After spending 5 days exploring Sapelo Ilsand, a barrier island of Savannah, GA, Day began the production of his DVD Roger Day’s Marsh Mud Madness which was filmed live at the Savannah Music Festival and on location at the University of Gerogia Marine Institute. As a compliment to the DVD, Day subsequently released a CD, which contains the live recordings from the DVD plus studio versions of two songs.

Regardless of which type of media you choose for your listening experience you won’t be disappointed. Roger Day does an excellent job of transforming your speakers into an ecological romp as he introduces kids to the critters, creatures and plant life of the Savannah marshland. Prior to launching into the anthemic, “I Love To Study Mud,” Day proclaims that he is here to talk about “slimy, gooey, mushy mud!” He then instructs listeners to put on a sun hat and big boots and get ready to stomp in the mud. And let me tell you, with a little creativity and a sprinkle of imagination, stomping in invisible mud makes for some good, clean fun. I particularly love how Day compares marsh mud to chocolate soup, in this upbeat title track, as he sings “you see marsh mud it’s like chocolate soup/ that you can smell from miles around…”

The beauty of Marsh Mud Madness is that it is engaging. Each song is associated with easy to learn movement(s), helping listeners visualize what they are learning about and essentially making you feel as though you are also a part of the show. In many ways, Day’s enthusiasm and passion for exploration is akin to that of the Kratt brothers from the show, Wild Kratts, and Ms. Frizzle, the unique protagonist in the popular series The Magic School Bus. Similar to these shows, Marsh Mud Madness is full of scientific facts conveyed in an adventurous way.

What sweetens the experience even more is that Day is a talented musician with tons of charisma who has a natural ability to captivate an audience. By following along with Day, whether watching at home or listening in the car, you will learn how to groove like the Fiddler Crab, move like a periwinkle snail, learn how to creep about like the Ghost Crab and mimic the flushing of an estuary. You’ll even come across jumping dolphins! There is so much to love about Marsh Mud Madness, and it has been priceless to hear Em regurgitating facts to friends and family members about how the Ghost Crab is the cousin of the Fiddler Crab and how Alligators were almost extinct.

I am so glad there are two versions of this album because each one is equally gratifying and it’s not very often that I watch live performances on DVD. I would definitely recommend purchasing both together because the DVD is filled with enrichment (for excellent examples, check out the videos below) and makes for a perfect indoor activity. Plus, once you watch the songs performed through the DVD, you will find yourself singing them repeatedly and wishing you could crank them up in your car. You can sample and purchase tracks from Marsh Mud Madness via the Bandcamp widget below. The CD and DVD are also available for purchase through CDBaby.

Bonus: After the successful releases of the Marsh Mud Madness DVD and CD, Day became a Skype in the classroom teacher. Day started teaching through Skype as a way to help kids who were stranded in an Alabama school during a bad winter storm. Shortly after Day offered to “visit” the kids (by posting a message on his Facebook page), he was contacted by teachers and immediately connected to the students via Skype. The students loved singing and playing along with Day, which served as a comforting distraction from the anxiety of being stuck without their families. Skype caught wind of what Day was doing and prominently featured him in a blog post . Day continues to use Skype as a means to provide instruction to kids around the country. Included in his 30-minute lesson, Day teaches the kids two songs, one of which is called “Mosquito Burrito,” a playful song from his DVD, Marsh Mud Madness. For those interested in exploring more of Day’s material I would absolutely recommend Marsh Mud Madness. Teachers can access grade specific study guides here.