Shows like “Schoolhouse Rock!,” “The Muppet Show,” “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood” and “The Wiggles,” along with the films “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King” and “Aladdin” further elevated and refined the form.

In terms of solo recording and performing artists, a Canadian songwriter called Raffi appeared and became huge — the Bob Dylan of children’s music. Accordingly, the demand for children’s music artists ensured that stars like Dan Zane, Cathy Fink, the Rise and Shine Band, Dora the Explorer and many others became popular.

Sounds great and broadens the mind

The benefits of providing kids with catchy music that informs as well as entertains are massive, said Clouet.

“Neuroscience is making progress on how learning works, and we remember certain things differently through song,” he said. “Humming ‘The Alphabet Song’ is obvious, and there are lots of similar examples. But integrating more information into the music classroom is vital today. In times of crisis and sorrow — which we’re in — bringing joy into the day and using it to be culturally responsive is effective and therapeutic. The music of holiday and cultural celebrations, for instance, is fun but also teaches students about traditions they may not have been exposed to.”

Elci said the idea of using his music to connect with kids came in a moment of panic in 2007. He and his wife Cheryl had planned what they thought was an action-packed birthday party for one of their (then) young sons. When all the activities were somehow completed in about a half-hour, there was suddenly a houseful of children and parents sitting around with nothing happening.

Elci recalled, “Cheryl said, ‘Grab your guitar!’” At that point, Elci was well established as a regional rock musician/songwriter and more than capable of commanding a nightclub stage. But this was totally different. “I thought, ‘Huh? You want me to do what?’

“But I did it. I just made up songs on the fly and it turned out to be probably one of the most fun gigs I’ve ever had. It was just a chance circumstance but, whatever I was doing, it worked, and people had fun and listened.”

Career shift

It also caused Elci to embrace a career shift. He re-focused from writing adult-oriented rock and pop songs to studying children’s music, watching “The Wiggles” and absorbing the messages. He attended a Music Together retreat that taught how to interact with kids and “totally caught the vibe. I began to believe I could do this on the next level.

“I also was very influenced by Live-Aid and Farm-Aid,” Elci said. “Those events were huge and made me think music really could change the world. I still believe that. I decided I wanted to change the world through music and through the lens of a child.”

With his band Steve Elci & Friends, he’s released several albums of terrific and widely educational children’s music — “Crayons in a Box,” “Imagination Nation,” “Jump in the Puddles” and “Nutmegger” — and won numerous local, regional and national awards.

One reason Elci’s been successful is because of another revelation: What if he wrote “family music” rather than explicitly “kid music”?

“I wanted it both ways, and I was a bit selfish,” Elci said. “I still wanted to write what I thought of as quote/unquote real music and fulfill my original desires. Then I realize that I could write music that worked on two levels — music that would still appeal to parents as pop songs but that were primarily to entertain and educate kids.”

Clouet described a similar multi-level approach in a school setting. He said, “What Steve’s doing is accomplished on a performative level, and my focus as an educator is to do the work in the context of a classroom setting. Music and its effects can’t be measured like you would a math score, so we aim to provide a connection where a child feels welcome in school and experiences joy; it’s not just all work. Music is a big part of that.”

Once Clouet and Elci decided to go forward with the event, they did more research and brainstorming and came up with a format that appealed to both the target educational demographic as well as students, families and the public at large. They successfully sought funding, and sponsors of the Artists & Educators Children’s Songs Conference & Festival include the Aspiring Educators Club, the Department of Education of Mitchell College, and co-sponsors are the Alewife Cove Conservancy and Connecticut Education Association.

The goal is that this could be a yearly event. “We’re hoping for a nice turnout and reaction Saturday,” Elci said. “For our first time, I think we’ve done well. We wanted to do it while school was still in session, and we had a limited budget in terms of what we could accomplish. In the future, we’ll aim for a more diverse musical lineup and (workshop presenters) who can further broaden what we’re trying to do.”

If you go

What: Artists & Educators Children’s Songs Conference & Festival

When: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday

Where: Clarke Center, Mitchell College, 437 Pequot Ave., New London

How much: $15 morning conference includes lunch and admission to afternoon festival; free for Mitchell College teachers, students and alumni; afternoon festival is free for children, Mitchell College teachers, students and alumni, $10 adults

For more information: https://mitchell.edu/2024/03/13/childrens-songs