review of Math Mammoth

Let's talk about Math Mammoth. Math Mammoth is available at http://www.mathmammoth.com/. These are a series of inexpensive down loadable math workbooks for grades 3-8 and complete down loadable math curricula for grades 1-5. There are four series of these math e-books, written by Maria Miller, a math teacher. The series are Blue (math presented by TOPIC for grades 1-5), Light Blue (this is the complete set for grades 1-5), Golden (worksheets organized by grade for grades 3-8; not a complete text), and Green (worksheets for grades 3-8 organized by topic). Please note that there are no explanations in either the Green or Golden series, just problems.

The website goes into great detail about which item to use with your children. You can sign up to receive the Math Mammoth emails/newsletter and you'll get a bonus of 280 free worksheets and sample pages.

I got to download two products, the Golden series grade 7/pre-algebra set and the complete Light blue 3rd grade set. I really think these could be a very useful and cost-effective tool for homeschooling families. My only setback was I didn't have as long as I usually do the test the products extensively. Math texts are not something I want to skip around in so we began...where else? At the beginning, which is, as Maria sang in The Sound of Music, a very good place to start. Unfortunately we have only covered about 20 pages of the third grade book. There have been a couple of times where I wasn't sure what my son was supposed to do on a certain section of a page but overall, I felt the set would be worth the small investment. The sheets for this grade are grouped into little sections with plenty of practice work in each area. All your basic grade-level topics are covered in a mastery approach fashion, with plenty of emphasis on multiplication.

As for my older son, we tried to tie the Math Mammoth sheets in with our current ALEKS.com pre-algebra lessons and it made it very confusing for him. The ALEKS site doesn't necessarily present the material in the same order as the Math Mammoth site, and although I think I could look into the topics presented in each and try to correlate them, I simply didn't have sufficient time to do so.

I am no math whiz...ask me about history or language or spelling even, but not math. Ugh. So I always find the need for a very detailed explanation of each section or I cannot teach it to my children. In the older grades you get the worksheets and answer keys but no explanations. If I remember correctly, some of the author's material was originally written to coincide with tutoring sessions rather than as a complete stand-alone text. With both of us being weaker in math than other areas, I found within the first 2-3 days of use that the Golden and Green series would not be suitable for my oldest son alone, nor are they meant to be. But I am sure that if you have a child who just needs some additional practice (but already has a decent grasp on pre-algebra) these sheets would be great. Again, the prices for these products is outstanding for what you receive.
I hope that after my son has a thorough grasp of pre-algebra then we can return to the Math Mammoth sheets for review and drill work.

I would be more inclined to purchase this product for my younger son, for whom the complete set is available with explanations. :) The Blue series electronic books only cost between $2-5.50 each so it'd be pretty inexpensive to try. I would suggest getting the newsletter with the free pages/samples and then going from there into perhaps purchasing one of the Blue books to try.
-Lynn

review of Five in a Row

This is an overall review of the Five in a Row products by Jane Claire Lambert. You can find more reviews of this product and others on the sidebar under TOS Crew. To see sample lessons, pricing, and all available FIAR products visit http://www.fiveinarow.com/

I have used Five in a Row vol.1-3 (FIAR), FIAR Vol. 4, the Christian Character supplements, the recipe book, and Beyond FIAR for years, on and off, and will be using all FIAR vol.1-4 as my daughter's main curriculum this upcoming year. I will also allow my third grader to use it with her by adding more "meat" to it to get it on his grade level. I have purchased Above and Beyond for my oldest but didn't use it because we jumped into Learning Adventures unit studies after leaving FIAR. I might pull it out as a nice summer supplement.

I was overjoyed to receive another copy of Vol. 3 from the Lambert family, which I plan to pass along to someone else via a contest on my blog here, just as soon as I figure out how to hold one. :) We have not used Before FIAR (ages 2-4) but I am sure my daughter would have enjoyed it if we had. We borrowed a copy of FIAR Holiday-Through the Seasons from our library and used it a few times around specific holidays.

Ahhh...where to begin? I have found this curriculum to be relaxed, enjoyable, highly educational, with little-prep time needed, low-cost, easy to implement, and it brought happiness and joy to my homeschooling! We started out our homeschool days with FIAR and only stopped using it due to my children's ages. It will be like greeting an old friend when we get back into it this fall with my four-year old!

The cover of FIAR volumes 1-4 all feature a soft painting of a family curled up in a comfy chair as a mother reads aloud. Even the family cat is listening! With 95% of the FIAR books and lessons we completed, that is exactly how we felt. I have never been so in love with a curriculum for the younger set. And goodness, we have used/tried a variety of books and supplies over the years, so I don't say that lightly.

Now that I've gushed over FIAR a little, let me explain to you how it works and how we used it for years as our base curriculum.

FIAR and its following volumes are unit studies based on wonderful children's literature. Books chosen for FIAR are often (perhaps always) award-winners with good moral messages. I found many of the books to be a bit old-fashioned and nostaligic.
There are about 55 lessons in vol. 1-4 (which is more than enough for the traditional 36-week school year). It is geared towards children ages 4-8 but you can modify it easily to be used with younger or older siblings. For example, using it with my older son I would require him to do dictation from our read-aloud (not mentioned in the book that I recall), penmanship, additional reading on the subjects we cover, additional worksheets and printables, and add in more math/grammer. Now before I scare you away from FIAR, this is NOT necessary when using it with the recommneded age levels. And finding additional resources can be done easily online under a Google search for worksheets. For an older preschooler, kindergartner, and possibly even a 1st grader, I'd say FIAR is really all you need. FIAR has a message board where parents share sites for additional free resources, because unit studies can work well when you combine all your students together using a little creativity. FIAR recently has added some new items such as digital products (I will be looking into those).

FIAR is very self-explanatory and easy for even the most sleep-deprived, frazzled homeschool mom to learn to use. It covers social studies, math, art, language, and science. You will need to add in additional math and phonics for your older student.

You won't need many unusual products to use FIAR (things like notebooks, index cards, etc. are called for); some basic art supplies are also needed/listed. *note-we really enjoyed the art with FIAR. My oldest son and I liked doing the lessons together, each of us sketching away the afternoon...

You will need the story books that correspond to each lesson. You will read the book once every day for five days; thus, FIVE IN A ROW. Many of these books were available from our local library or through ILL (Inter Library Loan). Others I bought used off EBay and Amazon, or at thrift stores/yard sales. Some we could not locate or were out of print and so we simply did without them and our program was not hindered in any way. With 55 lessons spread out between the four volumes, we didn't need every single book for a year's worth of studies. And you don't have to start with lesson 1 or even volume 1! You can begin with any of the basic FIAR volumes and cover them in any order. **I personally would suggest covering Volumes 1-3 before using vol. 4. It uses slightly harder books and is really aimed at ages 7-8. But again, that is only a suggestion. Your younger children might really enjoy it.

I bought the first three volumes very close together. That way I knew I had plenty of lessons to rotate through just in a case an occasional book was difficult to locate or was checked out. If you buy the correspsonding Bible Character books and the recipe book, you'd have a very well-rounded curriculum.

It is easy to tell at a glance what you need to do for the day. Mom reads directly from the manual, which is a combination teacher's edition and student book at once.

How it works: let me give you a sample of a typical day using vol. 3. for the lesson on the book Daniel's Duck.

I would have the book on hand. Together we'd read the book aloud.

Next I'd open the volume to the lesson and begin with a typical Monday, which is planned as social studies day (again, you can do a different subject on Monday. FIAR has the family focusing on one core area of learning per day, so Monday is social studies, Tuesdays are language, Wednesdays are art, etc.). I see five different social studies activites there. I can choose to do all five or only one or two. It all depends on the child's age and whether you want to savor it all now or save some activities and repeat the volumes again at a later date. I'll choose the first activity, which is to briefly go over the state of TN, where the story takes place at. This is followed by placing a Story Disk (found in the back of your book) on TN. This helps the child to learn geography and keep track of all the books you've read. It is also good for reviewing places you've been in your studies. The Story Disks in vol. 1-3 are unlaminated and ready-to-color by your children ( in vol. 4 you'll get the color, laminated Story Disks and the Christian Character supplements built right in. That is a great perk to using vol. 4!).

If I were aiming to complete the 4 hours per day law in our state, I might find that I need to complete more than one daily activity. I see another activity that looks good: listing all the aspects of country or cabin life shown in the book. This falls under observation, classifying skills, and penmanship, if the list is written.

On Wednesday for example, I would begin again by reading aloud the story, reviewing what we discussed on previous days. Then I'd pick an art activity. I see one that looks like fun...soap carving.

I would at this point add in my Bible study using the FIAR Christian Character Supplement for vol.3. Then finish my child's day using our math/phonics. THATS IT!

I found that reading the story each day followed by the Bible study, math/phonics, and a few FIAR activities usually filled 2-3 hours for my early elementary children. For the few years we used FIAR I never administered tests or felt overly stressed during school; yet amazingly enough, my children responded well to this study and I knew they were learning by the facts they often reiterated to me. Even years after use, my children would randomly recall facts from the books. Recently we were looking at a map of Manhattan Island and my kids recalled the story of the little red lighthouse that a bridge was built over. Another time a friend gave my middle son a set of model aircraft from olden days; my son immediately recognized one of the bi-planes from a former FIAR study.

I liked the way I could just pick it up and go, so long as I had the story book and the basic supply list on hand.

This curriculum is not for you or your child if:

• your child does not like repetition, because you'll read the same book daily for five days



• your are more confortable having your child work from worksheets or you feel the need to do lots of paperwork for "proof". FIAR often uses hands-on activities and discussion rather than book work.



• you cannot access the books needed to complete the studies

FIAR might be for you if:

• you want to try a relaxed, gentle approach to homeschooling



• you want your children to love learning rather than dread schooling



• you like good literature



• your children enjoy being read to



• your children learn well though repetition



• you have multiple ages that might be able to work together



• you don't have a lot of time to learn to use a new curriculum or you need something easy to use

I cannot recommend this curriculum enough. I'd love to hear from others who have used it.

-Lynn

Sunday, Sunday

Today was nice, although it started out hectic with trying to get to church and Satan throwing small hurdles in front of us all the way. It was refreshing to hear our revival preacher and to see people lifting their hands to worship. Maybe we're not "dead" after all. Maybe we can be revived. Maybe I will soon be revived again.

It was especially nice to get away from the books, the computer, the to-do list and take a walk with the kids and animals in the sun....beautiful spring-like weather (only I saw it at a blur as our newest dog literally dragged me through the neighborhood). I haven't been jerked and yanked like that since we moved here years ago and trained our first dog to leash walk. Whew! I wish I could pay my sweet pastor and wife to jog him around the neighborhood as they go (Kari, if you are reading this, would you like a sweet, mildly stinky jogging partner about 2 days a week? :)).

It has been a blessed week actually. Everyone at home has been pleasant 99% of the time with very few threats from mom; we have had a good balance of busyness and rest; and I spoke with a few trusted friends about issues we were facing that made me very aware God is still there and still merciful. It was as if these conversations had all been planned by Him, as if these friends and I were planned to meet and chat and seek God's will together. I hope I was able to encourage them the way they encouraged me.

Meeting with some other homeschool moms for Bible study was especially nice this week. No one else can quite understand me like another homeschool mom. I needed that time with these women. I so look forward to seeing them again for another hour of study this Tuesday night.

By tomorrow morning, new review deadlines will come and school will be back in swing for another week. Winter is still upon us but soon spring will come. I look forward to more days like we had this weekend, porch-swing-kind-of-days with no hurry, no worry, fellowship, and reconnecting. Our weeks and even our Sundays aren't alway the day of rest we need. Sometimes we just need a little taste of a Mayberry Sunday afternoon.

-Lynn

TOS Crew review of Write Shop Story Builders

Oh, we had fun with this one. I just don't do much creative writing with my kids. And that's sad, considering what a great communication skill writing is and how much I enjoyed it in school. We tried daily journaling a few years ago and soon quit. We get easily sidetracked by other new studies. Our unit studies have quite a few writing assignments built in but they can be sort of dull, especially for my third-grader. I had been thinking we needed to do a lot better with writing regularly and I needed an easy method to make writing fun again. Write Shop Story Builders was one of those free downloads that came, rather mysteriously, just in time. I got two of the programs to use; World of People and World of Animals, both by Kim Kautzer and Debra Oldar.

The concept behind Story Builders is very simple: a student from grades k-12 chooses at least 4 story cards to make a "story starter". You get two printable identical decks of cards with words on them. One deck will be in color and the other will be black and white so you can use whichever deck you choose to print. You cut the cards out after printing onto card stock (laminate beforehand if you want them to last longer). The words on them fall into categories such as characters, character traits, settings, and plots (it is suggested that you print the different categories onto colored paper for easy sorting later on. For example, print all the character trait cards on purple, all the plot cards on yellow, etc.). Store your card categories inside Ziploc bags, small jars, envelopes, whatever method works for you.

Now its time to use the sorted cards to write your story. There are six suggested ways to do this with children of writing age. You can try the Round Robin method, where each student takes four cards. You set a timer and each writes part of a story using the cards they have chosen to get the characters and plot started. When the timer goes off, have students trade papers and continue working on the story that is now in front of them. Do this swapping every 2-3 minutes for 4-6 rounds and then see the results you get. This one can make for some very silly stories that the kids love to hear aloud. Another neat method and one that we liked is the basic 4-card method with the daily add-a-card option. Children start by picking one card from each of the four categories. They use this to begin their story. Set a timer and have them write for 5 minutes or more, putting their pencils down as soon as it goes off. Then the next day they pick up where they left off, but first they add a new card from one of the categories, thus adding a new character or twist in the plot! Do this daily and at the end of the week you have your students tie up any loose ends and finish the story. This also makes for some imaginative creations.

There is even a narration option for using this curriculum with your non-reader. I haven't tried it yet but it looks easy to implement. My daughter, age 4, loves to read and would probably enjoy trying to make up her own stories this way.

My boys may never come to love writing the way I do, and they sometimes dread the subject. But I have to say that using these cards sure livens up your writing and really gets the child creating! We should teach children to write well and for the goal of getting grades, but whatever happened to children just writing for pleasure, to let thoughts flow freely onto paper without fear of dreaded grammatical error? That is the killer of pleasure writing---fearing those grammar errors. Most kids, it turns out, will actually enjoy the writing process if given the chance to explore it freely and not always for grades.

I think that must have happened with me. My mother taught me to love books early on. Then I must have had a teacher who encouraged me to write for fun. By 7th grade I was completing my own novels, some of them a whopping 30 pages, with all my friends as the main characters. I knew sometimes writing was for a grade but I didn't dread it or fear it, because I had grown to love it. And being an avid reader helped me to naturally pick up some grammar and that obviously helped. By my senior year I had gotten into a Creative Writing class with a dedicated, wonderful teacher, and happily worked for the school yearbook staff, produced a few more stories and poems for a school literary magazine, wrote some song lyrics, and the official prom poem. Small stuff yes, but big to me at the time. Later in life I was able to write my own wedding vows, heart-felt letters to loved ones, have a couple of short articles featured in homeschool books, and now, am enjoying blogging. None of this is said with the intent to brag because I feel there is always room for improvement, but rather to praise the fact that I was encouraged to pleasure-write as a child.

Writing is a necessary skill. We must be able to effectively communicate. And so often we stifle the creative process at such a young age by focusing on correct use of grammar and punctuation in our children's work. Use this curriculum and bring the joy back into writing. Be silly, be serious, but just write! There is room to improve the child's grammar later, after we have let him be free to write without interruption or criticism.

You can use Write Shop Story Builders World of Animals or World of People card decks for all grade levels. Interchange them for variety and chances are you'll never use the same story card combination twice, especially since more card decks are being made. Check them out at www.writeshop.com
-Lynn

Catchin' up is hard to do...

Whew. I am BEHIND. Never to see daylight again as I sit trapped at this computer desk, looking at the world through open blinds. There go the neighbors jogging...Hi Josh and Kari. That sunlight must feel good on your faces. There goes James, the chip truck man....toss me some chips, James; I need some munchies to get me through! And across the road is our sweet baby neighbor--I sigh thinking she'll be grown before I get over to visit her.

December was used up by a sick child. January went well until the last two weeks. That's when I had my first 6-day on and off migraine. Yay! Probably an analgesic rebound headache. Those are great fun. You think they're gone, that the meds have kicked in, and then BAM! Two hours later it's back, worse than ever. I spent most of a week coming out of hiding for a bit only to retreat a few hours later into a dark, quiet room...again. My kids lived on Ramen noodles and junk food. Thank goodness for a VERY responsible teenage son who can hold down the fort. Most of the time anyway...I don't think my younger two kids had baths the entire time! Blech! And my dogs never got fed, but they have survived and are rationing food lately. My old Granny Dog, Countess, takes her food bowl and sleeps on top of it, growling at Teddy Bear. She isn't so sure she won't fall upon hard times again.

Well, the snow came through and finally, my headache lifted and was gone! Thank you Lord! But during my headache pains I had literally overdosed on caffeine pills and caffeine-laden drinks to help ease the throbbing head-splitting pain. My body didn't respond well to all that Sundrop, so it decided now might be a good time for a little urinary tract infection-revenge. After 2 days of AZO pills with no real relief, I gave up and ordered some antibiotic, which I try not to rely too heavily upon. But its a good thing I had it on hand, because I needed it this past weekend when the sinus infection decided to move in. Three or four days on antibiotic and I finally think I am healed. I just hit 35 this year and that's a scary number to me; almost immediately I began to think my body had decided to fall apart!

During this time at home, our homeschool co-op held its annual International Night. I have never missed this! It is great fun and such a good learning experience. Each family picks a country to study for a few weeks and then they set up a display about that area and give a presentation. And most importantly, they bring ethnic dishes to taste. I like to eat; I like to try new things. Ok, I admit, its all about the potluck. :) By the time one of my conditions was better, we didn't have the time to finish studying and get our display and table ready.

Also during this time, almost every day for two weeks either the mail carrier drove up to the house with a package or the UPS man arrived. More homeschool products to review. An entire spelling curriculum...a reading curriculum...two unit study books...a new toy to play with...and on top of those items, three or four downloadable products came though my email. All these reviews can get very tricky when they fall back-to-back like this and are due at the same time. I worry about shoving aside our regular curriculum to try these new items. Will it cause gaps in our learning? Will we again be behind and have to hold summer school to catch up? Nick cannot afford to get behind. He is entering high school soon and I don't want him to be hindered in any way.

But then I stop, take a breath, and begin to see the Lord's hand in it. We weren't happy with our old spelling curriculum anyway, and now we have a new one. I really wanted the unit studies, too. The toy will be easy to use as will the Bible songs CD, and will keep our preschooler busy. Deadlines, yes, but these free products sure are a blessing. We may chug our old curriculum in favor of some of this new stuff if it works well. And I cannot forget the value of these free products; I have enough art curriculum for k-12, all FREE. Two nice Apologia science texts with tests and answer keys. A fun creative writing program. Lots of free e-books on every subject imaginable from homophones slavery to nutricion to Bible timelines. It IS worth it and being part of the TOS Crew is a huge blessing.

Catching up may be hard to do, but I have a new anthem...I will survive.
-Lynn

All About Homophones E-book by Marie Rippel

Homeschoolers tend to collect books and educational aids that take up so much space. I have all subjects for every grade from 8th down to pre-k in my home because I cannot toss the items as I might need them as my children move up. That is one reason why I am so glad to see E-books really becoming available for homeschoolers to use. They are so easy to use. You simply download the files onto your computer where they can be stored, or you can store them on a CD, a flash drive, or use free online file storage sites. Then you retrieve the files to print and use as needed. No wasted shelf space; no wasted paper. Good for the environment and mom's sanity.

Today I will be reviewing a new E-book I received called All About Homophones, by Marie Rippel. All About Homophones is also available in regular printed book form. The cost for the paperback book edition is $29.95 and it's 250 pages long. Your cost for the e-book that I am reviewing will be $27.95. Its also convenient to buy e-books because you get immediate delivery of the ADOBE PDF file in your inbox...no waiting on the mailman to deliver your book! Just open your mail attachment, download it, and begin to study.

I really like this e-book and feel that the amount of information contained in it would make it very well worth the download. What you get are easy and fun worksheets, graphic organizers, word lists, games to print, and activities to teach homophones all the way from grade 1 through grade 8. Very economical. I think most of us homeschool moms enjoy a good bargain. I know I really appreciate items that can be used for all of my children for one low cost.

Ms. Rippel begins by teaching the parent what homophones are and then offers many suggestions on how to use the worksheets and other items she's created. She also tosses in more ideas to reinforce the child's learning such as teaching homophones with books, tongue twisters, puns, and more.

I would personally not use only the recommended grade level worksheets of this book for my children; instead I would go back to the 1st grade level and let them each work their way forward to their correct grade level, just to be sure they hadn't missed any homophones along the way. Then I'd add in the crosswords, puzzles, and games as needed for reinforcement.

An idea to save paper using this e-book might be to place each worksheet you print into a clear sleeve and do the work with a wipe-off marker. Then you can reuse the pages for each child. Unless you live in a place where you feel the need to save lots of completed sheets for record-keeping and proof of work.

I really like her use of card games as well. She explains in clear instruction how to play 6 different games using the printable cards she has included. Kids will love practicing their homophones using games like Pig, Snap!, Go Fish and more. The illustrations on the cards have an old-fashioned appeal and printing the cards on colored card stock would add to that appeal and make them durable. As I always go for making things last long enough to meet the needs of three kids, I would laminate them as well.

The worksheets have neat little trivia and facts at the bottom. I actually enjoyed reading them myself. I tell the kids they can't read the trivia until the sheet is complete and then cover it up.

I really do like this book. I can't see how any child could do the work in it and not become a "homophone expert". But I am not sure how many parents would buy a separate book for teaching homophones as most spelling or language programs cover them at some point. I know my curriculum already has a section on homophones built right into it. I would feel that unless a child just couldn't grasp the concept clearly using our current curriculum, that I might not need to purchase an additional curriculum for this one subject area.

However, if I were an English or language arts teacher or simply felt we needed more practice in this area, this book would be perfect for us.

Ms. Rippel is obviously very knowledgeable on the subject and using this book will certainly help your student.

Please take the time to read what other TOS crew members are saying, and then visit http://all-about-homophones.com/order.html to learn more.

-Lynn

Kinderbach Piano Lessons review

Teach a 4-year old to sit still and learn to play piano and LIKE IT?? It can be done, and done eagerly, with Karri Gregor's delightful KinderBach music lessons.

I was very glad to get this product to review. I had been considering it for quite some time as I always wanted to expose my children to music. My only complaint is that I have to use a dial-up connection to access this site, which slows it down considerably since the lessons have downloadable videos, games, songs, and print-outs. But KinderBach is also available on DVD, which I intend to obtain very soon. :) I was able to allow my daughter and also my then 8-year old son to test the first 3 weeks worth of lessons. Both my children stayed focused and enjoyed their "music time". I heard my daughter pick up on the songs and little phrases from the lessons quickly. When presented with a coloring sheet from the site featuring Dodi the Donkey, with no prompting at all, Ash was able to tell me where on the piano keyboard Dodi "lives".

Karri is a perky, enthusiastic music teacher who has a way of capturing preschooler's attention. She founded KinderBach after wishing a piano teacher would take her preschool children in for lessons, but she was always told they were "too young". Karri's previous experience owning a studio with 150 students and video-taping her lessons for absentee students had given her the knowledge she needed to form KinderBach, her online piano instruction site for children ages 2-7.

Now parents can simply go the site at http://www.kinderbach.com/, log in, and present their children with a variety of exceptional lessons on not only piano but music theory, note reading, rhythm, ear training, hand position and much much more! There are also DVD's and activity books to go along with the lessons. Children are taught the notes and staff using characters such as Dodi the Donkey and his pal, Frisco, along with Carla the caterpillar, Edward the eagle, Felicity the frog, and many more. Lessons are fairly brief which is always a plus with preschoolers. With this system children do not have to be able to read to learn to play. And you don't even need a piano! An inexpensive keyboard will work just fine. Parents don't need any musical background to implement this program, which is intended to last one year.

Karri says,"KinderBach was designed to give your child the over all music foundation. Your child can take everything they have learned from KinderBach and apply it to another instrument or continue further with piano. KinderBach was designed to be a spring board, taking this information and just going to endless bounds with what they have learned!
I know KinderBach is a proven method. Over 5000 families have already tried it. We have received nothing but raves when it comes to our curriculum."

There are three options when it comes to using KinderBach to give you the most benefits for your students:

The KinderBach Learning Center offers Online Piano Lessons for young children through web video, printed activity pages, interactive games and unique ‘piano karaoke’ songbook participation. This is what the TOS magazine crew were given access to and I would have really enjoyed this option on a faster internet connection. The content is well worth the price and I don't have to leave home to drive my children to lessons! Yay! The videos are fun and upbeat and keep the little ones moving, dancing, interacting. This is the most economical choice.

Classroom KinderBach is a music program for early childhood education facilities or community centers. The teacher’s materials include teacher aids, lesson plans, teacher’s guide – everything needed to give quality preschool piano lessons to groups of children.

KinderBach at Home offers the same engaging piano lessons as the online videos without the interactive gaming. This DVD course is perfect for slower internet connection. The company suggests you try the online lessons before purchasing the DVD's. (This is the route my family will take to be able to really use the program). You can get the entire Year one bonus package for $217.75, and you'll be able to use it with all your children for years to come, making it more economical than traditional piano lessons.

Families can take advantage of free lessons as well as a guarantee after purchase.

The site also has lots of information on how music corresponds to learning the 3 R's.

So if you intend to use KinderBach at home, check out the value packages available. If you happen to want to teach KinderBach to a group of at least 5 students, or if you work in a daycare or preschool, you may also be able to get special package rates or funding under the Classroom KinderBach program.

I hope you'll visit http://www.kinderbach.com/ and give your early learners a bright musical beginning.

Lynn