Ms. Rachel of “Songs for Littles” fame dazzled everyone in Studio 1A during her visit to TODAY on Tuesday, but at home, she’s the one being dazzled — by her son, Thomas.
For anyone who doesn’t know Ms. Rachel (whose real name is Rachel Griffin Accurso), she is a New York City preschool teacher turned YouTube superstar who uses songs to encourage movement, language skills and social-emotional growth. Since launching her channel in 2019, she has amassed more than 11 million followers.
Accurso began the channel after her son, Thomas, was diagnosed with a speech delay. Today, Thomas is a 6-year-old first grader who loves maps, subways, geography and “Dog Man” books.
For the most part, Thomas doesn’t see anything unusual about his mom’s job.
“He just interestingly sees me as Mommy. He really views ‘Ms. Rachel’ like I’m going to work at a school as a teacher. It’s just kind of what I do,” she explains.
But not every teacher has a day like Ms. Rachel had at 30 Rock.
She talked with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager about her new line of children’s books. She sang “Icky Sticky Bubblegum” to a flock of up-too-early toddlers on live TV. She gave individual attention to each and every child who attended, oooo-ing and ahhhh-ing at everything they had to say or show her all morning long. She video chatted with TODAY co-host Al Roker, who thanked her for sending a video message to his granddaughter, Sky. She received a series of 12 unprompted hugs from the 10-month-old niece of Sheinelle Jones.
TODAY Parents editor Emily Sher, whose 2-year-old son Luke was among the gaggle of toddlers, describes it best. She says that Ms. Rachel has “limitless energy, endless patience. She has the magic.”
TODAY.com sat down with Ms. Rachel after her busy morning in the studio. She traded her overalls for a pink floral dress and her sneakers for chunky Mary Jane heels. Her voice relaxes into a slightly lower register. Despite a tiny yawn (she had to do a 5 a.m. sound check after all), she beams when discussing her son.
“Thomas is amazing,” Accurso gushes. “He’s so bright. He’s the sweetest boy. He’s a cheerleader for everyone. He’ll be like, ‘Mommy, you took a shower! You washed your hair! You did it!’ He’s sunshine.”
He also takes a lot of pride in his parents’ work. “I think since my husband and I have both been working on this for his whole life, and he knows he inspired it, he’s proud of that,” she says.
Is Thomas as good at following directions as Ms. Rachel’s viewers? Not quite.
“He’s very good at negotiating,” Accurso says with a laugh. She says she seeks parenting advice from experts like Dr. Becky Kennedy, the child psychologist known for her “Good Inside” book and philosophy. “He’s a great kid, but I am just a normal parent.”
Accurso started her YouTube channel as a way to help her son catch up with his verbal milestones. Today, Thomas has not only caught up, but he’s “ahead cognitively,” Accurso says. “He’s worked so hard. He’s so brilliant. He was reading before he could speak that well.”
In fact, it took Thomas more than two years to say, “mama.” But now, in true 6-year-old fashion, he wanders around saying, “Mommy? Mommy? Mommy?” all day long. Some parents might get irritated by the incessant calls, but Accurso says, “It can’t bother me, because I waited two years and eight months to hear it. So I just love it. It’s music to my ears.”
Accurso adds, “I always make sure he knows how much I just love being his mom, and how I feel so lucky to be his mom.”