When I participated in the September Wordart Challenge at STO (see post here) I used the "Pumpkin Spice" Kit, which had not yet been publicly released by Dandelion Dust Designs.

"Pumpkin Spice" is now available exclusively at ScrapTakeout.

If you like the kit, download your free QP from Mediafire, for PU only.  If you'd like some other quickpages from this kit, click here.

Happy Fall, Y'all!  :-)

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of the "Pumpkin Spice" Kit in exchange for layouts.

"Thankful Mini" by Dandelion Dust Designs

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and I have so much in my life for which to be thankful!

For this page, I used the "Thankful Mini" Kit by Dandelion Dust Designs, available exclusively at Scraptakeout.

Looking for a mask or frame to match your theme?  Try cutting out one of the element shapes from the kit you are using.  This makes a very fun frame that coordinates perfectly!  Grab your free QP at Mediafire by clicking on the image below.  PU only.

Happy Fall Y'all!  :-)

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of the "Thankful Mini" kit in exchange for a layout.

Schoolhouse Review: KinderBach Online

KinderBach Online is an interactive online program to be used along with a keyboard and rhythm instruments to teach the basics of piano and music theory to children ages 2-7.  Since the ideal age to start actual piano lessons is around age 7 or 8, this program is an excellent introduction for younger children.  If you would like to expose your early elementary or preschool-age children to basic music theory or see how they will like piano before starting lessons, this program would be great for you, whether you homeschool or not.  You do not even need to purchase a piano, as an inexpensive keyboard, even a toy keyboard, will work fine.

I reviewed KinderBach last school year, and I was recently given the opportunity to review it for a few more months.  At this point, I am only using it with my youngest, who is 7.  It really is too juvenile for my older children, who are all now singing in choirs and playing instruments.  KinderBach is a great way for my 7-year-old to have his very own music lessons at a level that he enjoys, and it is giving him a foundation in rhythm and note-reading that I wish my other children had at that age.  He is ecstatic to be playing with his online video-friends - Frisco, Dodi the Donkey, and all their keyboard pals - again!  Really, anything that makes noise makes him happy, and homemade rhythm instruments are second only to Legos as his favorite toys!

Dodi the Donkey

In each KinderBach Online lesson, there is a video where children will learn basics like notes, rhythm, and composition while playing games with the fun characters.  Simple songs help them to remember what they have learned.  I think the "Dodi the Donkey" song was introduced in our very first lesson last year, and my 7-year-old still walks around singing it until the other kids beg him to stop!  There is a printable PDF workbook with coloring and activity pages to go with each of the six levels.  I really like how the video and book work together.  For instance, sometimes the student will be instructed to color a page while listening to a song on the video.  This kind of learning that stimulates several senses and keeps my son's hands and mind busy is the most productive!

Other activities include action games, using our hands and feet to work out rhythms and learn notes and intervals.  I like the way patterns in music are explored and practiced in the videos so that children will learn to sing, play, and read music very quickly.

If you have a child aged 7 or younger who is not quite ready for formal piano lessons, but whom you would like to give a foundation in basic piano and music-reading, I highly recommend KinderBach lessons.  Here is the low-down:

The Product:  KinderBach Online

Vendor:  http://www.kinderbach.com

Ages:  2-7

Price:  See KinderBach Shop for prices, starting as low as $7.99/month!

My Previous Review:  http://noteablescraps.blogspot.com/2012/02/tos-review-kinderbach.html

Update:  KinderBach is offering our blog readers a 30% discount off any order!

Coupon Code:  TOS_crew2012 

Expires: 12/31/2012

There is also a brand new KinderBach App for iPhone or iPad, which some of my fellow Crew Members have been reviewing.  To see what the Crew thought of both products, click the banner below.

Disclaimer:  I received a free subscription to KinderBach Online in exchange for a fair review.  No other compensation was given, and all opinions are my own.

"Pumpkin Spice" by Dandelion Dust Designs

Well, you already know that I love kits by Dandelion Dust Designs, and this is one of my favorites!  I love fall and pumpkins and leaves, and the Pumpkin Spice kit has all the essential elements in just the right shades:

The kit is available exclusively at ScrapTakeout:

Download your free QPs from Mediafire!  PU only.

Happy Autumn!

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of the Pumpkin Spice kit in exchange for layouts. 

"Be Creative" by Dandelion Dust Designs

Oh, dear, I've been out of town and out of the loop!  Dandelion Dust Designs put up a fabulous new mini in the shoppe last Thursday.  Perfect for all those little works of art floating around your house!  Here's "Be Creative":

You can get the kit exclusively at ScrapTakeout.

Here's your QP, posted over at Mediafire:

Happy Scrapping!

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of the "Be Creative" kit in exchange for a layout.  No other compensation was given, and all opinions are my own.

Schoolhouse Review: Zoo Whiz!

For the past several weeks, my younger two children have had the great privilege of reviewing a Premium Zoologist account from ZooWhiz, a really fun and motivational learning website.  They each were able to pick a "zookeeper," the character they would use on the site, and then they could play games and take quizzes in math, words, and reading in order to collect points and coins with which they could buy animals for their zoo.

Homescreen with a map of the Zoo

This is pretty much the perfect learning website for both of my younger children, ages 7 and 9, because they absolutely love real animals, stuffed animals, computer-animated animals - basically any kind of animals and zoos!

Zookeepers from which the students may choose

After choosing a Zookeeper, the students may go to the "Arcade" to play educational games, the "Learn and Earn" to take quizzes, "Milestones" to see their progress, or the "Biodome" to purchase new animals for their zoo with the coins they have earned.  The bar across the bottom of the home screen shows the number of coins earned, the number of animals in the student's zoo, the zoo level the student has achieved, and the number of educational points earned.  The educational levels are broken down by age rather than grade, which I think is more helpful to me as a homeschooler, since we don't always work by grade levels.  The child may work in an age range, and the "bottom level," or the easiest questions that should be given to that child, is set by the parent.  If the quizzes and games prove to be too easy or too difficult for the child, the parent or teacher can easily change the level from the parent account.

The "Biodome" - Zoo shop

In addition to practice in math, words, and reading, the student will learn facts and conservation information about the animals in his or her personal zoo.  I will admit that I had to push my daughter to take the quizzes so that I would know a little bit about them for the review.  She and my son were much more interested in the games and in learning about the animals.  They asked to play almost every day, and were absolutely thrilled that I was including such a fun activity as computer work that they were allowed to do during school hours!

Progress Report

Zoo Whiz is already used in schools and homes in several different countries.  They are currently in "Early Release Stage 2," and they are adding new content continually.  All of the content loaded and worked just fine for us.  In the future, I should be able to view my kids' progress and assign specific work to them from my parent account, which is linked to their child accounts.   I look forward to being able to do that.  I would love to be able to occasionally assign quizzes on various concepts in Zoo Whiz in lieu of our regular paper-and-pencil quizzes, as a break from the normal routine.  For the time being, I just log directly into the kids' accounts to review their progress.

Here are some sample activities in Math, Words, and Reading, respectively.  These are some of the easier activities.  The actual levels cover ages 5-15.  

I originally thought I would just be reviewing one account for my 9-year-old daughter, but Zoo Whiz was very gracious to offer premium accounts for all four of my children.  The customer service was outstanding.  I did set up accounts for all of my kids, but my older ones were not as interested.  My 13-year-old was not interested at all, and I did not assign him any activities, since I had really planned to review this for my younger daughter.  My 11-year-old daughter loves zoos and animals and was mildly interested, but has not used Zoo Whiz on a regular basis.  My 9-year-old daughter and my 7-year-old son fell in love with the program and beg to play it.  I highly recommend the website for children ages 5-10. 

You can try a free account from Zoo Whiz, which my daughter was already enjoying before she got the Premium account, but I'm sure you'll want to upgrade and enjoy all the features of a Premium Zoologist account.  Now is the time, while a one-year subscription is on sale for $14.95, which is a savings of 50%!

Here is the information you will need:

The Product:  Zoo Whiz educational website

From:  http://www.zoowhiz.com

Ages:  5-15

Price:  $14.95 for annual subscription (current sale)

  For information on a Premium membership, click here.

Click the banner below to see what my Schoolhouse Crewbies thought of the program:

Disclaimer:  I received a free one-year Premium Membership subscription to Zoo Whiz for the purpose of a fair review.  No other compensation was received, and all opinions are my own.

Schoolhouse Review: Music Together Family Favorites

Do you have children who love to dance around and sing to any type of music?  I do.  Umm, that is an understatement.  My children personify music and motion whenever they are not tied down!

I also direct children's choir, and what I hear over and over from parents is that, "I'd like my child to be able to sing or play music, because I never have.  I'd like my child to not be afraid to be in front of people on stage." People also sometimes tell me, "I can't sing at all."

If your vocal chords have not been damaged or removed, you can sing!  I have seen people who really sounded like they could not carry a tune in a bucket take voice lessons and then sing like a pro.  Music is an essential part of being human.  We are not born to be afraid of making music; the fear comes from a lifetime of not utilizing the talent.  Clearly, some people are born with an exceptional gift of music, and some people are simply not that interested in music, but we all have some music in us if we desire to use it!  If you desire your children to be musical at any level, the time to start is when they are young.

Music Together recognizes that "all children are musical," and "therefore, all children can achieve basic music competence: that is, they can learn to sing in tune and move with accurate rhythm."  This program for teaching music to young children veered away from the traditional model of teaching music only to prepare children for instrumental or vocal performance, and instead established a curriculum for teaching all children informal music through play.  After all, young children teach themselves by playing.  They also learn best from parental example (or that of any caregiver), and so Music Together classes incorporate children and their caregivers - sometimes whole families - playing with music together.

Actual Music Together classes are taught by licensed providers.  There are nine non-sequential song collections which each focus on a specific instrument.  In addition, however, Music Together also offers the "Family Favorites" song collection, with favorite songs from all nine of the instrumental collections.  As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Team, we received the book and CD of the "Family Favorites" collection.  While this curriculum is not a substitute for an actual Music Together class, it does bring many of the fun features and songs from the classes right into your own home.

I love the basic principles and activities in this book:

1)  The songs are fun and catchy for young children, and they introduce a wide variety of musical styles:  jazz, pop, lullaby, and there is even a special song for the remembrance of 9/11.

2)  Children learn basic pitch and rhythm, as well as harmony and a general love for music through playing with actual musical instruments, simple rhythm instruments, and non-musical props.

3)  Children have FUN!

4)  Songs with words are included, as well as songs with rhythmic syllables, or "vocables."

5)  Children learn and bond with their caregiver partner.

6)  Rounds and other basic harmony exercises are introduced.  This part was especially good for my older children; even though they are a little older, they need the practice singing harmony.
7)  Many of the songs can be used with various substitutions for words, actions, animal sounds, etc.
8)  Suggested activities include adaptations for infants, preschoolers, or special needs.
9)  All music is informal, and improvisation is encouraged.  Creativity and movement are encouraged.
10)  No expensive equipment is needed.  If you have access to musical instruments, that is great, but if not, you can use anything from pots and pans to homemade instruments.  In fact, the song "Playin' in the Kitchen" reminded me of my own childhood, when my mother used to let me have my own kitchen band with her pots and pans while she was working in the kitchen, just like the author said his mother did!

These maracas are colorful and a lot of fun, but I wish I'd gotten a picture of my son with his milk jug the other day.  Banging on the empty milk jug for a rhythm instrument was much louder and therefore much more fun!

We do own several musical instruments, and have a number of musical things in our house - and Music Together sells a variety of kid-friendly instruments - but you do not need to go out and spend a lot of money to start teaching your young children music.  I used these maracas that I got from a yard sale, and I also have a large set of rhythm instruments that I have accumulated over the years that I used.  Some of my favorites are the little rhythm band sets that you can purchase at Wal-mart or a learning store.  They are colorful and durable, and not only do my own children enjoy them, but my children's choir kids have always enjoyed it when I bring my big box of instruments in on occasion.  Even with all this, however, my children love making their own instruments.  Cut a hole in the front of a shoebox and stretch rubber bands across it for a shoebox guitar.  Put dry beans or uncooked maccaroni in an empty toilet paper roll and tape paper around the ends for a fun shaker.  Two paper plates stapled together with rice inside make a great tambourine.  Pots and pans have always been the best drums.  And when I need the rhythm to be a little softer for my poor pounding head, I give the kids sealed salt, pepper, or spice containers.  When they were babies, I used to let them play with these in church instead of a rattle.  It kept them busy and did not disturb the people around us!

There were only two drawbacks to this program for me specifically.  One was that the music was a bit young for my kids.  It was recommended for children up to age 9, and I have a 7- and a 9-year-old, but I think it is better for pre-school and kindergarten children.  The other drawback is that the music is all secular, and I prefer to use more religious music for our homeschool activities.

I highly recommend the Music Together Family Favorites book and CD for anyone with children in kindergarten or younger, whether you are a seasoned musician wanting to teach music to your children, or a novice with no musical experience.  It is a great tool for teaching musical concepts as well as a love of music to young children.

Click this link to listen to the songs on the "Family Favorites" CD or buy a digital download.

Here's a summary of the information you need about this product:

The Product:  Music Together Family Favorites "Songbook for Teachers" and accompanying CD

The Vendor:  Music Together at http://www.musictogether.com/

Age Range:  Infant, toddler, preschool, kindergarten

       Also special adaptations for special needs children

Price:  $29.95 for the "Songbook for Teachers"; $14.95 for the CD; $9.99 for the downloadable MP3 version

  Save $5 by purchasing the Songbook and CD together for $39.95

  Plus SAVE $2 more by purchasing the combo and entering the coupon code "Schoolhouse" at checkout!

Also find information on other products, where to find Music Together classes near you, or how to become a Music Together instructor at http://www.musictogether.com/.

See what my crewmates thought of the Music Together Family Favorites book and CD by clicking on the banner below.

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of the Music Together Family Favorites book and CD for the purpose of a fair review.  No other compensation was given, and all opinions are my own.