Luv'N Lambert Life

A blog about living with Epilepsy, IBHS, Homeschooling and so much more

piano for kids

HomeSchoolPiano {Schoolhouse Review}

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Have you always wanted to learn piano at home?  How about your children?  Look no further than HomeSchoolPiano!
HomeSchoolPiano allows you to learn piano in the comfort of your own home and at your own pace.  This program is a complete piano training program for all ages, young and old.  And it’s easy to use.
HomeSchoolPiano requires you to join their program online where you will be given instant access to the Homeschool Piano: Complete Set of Books which includes the CorePiano program and also three other lesson books:
Book 1: Perfect for Beginners
Book 2: Building A Foundation
Book 3: Unlocking the Pianist Within
CorePiano teaches the student the basics of piano before they start using the HomeSchoolPiano lesson books.  This program contains 33 lessons that can be reviewed at any time by the students.  Each lesson teaches something unique to piano playing.  The goal in this program is to ensure the student has the best experience possible while using the HomeSchoolPiano curriculum.
This book is perfect for the beginning pianist.  It teaches the student about the basics of piano playing.  You learn keys, notes and rests in this book.  You are also provided an activity book which is printable to use along with this book and a download of Jam Tracks for book 1.
Book 1 contains 6 units.  Each unit lesson contains the necessary tools for completion.  You can download videos and audio for the lesson and you can watch videos online to complete the lessons.  There are also quizzes throughout the ensure the student is learning the materials taught in the program.
Book 2 further expands on piano learning beginning with Baseline and left hand finger independence.  This helps to establish blue’s based music.  Rhythms and melodies are also covered within this book.
Book 2 is also broken down into 6 units.  These units are broken into smaller lessons in each which cover important skills for piano playing.  There are downloads and videos for each part of the lessons in each unit.
Book 3 introduces triplets and chord symbols used in Piano.  Further expansion of the Bassline is covered and Arpeggios are introduced.  In the last unit, Voice Leading is also covered.
Like the other two books in this program, this book also contains 6 units broken into lessons.  It also contains downloads and videos to watch as you learn.  This is the last book in the lesson series.
Each of the videos provided in the lessons in the books above provide the student with a thorough lesson on Piano covering the topic being taught.  The student is expected to listen to the instructor talk about the lesson and to complete the exercises and activities within the lesson.  At the end of each unit the student should be able to perform a song specific to the lesson itself.
The videos vary in length so time for the lesson will also vary in length.  Plus these lessons are self-paced and can be replayed as needed to build performance skills and to help practice the skills learned within the lesson.  Typical to any online video, lessons can be skipped forward and backward easily to repeat any section that may have been difficult for the student to understand or that the student may simply need to repeat a few times to visually see the technique used in the lesson.
HomeSchoolPiano is an extracurricular curriculum program designed to be used several times a week or however often you see fit.  It can be used with multiple students making it easy to use with everyone in your family.  The lessons can be viewed anywhere at any time.  The lessons can be viewed on any phone, tablet or computer as needed by your students.  The only thing required for this program is the device to play the lessons and a piano of some kind to implement the activities being taught during the lessons.
HomeSchoolPiano follows a 6 step cycle to teach it’s lessons.  The steps are Technique, Rhythm, Ear Training, Reading Music, Song and Improvisation.  This works together to provide a thorough unit lesson and learning.
We used HomeSchoolPiano several days a week for the review period.  We had a few weeks that we did not use it as much as I’d like due to summer activities we’ve had going on but the kids were able to easily use and learn a lot from this program in that time period.  Winston (13) and Emmalee (11) were able to easily follow along.  Laycie (6) needed a bit of help from Mommy for lessons she completed but she enjoyed the things she did work on.
HomeSchoolPiano has two packaging prices for purchasing:
The Success Package is a one time payment of $299.  This gives you life-time access to HomeSchoolPiano’s website lessons, as well as all the downloads that go along with it for up to 5 students.  That includes the downloads, jam tracks and sheet music for every lesson!
The Payment Plan package allows you the same access as the Success Package but it allows you to pay for the program in three easy installations of $99.97 for 3 months.
You can find HomeSchoolPiano online in the following places:

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Crew Disclaimer

KinderBach {Crew Review}

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KinderBach is a program designed to allow music via piano lessons into the a simple home setting.  Designed for younger children around ages 3-7, KinderBach makes learning music fun.  This simple, low cost program is easy to use by everyone.
The KinderBach Online Piano Lesson Membership with Teacher Corner is a complete piano music curriculum.  Parental involvement in the program depends on your child’s ability to learn.  Children who are able to view the videos on their own will need less involvement from a parent than those who are younger and less skilled in learning.
Since this is a full curriculum, it includes video instruction to show children how to use the piano through online lessons.  It also includes worksheets to be completed which bring the lessons offline and into their daily life for practice and learning without a computer.  A piano is also needed to provide correct instruction on playing this wonderful instrument.
The KinderBach curriculum contains 7 complete levels, each covering different aspects of Piano lessons.  Reading, Writing and Arithmetic are also covered as children work through their lessons while using this program.  Learning to read symbols, decoding, learning to identify right and left, coordination, control, as well as rhythm and sequencing are all learned throughout the lessons provided through using KinderBach for music lessons.  
The video lessons used in KinderBach are short but fun.  They capture the child’s attention while teaching them important skills.  They also help to build fine motor function as children follow along and practice what they are learning in the program.
The worksheets that are used to bring the program off the computer and into real life for the child are also fun, while at the same time they provide a solid learning foundation to help the child further the skills learned online while watching the lesson videos.  These worksheets give the child concrete evidence of learning and help encourage building their musical skills, helping them to gain confidence in their lessons as they learn.
KinderBach offers a free trial of their award winning program for the first few lessons which can be located directly on their website.  There is also a NO RISK 30 day Money Back Guarantee for this program.
Though we used the KinderBach Online Piano Lesson Membership with Teacher Corner for home, there is also a Classroom version perfect for co-ops and schools to use.  KinderBach is for use with children who are ages 3-7 as I mentioned above.  My Laycie was the perfect age for using it at 5 years old.
We have been using KinderBach in our home for about 2 years now and we still love it.  Laycie began using it when she just turned 4 – she turns 6 in April and has been using it off and on.  Emma has also used the program and helped Laycie with some of the lessons.  Both girls enjoy the adorable characters and the simple instructions provided through the program very much.  This is something we use several times a week, allowing them to work at their own pace during lessons but it’s not something that we push for learning.  It’s just a really fun program that we keep coming back to as an extracurricular activity for all of us. 
 I’m kind of anxious for Jackson to become old enough to use it.  At 17 months, he enjoys watching the videos as well but he’s a little too young yet to gain anything from the other parts of the program.  He isn’t old enough to know how to use the piano or remember key placement or count timing.  Laycie on the other hand loves doing all of those things and has really enjoyed learning them.
A membership to the KinderBach Online Piano Lesson Membership with Teacher Corner is available for one year for a special limited time price of $95.88.  It’s normally priced at $130 per year for the program.  
A membership to the KinderBach Online Piano Lesson Membership with Teacher Corner gives you access to over 240 sessions in lessons by computer, iPad, and more.  You will also receive access to the lesson PDF’s to print and use at home.  Teacher’s Corner is included with this membership, allowing you access to the Audio MP3’s for each lesson and all materials for Levels 1-6 of the KinderBach program.  Downloads for the lesson story books, song books and coloring pages are also included with your one year membership to KinderBach.  This complete curriculum package provides you with everything needed for one year of learning Piano and Music from KinderBach.
You can find and follow KinderBach in the following places online:

Facebook for Teachers:  www.facebook.com/classroomkinderbach
Twitter: @KinderBach
YouTube: KinderBach Preschool Piano
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Schoolhouse Review Crew

Adventus MusIQ Homeschool {Crew Review}

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Adventus is the number one, complete learn to play piano system.  This program teaches the child to play piano in a simplistic but fun manner all using the computer.  It is simply amazing to see.
Available on disk or by download, this program is worth the price.  It thoroughly takes the child through music lessons, not just teaching them piano but also the history of music in the process.  Lessons are lead by some of the greatest musical talents of all time: Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, and so very many more.
For this particular review, we worked through Volume 1 of Children’s Music Journey.  Children’s Music Journey Volumes 1, 2, and 3 have been created to be used with ages 4-10.  For children over 10, Piano Suite is recommended.  A Midi Keyboard with a USB connection is also required for this product to work, as well as a computer with a USB connection or adapter.
My children have been amazed by the Adventus Children’s Music Journey program.  They beg to use this product and have learned so much from it.  Being simple and fun to use, even my four year old has truly enjoyed using this one and since my oldest, age 12, enjoys computer games and animation, he’s also enjoyed working through this program.
The program is fully animated.  It includes fun games that allow the child to work at their own pace and level, to thoroughly gain knowledge in their music lessons.  There are extra games for practicing lessons learned that can be repeated at will or as needed while working through the program.  The program is multi-leveled and can be used with multiple children.
The program coloring is vivid, the artists speak clearly and are easily understood.  Not only that, the program is truly captivating and the information provided keeps the child wanting to learn more.  The presentation keeps the child from becoming bored with learning about music.
During our review of this program, we allowed all three of our children to work through the program on their own with minimal input from outside sources.  My older children were able to work through on their own with no issues.  My younger daughter was able to work through with minimal help from myself or a sibling, and her siblings were able to help her as she worked through with no problems leading her.
We used this several times a week and it became more of a fun reward, than a lesson in music.  The kids really love the program and ask to use it again and again.  I, too, am amazed with the ease of use and quality of this product and I personally found it fun to use myself for piano lessons at home.
Adventus MusIQ Homschool programs can be purchased online through the Adventus website.  Pricing for the program varies and can be purchased as a monthly program subscription, as a product download per book or per set or as a full bundled set of all products.
Year one quick start bundle is priced at $199.95 and includes: 
 -Children’s Music Journey Volume 1
– Beginner Level 1 Lesson Plans
– M-Audio KeyRig 49 MIDI piano keyboard
Children’s Music Journey Volumes 1,2 and 3 lesson plans can be bought separately for $89.95 each or you can bundle all three with the year one lesson plans and a Midi keyboard for $309.95.
Piano Suite is also available through Adventus for various pricing per unit or bundle.
For more reviews of Adventus, please visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog!

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KinderBach {Crew Review}

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KinderBach has expanded their musical family with a new iPad app: KinderBach Simply Discover Piano.  This app was designed to be used with young children, as well as older ones, teaching them piano at home easily, just as the KinderBach online does.  KinderBach Simply Discover Piano is a wonderful addition to the KinderBach line-up.
Created for children ages 3-7 and enjoyed by children of all ages, KinderBach Simply Discover Piano begins teaching children the concepts of piano directly on the iPad using a digital keyboard provided in the app.  Children use the keyboard to learn the key patterns used in each lesson building upon skills as they work through the program.  
KinderBach Simply Discover Piano has 3 levels of learning, with 10 lessons each that a child works through to learn how to play piano.  Each lesson provides a video intro which summarizes the lesson, 4 videos teaching the concepts learned in the lesson and a game to practice the lesson.  Printables for each lesson are also available to build upon the concepts learned.  The lesson intro also tells the child and teacher what is needed to complete that particular lesson for the week.
All three of my children played around with this app while we reviewed it.  Lessons were easily used with all three of them since the app allows the user to choose what lesson and level to begin with.  Lessons are also easily repeated because of this setup.  And the kids can spend as little or as much time playing with the app as they’d like.  The activities were intriguing for the kids and even my 4 year old was easily able to work through her lessons without becoming frustrated.  She learned a lot from simply watching the videos and playing along.  KinderBach Simply Discover Piano is one of our family’s favorite apps!
 
The Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed both KinderBach’s Online program and KinderBach’s Simply Discover Piano app.  For more reviews of both products, please visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog!
*Disclaimer – I received a free download of this app from KinderBach and the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest opinion in a blog post.  All opinions are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.


KinderBach {Crew Review}

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For this review, I was asked to view KinderBach at Home.  KinderBach is an at-home piano education curriculum for children.  It is available online, on iPad, or by CD and it is for children ages 3-7. 

KinderBach provides six levels of 60 weeks in piano instruction for young children.  The videos are very entertaining.  Each lesson provides activities for your child to complete, leading up to a little over a years work of music for your child.

KinderBach also provides a similar music instruction program for schools available through their website.  You may purchase a one-day pass of KinderBach for $5.95, a month long pass for $19.99, or a year long subscription for $95.88.  KinderBach is also available per DVD/CD package starting at $40.45.  For limited time, KinderBach is offering a 40% off coupon available on their website.

My children did enjoy this program but not nearly as much as I was hoping.  For the musically inclined family this program would be absolutely perfect.  Such a fun and easy way to learn piano at home for the young and the old too!

KinderBach can be bought online through their website.  To read more reviews of this program, please visit the TOS Homeschool Review Crew blog!

*Disclaimer – The online version of this program was provided to the TOS Crew by KinderBach in exchange for an honest review of the product.