Product: Kinderbach
Vendor Contact Information:
www.kinderbach.com
Kinderbach LLC
P.O. Box 181
Le Claire, Iowa 52753
e-mail- info@kinderbach.com
phone- 1-563-332-0587
Age Appeal: ages 3 to 7
Format: Online videos and PDF downloads
Price: 30 day free trial, $19.99 per month or $95.88 (one time annual payment, savings over 60%), credit card only
Karri Gregor is the founder of Kinderbach. She began developing the program when her daughter was born, so her children could have a solid music foundation as she had as a young child.
Dodi the Donkey, Frisco, Carla the Caterpillar, Edward the Eagle, Felicity the Frog, Gracie the Gorilla, Alan the Alligator and Bob the Bear are the characters that help the children learn the keys on the staff and keyboard.
Each week has an introduction and four lessons. Each lesson takes five to ten minutes and they all build on each other, so the child learns the material.
There are six areas of music development that will be learned in different lessons: ear or listening skills, sight or note reading, rhythm, hand position or technique, singing and composition.
Currently there are six levels with a total of 60 lessons. Level Seven will be out in August of 2011 with more fun lessons!
Our Experience: We were very excited to be able to review this program, because we have a piano and the children have been wanting to learn how to play.
I watched a couple of the lessons and decided that we could do one week per day as the daily lessons did not take much time and there was so much repetition. This method has worked very well so far, but I know that soon it will change, because the daily lessons are getting longer.
The kids had fun finding their rhythm instruments at the beginning of each lesson and then banging to the beat during the songs. Coloring sheets were also a lot of fun for C, but B was not as interested in coloring them. They both had fun playing on the piano with the new songs they were learning.
What I Liked:
- It was nice that there were PDF downloads for each of the lessons so I could print off as many copies as I needed.
- The kids were excited each time we did a lesson.
- I liked the list of curriculum, so I knew what each level contained.
What I Disliked:
- I thought there was too much repetition. I didn’t think that 14 weeks of lessons were necessary to learn where the D key was located.
- It was difficult for us in the beginning to play the songs with the background music, because we could not hear the beat.
- The audio was not level. Some parts were very loud and some were so quiet that we needed external speakers for my laptop.
What B (boy, age seven, officially in first Grade) Likes and Dislikes: I like Kinderbach. You learn how to play the piano. Right now we are working on Carla, Dodi and Edward, notes C, D and E. It is really fun learning the piano. There are coloring pages and other fun pages like, making your own song! I think this program is very good for kids my age.
Below is one of my favorite parts of the lesson!
What C (girl, age five, working on Kindergarten) Liked and Disliked: I liked Kinderbach! I liked the Finger Number Polka, because it was fun country singers and gluing them on the paper hands. And then possibly cut the hands out and stick them on our own hands. I playing the songs on the piano. Jake was a funny dog. There were crazy voices. It is good for kids my age!
What Dad Said: What I liked about Kinderbach is that they focus on building a strong foundation in the basics of music. While it is primarily applied to the piano it can be carried over to other instruments. B & C enjoy the lessons and variety that Kinderbach provides.
What I disliked was that the lessons seemed to move slowly while building the basic foundation. As an adult I do expect information and results to come at a faster pace. However, B & C really enjoy this program and are showing tremendous progress. The program works despite my impatience.
Overall, if your child (or children) really like Kinderbach and show progress, stick with it.
Other Products Available: DVD’s of the program along with CD’s with copies of the PDF’s and activities are available. Songbooks are also available.
I would recommend Kinderbach to families with young children, so they can have a solid foundation for music. For more reviews go to The Homeschool Crew review page.
Disclaimer: I received this product for free for review purposes through The Homeschool Crew. All links were current when posted.
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