The Tortoise and the Hare from Maestro Classics

The Tortoise and the Hare is a classic Aesop's fable. A very confident hare challenges a tortoise to a race. Halfway through the race, the hare rests and realizes too late that the tortoise has beaten him to the finish line. The Tortoise displays the virtues of diligence, perseverance, and optimism. Slow and steady wins the race is his motto. We've read this short story many times before, but we had never heard it the way Maestro Classics told it! The humorous twists and additions to the story along with the music makes this version of the Tortoise and the Hare our favorite.  (Scroll down for a chance to get your own copy!)

My 5yr. old daughter picked out Maestro Classics The Tortoise and the Hare for our review. We have a board book of this story so she was familiar with the characters. When our package arrive, she was very excited to listen to the story.

We pulled it out right away to listen. Inside the cd case was a little booklet. This little booklet is packed with lots of information! It had a picture chart of the instruments in the orchestra, a little bit of basic music theory, and some activity pages.

She read this while listening to the story. Now don't think this cd series is just for young children--because it is not! I had all my kids sit and listen  ages 1yr. - 13 yrs. old. Younger children will enjoy listening to the story being told along with the music. Older kids can listen to the story and try to analyze the music too:

What instruments are playing?
Are their certain instruments representing specific characters?
Why would the orchestra play fast at this point in the story?

If you are apprehensive about explaining the instruments and other technical music stuff, no worries because the composer, Stephen Simon, does it for you! I think that was my favorite part--- hearing about his thought-process in writing the music to tell the story.

Tortoise and the Hare Coloring Page

You can find additional resources and ideas to go along with each of the CD stories available on the Maestro Classics Website. You could easily turn it into a unit.

  There are 9 different music stories available. They can be purchased as CD's or downloaded as MP3's. You can go to the site and hear snippets from each musical story. We also have Peter and the Wolf  in our collection and enjoy it too. I think this is a great way to teach listening skills, literature, and music appreciation! And if I'm honest-- I also love it because the cd does the majority of the teaching for me! I get to take off my teaching hat and just sit and enjoy the story along with my children.

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Disclosure: I was provided a CD for review purposes only. Opinions about this product are my own.

Making Music with KinderBach

I believe that letting young children experience music in various forms is a very important part of their development. I do a good job of coming up with silly songs and rhymes to share with my little girls, but I struggle with teaching them formal aspects of music. KinderBach was the answer to my struggle. It is a keyboard-based music lesson series for children ages 3-7.

What It Is:

KinderBach is an online or a DVD music program for young children. Through a series of videos, printable activities, stories, and songs--young children are introduced to musical concepts. For each level there is a printable book plus DVD segment. There are also extra components to supplement the curriculum such as printable coloring books, song cd’s and more.

Each week is divided into 4 sessions. KinderBach uses playful characters to teach note reading, rhythm, singing, and composition.

What We Thought:

I used this program with my 9yr. old, 4yr. old and 2yr. old. My 9yr. old had been asking to take piano lessons, so I had her be in charge of playing the DVD lesson with her younger sisters. I figured she'd learn a thing or two along with the younger kids, but since she was helping "teaching", it wouldn't seem too babyish for her. The DVD segments remind me of  kid programming on Sprout, or Blue’s Clues. I appreciate the fact that all the workbooks were in PDF format so that I could print the pages over and over again if needed.  Though the teaching was via video, the girls were encouraged to actively participate in the lesson doing activities such as clapping, and moving up and down. There were also coloring activities and crafts available too.

My girls loved the program. In fact, my 4yr. old carried around her “music book” and would beg to do more. My 9yr. old picked up quite a few things too and took the responsibility of helping her sisters seriously. I appreciated that I did not have to drive anyone to music lessons---we could do them anytime of the day right at home. Another plus is that you don’t need to have a music background to implement this program. KinderBach does a great job of introducing young children to music and the piano in a fun way.

Monthly Online Option: $19.99
Yearly Online Option: $95.88
Single-level DVD: $40.45
DVD bundle options available as well

There is a free online trial available. I’d encourage you to try it out.

For More KinderBach Reviews See:

Disclosure: I am a member of TOS and I was given this product free for review purposes only. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Peter and the Wolf

I remember as a young child listening to Peter and the Wolf on a record. Yes, that was a long time ago! So when I found out I would be getting Peter and the Wolf to review from Maestro Classics, I was thrilled.

What it is:

Maestro Classics has a series of CD stories that introduce children to classical music through these stories. The music is performed by The London Philharmonic Orchestra and each CD  contains an activity booklet with information pertaining to the story, composer, and musical piece.

The three main goals of Stories in Music are:

1. To expand listening horizons.

2. To develop listening skills and accumulate musical memories.

3. To encourage adults and children to listen to music together.

 

What We Thought:

We loved it! I know the importance of introducing children to classical music, but I admit that often takes a backseat in our homeschool. I just never seem to get around to it. With this CD we were able to have a complete mini-unit at our fingertips. All my kids enjoyed listening to the story. We listened to how the instruments portrayed each character. The CD had additional tracks that were a cool addition to the story: the life of the composer, a Russian Peter, The Magic Maestro Talks about Peter and the Wolf, Peter and the Wolf without Narration, Invitation to Grandfather’s Party and Kalinka ~ dance along. Tucked in the CD case was a 24-page activity booklet with information about the composer, a short music piece, music terms, fun activities and more. I felt that Maestro Classics made it so easy for me to enjoy and talk about this musical piece with my kids. I hope to add more of these CD’s to our collection soon.

These are the current Stories in Music available:

• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel – timeless classic story
• Peter and the Wolf – every child should own this great work
• Tortoise and the Hare – a very fun version of this tale
• Juanita the Spanish Lobster – sassy and funny from an English composer
• Swan Lake – some of Tchaikovsky's most beautiful music
• Casey at the Bat – everybody loves baseball, right?
• Sorcerer's Apprentice – magical story and exciting music
• Juanita la langosta española – great for anyone speaking or studying Spanish

You can listen to a sample and see what the activity booklet looks like for each of these cd’s on the homepage of Maestro Classics (click the image above).

Maestro Classics
Ages: 5-12
Price: $16.98 or 3 cd's for $45.00

For More Maestro Classics Reviews See:

Disclosure: I am a member of TOS and I was given this product free for review purposes only. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Scripture Songs

Over the past couple of years I've been trying to be more intentional at memorizing the Word along with my kids. I've found that for us, the easiest way is to sing a song.

Songs for Saplings: This is a wonderful cd for toddlers and preschoolers. The songs are up-beat and easy to memorize. I'm going to be using this with my 3yr. old and 1 1/2yr. old. Carisa over at Totally Tots has created printables to go along with each of the songs. Such a time-saver for me!

I have spent the last couple of days trying to find a song to use with our co-op. Usually I try to get the main song for the semester to go along with the verses we are memorizing. This sememster we will be studying and memorizing Romans 12: 9-18. So far I haven't come across any songs that fit, but I'm still looking (so if you know of any, please let me know!) I wish there was a resource where you could type the passage and it would link you up to all the songs and printables for that verse (not a project that I'll be spear-heading---just a wish ;) )

Anyway, while searching I came across the Seed Family Worship Collections. Oh these are awesome! I have all of them on my wish-list! Very up-beat, contemporary scripture songs.

Seeds of Courage
Seeds of Faith
Seeds of Praise
Seeds of Purpose
The Power of Encouragement

Another big plus is that on their website they have free printable memory verse cards and checklists to go along with each album.

Another favorite resource has been Scriptunes. Over the years my kids have been involved with Upward basketball and cheerleading. Each participant was given a Scripture-song CD. We loved listening to the songs! The only problem was that the only way to get the CD was if you were involved with Upward. Just recently though, Mike Blackwood has made Scriptunes available for purchase online! I was excited to find this information out since we are missing one of the CD's.

God Prints is another wonderful scripture song series. There are 3 different cd's: Totally Tangerine, Radical Raspberry, and Great Grape. I picked songs from the three and made my own compilation on Itunes.

Do you have any favorite Scripture songs? I'm always looking for more to add to our collection.