This PJ Library playlist will bring a loving start to your child's day.

The sun comes up, the birds are chirping. Your child is starting a new day—a new adventure.

There’s a Jewish tradition to start every day with mindfulness and gratitude. One way to do this is with Modeh/Modah Ani.

The Hebrew is:

Modeh (masculine) / Modah (feminine) ani lefanecha, melech chai vekayam, shehechazarta bi nishmati bechemla. Raba emunatecha.

These words basically mean: "Thanks for another morning that I woke up as me. I'm grateful." (In Hebrew, todah means “thank you” and modeh/modah ani means “I thank.”)

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Tracks 1, 2, and 3 are sweet versions of Modah/Modeh Ani that call us to tune into singing birds, glowing sunshine, and … mooing cows?

Track 1: "Modah Ani"

Track 1 is by cantor-musician Juliet Spitzer.

Can you pretend you’re a baby bird waking up?
- How do you sound and move?

Track 2: "Modeh Ani"

Track 2 is by teacher-songwriter Rabbi Menachem Creditor.

Can you sing or say the words “Modeh Ani?”

Track 3: "Modeh Ani"

Track 3 is by cantor-musician Harold Messinger.

The singer “moos” on the word eh-MOO-na-te-cha.
- How does your “moo” sound?

Track 4: "What a Wonderful World"

Track 4 is performed by Imaginary Future (Jesse Epstein) and Kina Grannis and written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss.

This is an American classic. Listen to the words. Is this song saying the same thing as "Modeh Ani"?

The song describes how wonderful it is to see trees and flowers, the colors of a rainbow, good friends, and new babies. What are things in this world that you’re grateful for?

Track 5: "Hey, I'm Not a Baby Anymore (Hey, Ani Kvar Lo Tinok)"

Track 5 is performed by Israeli musicians David Broza, Gidi Gov, and Yoni Rechter. Words by Yehonatan Gefen and music by Ada Nastovich.

This song is an Israeli classic, featured on the children’s album The Sixteenth Lamb. In Hebrew, a child says, look at all the things I can already do by myself—get dressed, eat, dream—and there will be plenty more things I can do when I'm big. (Parents, does this sound like someone you know or might know soon enough?)

The singer of this song is proud of the things he can do. What are some things that you do all by yourself that you're proud of?

Track 6: "The Sun Shines Down On Every One"

Track 6 is written and performed by educator-musician Shira Kline.

This fun counting song will help switch on your child’s mind in the morning. It’s structured much like "Echad Mi Yode’a" (“Who Knows One?”), the popular counting song of the Passover seder (ritual meal).

Can you count?
As the singer sings a number, try holding up that number of fingers.
- If you’re feeling energetic, act out the verse for each number (“five dolphins glide,” etc.).