TOS Review: Kinderbach

Ever since Ms. Q started her guitar lessons Little M has been asking to take music lessons too.  We kept telling him that he was still too little but as any three year old will tell you, he thinks he's big enough and we are just not fair!

Enter Kinderbach.  

Yep that's right - Piano Lessons - At Home - Online!

From their website:

Kinderbach is about establishing a music foundation for young children.  Students learn note reading, rhythm, singing, vocabulary and a variety of other skills which provides them the basis for further education.  It’s about much more than just playing the piano! 

Here's what the interactive lessons look like: 

It's a whole preschool music curriculum just perfect for 3-7 year-olds!  Little M was totally delighted with the characters and the interactive activities.  The first week we started using Kinderbach, he was so excited he literally woke me up in the morning asking me if it was time to do his piano lesson!  His enthusiasm has waned slightly (thankfully) however he is really enjoying the lessons and retaining much of the information.  I am not expecting a protege at the end of this program but  he will have some concept of music theory and a pretty good idea of how to play basic songs on the piano.  He's already mastered a few simple ones.

Kinderbach has six levels of lessons each with 10 weeks of lessons and four activities each week.  Your child can move at his or her own pace through the lessons making the curriculum customized to your child's needs.  A yearly online membership is only $7.99 per month for an entire family!  That's right you get a full music curriculum, piano lessons, and printable activities and worksheets for all your children for less than the price of a large cheese pizza.  Plus you can try sample lessons online for free and if you decide to become a member you get a 30 day money back guarantee.  You must have a piano or keyboard but nothing fancy is required.  Any keyboard with 3 to 4 octaves will work.  Oh and here's a code to save 30% off  through February 2013: TOScrew2012

Little M was right, he is big enough for music lessons.  I'm really glad that we were able to review Kinderbach, it has really been a great addition to his school day. What are you waiting for? You should totally check it out!


If you would like to read what other TOS Crew members think about Kinderbach please visit the blog.



 
Disclosure: As a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew, I was provided this product for free in exchange for my review.  No other compensation was given and this review reflects my honest opinion.

TOS Review: Artistic Pursuits

I can't wait to tell you about Artistic Pursuits.  I think I just may be in love!

Artisitc Pursuits is an art curriciulum designed specifically for homeschoolers.  It uses fun art lessons to "teach both the expressive and technical aspects of art while allowing children to make choices about what and how they will draw, paint, and sculpt."

There are books for preschoolers, and elementary school students, as well as books for middle and high school students.  Each level focuses on a different concept of art and teaches through a different approach.  For instance, the preschool level aims to encourage exploration of art materials and the world.  The focus of the elementary level program is art instruction through hands-on art projects and art history.  The middle  and high school levels provide more technical drawing and painting instruction using artists and art history.

For this review we received a copy of Artistic Pursuits Grades K-3 Book One.

The book is broken down into three sections: what artists do, what artists see, and where we find art.  There are 32 lessons, each with a corresponding work of art to view and discuss and a project for the student to complete.  The lessons are so easy for me to present.  Both Little M and Ms. Q are participating so what we do is get comfy on the couch and read the lesson together.  I ask them a few questions and then we look at the work of art.  We then discuss the piece and I ask the kids some of the discussion questions listed in the book.  The next page of the lesson is the project.  This is where the fun really starts.  The kids get to create their own piece of art using the skill or idea discussed in the lesson and viewed in the masterpiece. They have really had a lot of fun with these projects.  We decided to go with the K-3 level so that Little M can learn too.  They are really enjoying doing projects together and so far they have composed a still life, painted from their imagination, sketched an observation in the backyard, and drawn pictures that "talk."  I can't wait to see what they will create next.

You can see samples of Artistic Pursuits Grades K-3, Book One HERE.  K-3,  Book One book costs $42.95.  The books are non-consumable so you can reuse these for all of your children!  The art materials needed vary depending on the book however you can see a list of the supplies necessary on the Artistic Pursuits website.  Materials are available for purchase through the website and materials are commercially available at the majority of craft and art supplies stores as well.

To see what other TOS Crew members had to say, or to see a review of a book of a different level, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew BLOG.

Enjoy!

Disclosure: As a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew, I was provided this product for free in exchange for my review.  No other compensation was given and this review reflects my honest opinion.