Mood:  a-ok

This year on the TOS Homeschool Crew has been amazing. It has not only introduced me to many homeschool products that I have heard of but never tried, but it has also informed me of many, many things that I never knew about. Kinderbach is one of those products.

You can probably figure out how Kinderbach's name came to be. Bach is the name of a famous composer, and the program is geared toward ages 3-7 ~ right before, during and after Kindergarten. Some people may think that the name is a bit deceiving to suggest that a kindergartner could actually play a keyboard like Bach. I'm here to tell you, however, that if you follow the Kinderbach program, your child will be well on his way to playing like Bach!

Remember, I was a music major in high school and college, and can play close to a dozen different instruments (unfortunately none quite so well anymore ). I began teaching myself to play the piano at around five years of age. I have been through or seen tons of methods and curricula over the years. I have never, however, seen anything like Kinderbach. Boy would I have loved to have this when I was younger. 

You can either buy the DVD's or subscribe online to the lessons. As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I was given a free three month subscription to try out and review on my blog. Even though the age suggestion is for 3-7 year olds, I chose to try it with my 9 year old son Joshua. I thought that since he has asperger's syndrome, it may be a good fit. I was not disappointed.

Miss Karri is the host for the easy 5-10 min. lessons. She has a cast of characters ranging from a boy named Frisco, to Dodi the Donkey and Mr. Bach himself. The lesson's are designed to be done one a day, but you could easily do two or more per day. What I really liked about the lessons is that Miss Karri talked to the kids on their level, not over their heads. There character's were simple animated characters, nothing fancy, but enough to creatively add to the lessons and help keep the kid's attention. The lessons aren't just sit and watch lessons. There are plenty of opportunities to touch the keyboard or piano, but you may also find yourself clapping or moving about to reinforce the music theory lesson that is being taught. For hands on learners they also have worksheet pages that you print out to go with the lesson. When you aren't moving about or touching the keyboard, you may be coloring in the worksheet as you are watching the lesson. There is nothing that Kinderbach left out. Visual, auditory, kinesthetic, hands on ~ no learner will be disappointed. All learning styles are included. Joshua loved the fact that one minute he might be moving about, and the next minute he may be doing something in a workbook page. Everything is included in the subscription or CD purchase. Did you miss something or not understand some aspect? Watch the lesson again. Dog eat your workbook page? Print another (PDF).

Kinderbach is divided into six levels with 10 weeks of lessons in each level. There are four lessons a week, so you can work it around your schedule easily. It is perfect for those who want to introduce their children to music at a young age, or to supplement a schools music program. In fact, if any of you are classroom teachers or administrators, Kinderbach has a series for classroom instruction as well!

There are two ways to purchase. As I mentioned, you can subscribe for $95.88 a year (averages to $7.99 a month) or for $19.99 a month. The prices are comparable to 30 years ago when I took piano lessons at $5.00 a lesson. I can only imagine what the cost of private lessons would be now. And, it doesn't matter how many children you have. If you have 5 kids, it's the same price! If you would rather buy the CD's they start at $40.55 for one level of lessons. They also have discount packages for multiple levels. 

Still not sure? If you go to their webpage and sign up for their newsletter, Kinderbach gives you the first two weeks free to try out. Or you can get a day pass for $5.95. Or, if you want to take the plunge and purchase now, they have a 30 day money back guarantee. Trust me, however, you won't ask for your money back. To find out more about Kinderbach, just click here or on any of the hi-lighted links above. Click here to find out what the other TOS Homeschool Crew members have to say about Kinderbach. Happy home educating!

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I was given a free three month subscription to Kinderbach's online music program try out and review on my blog.

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Mood:  happy

I'm sure that as this year's TOS Homeschool Crew year comes to an end, I will be posting what it has meant to me to be on the Crew, and what I have learned from the Crew. Thankfully, we still have a few more months before this year's term ends. I've been having too much fun.

This has been a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of something like this and I have completely enjoyed it. It hasn't been without it's challenges, however. I have had to meet deadlines ~ I have one tonight . I have worked on my writing skills, improved my editing, learned how to build a blog. It hasn't always been easy, but it has always been rewarding. I have made some great friends, learned many things, and that's all on top of the great homeschool products that we got for free in order to review them.

I have enjoyed it so much that I want to encourage you all to try out for the 2010 - 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew. If you homeschool and have a blog, then why don't you give it a try. Here is the link with the information. Let me know if you try out. I'll be praying for you and cheering you on!

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Mood:  silly

Yes, I know that I'm having way too much fun with Graphics Toolbox, but it is a lot of fun to play with! Here is something I created this evening. I could have done a little better with it, but I was just playing around. It's one of those "Can you spot the six changes from the first picture to the second picture" puzzles. So can you spot them? Some are a little easier than others. If you can find all six, leave a comment. No peaking at what the others answer until you've found all of them !

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Mood:  a-ok

Well, I redid my Thursday's Child badge a little, but I'm still not satisfied with it. I will have to rework it some more. I am adding MckLinky this week so that anyone that has a story about Compassion International can add it to the Thursday's Child Meme. It will be a continuous thing and I will continue to add the same Mcklinky each week so you don't have to keep re-adding unless you have a new story that you want to share.

I got a comment on last week's Thursday's Child post that contained the Compassion International video with the surprise ending. It was from Tania at Larger Family Life. It said:

I hope a sponsor for Mwende comes soon.  

If you're reading this and thinking about it... do it!  You can change the whole life of a child for the equivalent of a few magazines a month or fewer visits to Starbucks.  It doesn't take a huge change in your life to make a huge change in theirs.

Here is my response:

Thanks Tania,

I appreciate the encouragement. Mwende was our Christmas child, and we have been praying for a sponsor for her. We in the US are so fortunate. You are so right that just one meal out with your family would pay for one months support. Why not use that night and have a typical meal from the country of your sponsored child. Mmmm...I feel a blog post coming on .

Tim

Well, unfortunately, I didn't find a sponsor for her by the end of the month. I am going to keep trying, though, and, if I do, I will contact Compassion to see if she has been sponsored or not. If not, perhaps the family would be willing to sponsor another child.

Tania is correct though. The cost to sponsor a child is $38.00 a month. For our family, that is just a little over the cost of a meal at a sit down restaurant or two trips to McDonald's. When I thought about it, I thought that a family could still spend a special evening together but, instead of going out, perhaps they could have a meal from the country that their child is from. It is easy to find recipes on the internet these days.

Then, perhaps you could all sit down to write a letter to your sponsored child. That is the just as important as the money you spend. So many of these kids come from broken homes or from homes where their parents are never there. These children crave attention and love from their sponsors. You can make a big impact in their lives just by writing a letter once a month.

We have made sponsoring Marcelo a family affair. It's not just me or Sarah that is doing the sponsoring it is all of us. The boys will send letters (usually using Compassion's simple email system) and pray for Marcelo all of the time. We send packages down to him every time our friend Kee's goes to Bolivia, but you can also send packages through Compassion. 

I have said this before, but I will say it again. Sponsoring Marcelo has been as much of a blessing to us as it has been to him. And when you realize that such a little amount of money can go so far in a child's life, it is even more worth it. Won't you pray about sponsoring a child through Compassion International? If you are interested in sponsorship and have any questions, please leave a comment below, or check out Compassion's website by clicking here or on any one of the hi-lighted links above. 

Don't forget, if you already are a sponsor, and have written a blog post about your child, please link it to the MckLinky below. If you don't have a blog, please feel free to write a comment in the comment section. I would love to hear from you.

I'm sorry for all of you who are looking for the MckLinky. I have been having problems with MckLinky and had to take it off. If you have a blog entry that you would like to link, please do it in the comment section for the time being. Thanks!

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Mood:  a-ok

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