Sunday, January 29, 2012

TOS CREW Review: Kinderbach

I teach private Piano Lessons...as well as other Music Classes... so I was very interested to see what Kinderbach was all about....and so excited when I received it to review...

Kinderbach is a creative and inexpensive way to expose your child to piano and learning musical skills, recommended for ages 3-7. It uses fun characters to teach note reading, rhythm, signing, and composition. Good for either in the home or in the classroom... You absolutely do not need a Piano to do these lessons...a Keyboard is perfect!

According to Kinderbach’s websiteThe best time to learn a language or to begin playing a musical instrument is 3 - 6 years of age.”

Some of K4 listening to different tones and reaching "high", "middle" and "low"....
Many of the lessons include a printable page to reinforce the lesson.... or as an interactive part of the lesson...
imageThe girls were captivated by the videos and enjoyed working along with them...
A nice aspect of the video/ printout session is that they are self correcting....
One thing that I would change to the program is the length of some of the sessions.... a few of them tended to run a little long and we ended up fast forwarding through them.... as the girls lost interest...

KinderBach offers many different purchasing options:
  • Year Membership - $95.88 one-time payment for the year (equivalent to $7.99 a month)
  • Monthly Membership - $19.99 billed monthly
  • Day Pass - $5.95 to try the program for a single day
  • DVDs - See website for various options
As a piano and music teacher, I obviously feel that Private Lessons are superior...however, if you are unable to afford individual lessons or do not have time to schedule them... KinderBach is a great way for your child to learn!!


*As a member of the TOS Crew review program I was given a free copy of this product to review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. To see what other members of the Crew thought click below:
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Whatcha Making Wednesdays .... Pumpkin Muffins


Welcome back to Whatcha Making Wednesdays...This week for K4 the girls made one of our favorites.... Pumpkin Muffins.... this was a great demonstration of why Math is so important...I had to divide the recipe by 5....
Ryleigh takes her jobs very seriously... :-)
The Finished Muffins....


The Recipe was previously Posted HERE

If you have a baking/cooking (etc.) activity that you have done with children and would like to share... please link up!!!! We are always looking for fun...and yummy recipes. If you do link up...please try and visit someone else's entry and share some comment love...

For a Reminder of the Guidelines to Link Up...Please visit here


Thursday, January 19, 2012

School Daze.... I is for Ice cream....even in the winter

Braeden is 29 Months and Ryleigh is 57 months (4 1/2 yrs)

Here are some of the highlights from classes this week... we also did reading, alpha books, math, geography, Spanish, Baking (Whatcha Making Wednesdays)... along with some other activities...

Practicing fine motor transfers with over-sized tweezers... Braeden started with his fingers...
All the kids loved this project.... and repeated it over and over again...
Braeden finished the project by actually using the tweezers (and loving them!)
Working on putting on the sprinkles for our letter craft...
The finished "I" is for Ice Cream....
One of the books that we read this week was The Mitten by Jan Brett...
The kids made snowflake prints to go with it...
Cutting the foam into interesting shapes (snowflakes)...
Dipping the stamp (snowflake)... into the paint...
Smooshing the painted snowflake on the paper...
Ryleigh's finished snowflakes...
Working on playing quarter notes...
Practicing Wet, Dry, Try with Handwriting without tears... so far... no tears :-)
After class is over, the kids enjoy playing in our new playroom
(the other part of the basement)


For more great stART posts check out A Mommy's Adventures!
For more fun projects check out ABC and 123... Red Ted Art ... JDaniel4's Mom... and
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To see what others did this week check out Tot School at 1+1+1=1; Preschool Corner at Homeschool Creations; Mom 2 lil Posh Divas and the Weekly Wrap-up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Whatcha Making Wednesdays ....Brownie Bites



Welcome back to Whatcha Making Wednesdays....This week the girls made brownie bites... we used a package of brownies...and cooked them in a mini muffin tin... nice and easy!


Putting in the ingredients...
Taking turns stirring the ingredients in... with our fun baking utensils....
The finished brownies...

If you have a baking/cooking (etc.) activity that you have done with children and would like to share... please link up!!!! We are always looking for fun...and yummy recipes. If you do link up...please try and visit someone else's entry and share some comment love...

For a Reminder of the Guidelines to Link Up...Please visit here

**I have been nominated on Babble for the Top 50 Mom Craft Blogs and Would LOVE for you to vote for me.... I am currently on page number 2....#60 **** To Vote click here

Thursday, January 12, 2012

TOS CREW Review: Maestro Classics

We were recently given Maestro Classics- The Story of Swan Lake to review.... given Ryleigh's love of Ballet and my love of Music (Classical, among many other genres) ... I thought this was a good fit for us... and happily were were not disappointed.....

"The Story of Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky’s greatest ballet score, is the tale of a prince who falls in love with a beautiful princess. The princess, however, has been turned into a swan by an evil magician, and only the prince’s love can break the spell. This narrated version of the classic tale for children is sure to delight all who love ballet and enchanting storytelling.

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A 24-page activity book included with the CD contains a biography of Tchaikovsky, information on acoustic and electric guitars, sheet music and words for a sing-along song, explanation of major and minor keys, puzzles and more. MP3 download from Maestro Classics website includes a PDF of the activity booklet. "

Ryleigh had a great time listening to the story and dancing to the music.... we can't wait to check out more of these "classics"....

They currently offer 10 different titles to choose from including Peter and the Wolf, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, and Juanita the Spanish Lobster in English or Spanish.

The Cost of the CD is $16.98 and $9.98 for MP3 Download..... you can buy them from: Maestro Classics

Another great thing about these CD's is that they come with so many educational activities!!! These are fantastic for introducing classical music into your child's routine...


*As a member of the TOS Crew review program I was given a free copy of this product to review
. The opinions I have expressed are my own. To see what other members of the Crew thought click below:
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

School Daze.... A New Year begins....

Ryleigh is 4 1/2 yrs and Braeden is 28 Months
Although we have yet to have snow this winter (YAY!!!) We have started our winter theme in Tot School and K4.... Here are some of the things we did this week....

Our Winter Sensory Bin.... this is way messier than I anticipated and will be changed out sooner than later...
Handwriting without tears.... wet, dry, try....
K4 doing a high low game with kinderbach...
The girls practiced their math skills....Braeden working on his alpha book...
Both classes worked on some fine motor skills with sticker snowmen...
Braeden really liked this activity...
We started our Road Trip across America from Confessions of a Homeschooler...
this week we did CT...
One of the books we read this week (we read one a class)... was My Red Mittens...
For the project (both classes), we made handprints in red mittens.... this worked really well for Tot School, as our color of the week was RED...The finished mittens (some of them)....
Tot School did Letter H...is for Handprint....


Where I am linking up:
For more great stART posts check out A Mommy's Adventures!
For more fun projects check out ABC and 123... Red Ted Art ... JDaniel4's Mom... and
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To see what others did this week check out Tot School at 1+1+1=1; Preschool Corner at Homeschool Creations; Mom 2 lil Posh Divas and the Weekly Wrap-up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Whatcha Making Wednesdays ..... Mini Doughnuts....



Welcome back to a whole new year of Whatcha Making Wednesdays!!! For Christmas this year, I received a mini doughnut maker.... so perfect for kids to help make doughnuts with... its fast...and easy... and oh so tasty!

Ready to start cooking!!!Cooling.... How cute are they?
The girls had a good time dunking the doughnuts in melted chocolate glaze ... and decorating them with sprinkles...
The finished doughnuts.... yummy!!!
Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 Cups Flour
  • 1/3 Cup Sugar
  • 1 T. Baking Powder
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 1/2 Cup Milk
  • 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1/4 Cup Sour Cream
  • 1 egg
  • 1 t. Vanilla
Directions:
  1. Combine Dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
  2. In separate bowl whisk together remaining ingredients, except glaze or topping. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Using a mixer on medium speed, blend until smooth.
  3. Fill each cooking reservoir with about 2 T of batter.
  4. Bake about 4 to 5 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into donut comes out clean.
  5. Glaze or coat with powdered sugar or cinnamon-sugar.

If you have a baking/cooking (etc.) activity that you have done with children and would like to share... please link up!!!! We are always looking for fun...and yummy recipes. If you do link up...please try and visit someone else's entry and share some comment love...

For a Reminder of the Guidelines to Link Up...Please visit here