KinderBach Review

The 2014 Schoolhouse Review Crew year has begun! We are very excited to see what fun and challenging things we get to share with you this year and what products will benefit our homeschool the most.

We started the year with an area that is important to our family: music. Leighton has a music major and is the music director at our church. I sing in the church choir and played the piano many, many years ago. Many years. Alyssa, our 5-year-old, has a desire to learn to play the piano. I could take the time to teach her myself, but it's been many years, remember? It's so much easier to let KinderBach do the teaching.   

The KinderBach online piano lesson membership with teacher corner is designed to give kids ages 3-7 an early introduction to music. Studies prove that the piano is the best instrument with the most benefits to aid brain development and that this is the age frame that is the most opportune to begin playing. The program incorporates videos, worksheets, music, and cute characters into a fun learning experience. It teaches note reading, rhythm, singing, composition, and music vocabulary. It can be used both at home and in the classroom. Karri Gregor, the creator, talks to the kids on their level and draws them in.

The lessons can be viewed on DVD, but we used the online portion. It made it so simple to hook up our small keyboard in front of the laptop as Alyssa completed her lessons. The lessons are short and engaging. The student not only learns about music by watching the video, but also by having fun with games, puzzles, coloring, and singing. For the most part, Alyssa watched the lessons by herself, but I joined in on the games or coloring at times. Everything's more fun with a friend, right? 

There are 6 levels (60 weeks) of interactive lessons and 240 videos. They start with the simplest introduction of the piano keyboard and end with scales and rhythm songs. There are plenty of fun printable pages that coincide with the lessons. Activities from coloring to cutting, pasting, and more keep the little ones involved. There are also games to get them moving. Alyssa loves getting some rhythm instruments and playing along with the characters on the screen. 

The program is simple enough for a child to use on his own. Once I log in, Alyssa can navigate the videos on her own and gather the needed daily supplies (worksheets, crayons, scissors, glue, rhythm instruments, etc). Since the program is self-paced, the child can work through the videos as he chooses. Each video is actually pretty short (most less than 5 minutes), so Alyssa will watch multiple videos a day.

Alyssa loves learning with KinderBach. She enjoys all the aspects of the program. I love that she loves it. The only thing I can say that is somewhat negative is that this is a very early learning program. In order to truly be able to play the piano, she will need something more. The again, KinderBach is meant for kids 3-7, to give them an early introduction, not to made them professional pianists. So, it is accomplishing it's purpose.    

Memberships start at $7.99 a month and can be used with the entire household. From now until February 28, you can save an extra 40% with coupon code KBclear2014. You can even try 2 free weeks of the program. To get instant access to all 6 levels or to purchase any extras (coloring pages, MP3s, CDs, sheet music, story books, etc) click HERE.

You can follow KinderBach on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Would you like to see how other families used this? You can read more reviews from the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

KinderBach - Review

I took piano lessons when I was a kid. I was fairly decent at it, too. What happened? Oh, I got into junior high and became more interested in volleyball and cheerleading. By the time my high school years rolled around, playing the piano was all but forgotten. My mom warned me over and over again that I'd regret quitting my lessons. I'll let you in on a little secret, listen carefully - mom's know what they're talking about! It's true! I don't know how many times I've thought, "Oh, how I wish I could play." Every now and then, I sit down and tickle the old ivories, or at least try to. It's certainly not perfect, but I've retained what I've learned pretty well. I've thought about being diligent in playing again, to get better again, but somehow I never have time. I seem to have lost a few hours in each day. I think with every child you have, you lose 2 hours of the day somehow. I'm down to 18-hour days - there's no time for piano! 

I want to make sure my kids are musically educated. A knowledge of and appreciation for music is very important. I really had wanted to incorporate beginner's music theory into our learning this year. My piano is still at my parents' house though, since there's really no room for it at ours. I know, excuses excuses.

Recently, I was introduced to KinderBach, online piano lessons. How cool is that? And what's even better is that they suggest using a keyboard for the lessons. A keyboard! Why didn't I think of that? The kids love making noise music on my old, little keyboard. I was very excited to start using the program, and with over 240 lessons, there's something for the slightly more advanced pianist as well. Alyssa, my 3-year-old, had no other experience with learning music, so she started with lesson one.

KinderBach incorporates videos, worksheets, music, and cute characters into a fun learning experience. It teaches note reading, rhythm, singing, composition, and music vocabulary. It can be used both at home and in the classroom. Karri Gregor, the creator, talks to the kids on their level and draws them in. Alyssa watches the videos with a smile on her face.

Alyssa has absolutely loved her experience with KinderBach! She feels so grown up that it's her program and that she's learning to play the piano. (The lessons can be used for multiple children, each at their own level, but we've chosen not to use it with our oldest since he's currently interested in learning to play the guitar, and our youngest is, well, too young.) Alyssa's working on week 6 right now, and is no where near playing her first concerto, but she's already learned a lot - and had fun doing it!

KinderBach offers many different purchasing options:
1) Year Membership - $95.88 one-time payment for the year (equivalent to $7.99 a month) 
2) Monthly Membership - $19.99 billed monthly
3) Day Pass - $5.95 to try the program for a single day
4) DVDs - See website for various options

And if that's not good enough, you can currently take advantage of their 40% off clearance sale! You can even try the first 2 lessons for free to see if it fits your family.

If private piano lessons are not in your budget, or if bundling the kids up in the middle of winter to head out to lessons does not sound like fun, check out KinderBach and learn to play the piano online in the warmth and comfort of your own home.

Be sure to stop by the Crew blog and read other reviews HERE.

* I was given the opportunity to try this program in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.