Online or product alternatives to private lessons

Don't get me wrong, private lessons definitely have their place.  As a former student, I know that reporting to my teacher and wanting to please her was highly motivating for me.  You really need a good teacher/mentor to get a good polish as you become more advanced.

Having said that, private lessons can be very costly!  Especially if you have several children.  For the early beginner, the focus is on playing the right note with the right rhythm and gaining a general understanding of how written music works.  You can do that without a private teacher.  Adults may not want private lessons but still want to learn the basics on their own.  Homeschooling families want to incorporate music into their curriculum.  Young children may be too shy for lessons.  Families may wish to have private lessons, but simply cannot afford them.

In no particular order, here a few online resources you can look into.  These just scratch the surface of what is available, but they are the programs that have intrigued me.  Disclaimer:  I haven’t personally tried any of them, so I am not endorsing or vouching for them, just sharing what is available.  Most of these programs are for piano lessons.  They do represent an initial investment, but they are considerably less than private lessons, and can be used for more than one child.

Kinderbach

Piano Online or DVD program for young children.  Most lessons include coloring pages.  My son loved their free 2-week preview.

www.kinderbach.com/ 

Piano Wizard

Designed like a video game, lessons are done on an electric keyboard plugged into the computer.  Colored stickers are placed on the piano.  I have a friend who highly recommends this program.

Piano Wizard Academy

Soft Mozart

Soft Mozart also has a video game element to it.  Instead of colored keys, the stickers have pictures to help you learn solfege, ie, a door for “Do”, etc.  Note that this teaches children fixed do, instead of moveable do, which is more often used in the states.

www.softmozart.com/ 

Little Musician

This product is not available yet, but I have been on the Beta testing team and I think it’s going to be great.  This program will be geared towards babies, toddlers and preschoolers, and echos the philosophy of Glenn Doman.

www.brillkids.com 

Taneda Method

Ear-training course that teaches young children perfect pitch.

www.wehearandplay.com 

Piano for Life

A DVD piano series for older children that mimics classical education.  It is a theory-based course, where you learn how to build chords, and then how incorporate that knowledge into your playing.

www.pianoforlife.com 

Simply Music

A method that teaches you to play by ear first, then how to read music.  The idea is that you should learn how to talk before you learn how to read.  This program has won various homeschool awards.

www.simplymusic.com 

Piano for Preschoolers

A color-coded piano course for young students.  I love that it doesn’t involve putting stickers on the piano keys.

www.pianoforpreschoolers.com 

Free Homeschool Music Curriculum

http://thepianostudent.wordpress.com/2008/07/06/free-homeschool-music-curriculum-woo-hoo/

You can also easily make your own music curriculum with the help of your favorite search engine and online videos.   Supplement your unit studies with an era-composer.  See if a favorite story has an opera to go with it.  There is so much available at your fingertips!

Do you have experience with one of these programs?  What do you think?  Did I leave out your favorite?  Share it with us in the comment section.  :)

Chicken Pox isn't so bad

About a month ago my husband showed me a small red dot behind my daughters ear.  And another.  And a few more on her stomach.

She definitely had the chicken pox.

It was 5:30 on a Saturday evening.  I grabbed my Herbal Home Health Care book by Dr Christopher and quickly ran to Shangri La before they closed at 6:00.  I stocked up on herbs, namely Yarrow, Peppermint tea, and Catnip tea.  Comfrey and red raspberry leaf was already stocked in our kitchen.

My 2-year-old didn't seem to suffer much from it; her case was mild besides a nasty pox on her eyelid and a couple in her genitals.  The herbs definitely helped, and she quickly learned to request them by name.  We gave her an herbal bath by pouring yarrow into a nylon stocking and tying it off and giving it to her to play with.  Comfrey powder was also dumped into the bath.  She loved the comfrey because it was very soothing for her.  The yarrow helps the body sweat to get rid of the toxins.  Don't suppress the disease, get it out!

We tried to give her herbal tea with peppermint and red raspberry leaf, sweetened with honey, but she wouldn't drink it.

The other thing we did to help her was give her a warm catnip tea enema.  Yes, an enema.  Why?  The bowels are designed to quickly absorb liquid, and an enema is one of the quickest ways to deliver an herb to where the body needs it.  Yep, we did that.  It really wasn't that bad.

The hardest part was waiting for the inevitable 2nd round to hit my boys.  Merry Christmas everybody, we're staying home.

On Christmas eve, it happened.  Both my 4-year-old and my 1-year old broke out together.  Peter loved telling everyone that he got chicken pox for Christmas.  My one year-old is breastfeeding, so I wondered if he would get it at all, but I'm confident that he had a bad enough case to develop an immunity.

This second round was worse than the first.  My husband's boss told Michael that chicken pox is said to have a weak round and then a strong round, so if you are going to try to get it, get it from someone who has it bad.  Maybe that's true.  I think it is more likely that Helen's case was mild for OUR family, and the virus that she spread to the boys had learned to overcome some of our family's immune system.

Again, the herbs were brought out and the oh-so-fun tea baths came for the children.  My older son drank his tea and talked us out of the enemas.  For a couple of days they both slept most of the day, and drank juice to their heart's content.  A homeschooling family through and through, we watched YouTube videos explaining what chicken pox is, and how it doesn't come from chickens.  We learned what childhood diseases are, and why they will never have chicken pox again.  Peter is excited that his immune system is stronger now.

A note on the chicken-pox vaccine.  Assuming it worked, my children would have had to have booster shots for the rest of their life to avoid getting chicken pox.  I know families who vaccinated against the pox during childhood only to get horrible cases when they were teenagers.  The younger you are when you get it, the better.  My 4-year-old had it much worse than my 1-year old, and 4 is still pretty young to be getting it.  I am VERY glad that I had chicken pox in my youth because I'm pregnant now, and I could pass it on to my unborn baby if I caught it now.  My husband didn't need the chicken pox booster shot when he went on his mission because he had it as a child.

Was chicken pox fun?  No, of course not.  But they survived!  It wasn't terrible!  It's better than getting poked with a needle several times during your life, or worse, getting it when you are older.  The worst part for my children was the quarantine, especially during the holidays.  However, we had a cozy Christmas as a family, and it was really nice to slow things down for a change.

For my next child, I will keep my eye out for chicken pox parties for her.  This is especially true as I have more children.  It would have been really nice for all three of them to get the chicken pox together and get it over with all at once.  Finding pox parties can be difficult.  I announced the opportunity on facebook, etc, but Christmas is poor timing for most people who would otherwise have been interested.  That's okay.  Good luck, parents out there.  If your kids do have the chicken pox, don't be afraid to let other people know.  If you are willing, host a party.  Yes, some people gawk at the idea of a party, but there are just as many people who are itching (pun intended) to get their child permanently immune.

Chicken pox doesn't have to be a big deal.  It is fairly easy for all but the weakest immune systems to overcome.  Overcoming a genuine disease strengthens the immune system when tougher viruses come around.  Herbs can greatly diminish the discomfort.  As my children's scabs finish healing, I am grateful that they have passed through this trial, and that they have stronger bodies because of it.  I wouldn't have it any other way.

Well!  Now that that's over, and our visiting extended family in January to exchange gifts is all through, maybe my life will get back in order and I can start blogging again!  That's the plan...  :)

The Electric Universe (or Plasma Cosmology)

Warning:  Contents of this post challenge mainstream science, and the ideas are really “out there”.   A paradigm shift in how you view the universe may result if, like me, you believe them.  I share this on my blog because it may be a scientific theory of interest.  It is what I plan on teaching my own children.

As always, take what you want and leave the rest.  I have been addicted to a study of the electric universe over the last couple of months, and for those who have never heard of it, well, here’s your chance to become aware.  At the very least, it is an emerging scientific theory to be aware of.  This post is also long.  It takes an essay to present a case like this.  I’ve referenced some YouTube videos you can skip to if that’s more to your liking.

For me, finding this information was like finding the missing puzzle piece in my scientific view of the world.  From a Christian perspective, I believe that the world was created during a relatively short period of time.  From an LDS perspective (this is not a religious post, bare with me), I have been taught that the earth once orbited a different sun, and that as a result of the fall, the earth was sent to this solar system.

Mainstream science tells us that the solar system evolved over millions of years, and the Earth’s place within it has likewise been constant.

Mainstream science once told us that the earth was flat.  Then it was the center of the universe.  Now gravity, dependent on the mass of an object, governs the role of celestial bodies.  The only problem with that assumption is that, while it works perfectly within our own solar system, scientists have been at a loss to explain the phenomena we are now viewing in deep space.  If gravity is based on mass, then there must be massive objects, such as black holes, holding galaxies together.  Well, that was fine at first, but then black holes didn’t behave the way they should, and not only “dark matter”, but “dark energy” was hypothesized.  Given this “blank check” variable as they explain the universe, they have placed these mysterious, unseen elements anywhere they want to make the math work.  Now, only roughly 5% of the universe’s mass is the matter that we can actually see.  If you do a crossword puzzle and the last word just doesn’t fit, do you change the spelling of your word, or do you go back and see if you made a mistake somewhere else?

Here's an interesting video on mathematical vs empirical science:  (no offense to mathematics of course.  I love math)

In the Electric Universe, electricity, not mass, governs the universe.  Scientists who support this theory have recreated in the laboratory on a small scale exactly what we are seeing on a large scale in the cosmos.  Is science based on mathematics, or on the scientific method, a key element of which is experimentation?

For more information on the electric universe, www.thunderbolts.info is a central hub for the scientists involved in this study.  For media resources, check this page out:

http://www.thunderbolts.info/mmarchives/index.htm.

Also, their “picture of the day” is an active, growing resource you can use with your kids.  The following is their hour-long introduction to the theory, entitled "Thunderbolts of the gods"

Immanuel Velikovsky is the original author to introduce the idea to society in the 50’s.  His ideas were VERY controversial, but nevertheless entertaining to read so the books did well.  His research was not based on science as much as ancient texts from around the world.  He suggested that the myths and legends should be taken literally, and that the world over, the legends could be explained by catastrophic events witnessed in the heavens.

Video introducing Velikovsky:

Velikovsy held that Saturn was once a star, and the earth it’s natural satellite.  Saturn entered our solar system and became Sol’s satellite.  For a brief period, Saturn, Venus, Mars, and the Earth were aligned in the same orbit.  Then something happened to disrupt that orbit and a “war in heaven”,  played by these planets, commenced.  Then each settled into their own orbits.  Yes, that sounds really far out, but as I have researched the ancient beliefs of different cultures, this story really does appear in the ancient texts, and the electric universe can explain the science behind it.

Take for example, the pagan celebration of Saturnalia, from which many of our Christmas traditions have sprung.  To this day, Pagans hold that Saturn once ruled in the sky, which was a Golden Age for man.  Then Jupiter overcame Saturn, and Saturn was forced to sleep for a time, falling from it’s place in the sky.  The Saturnalia celebration wakens Saturn for a week, in an effort to mimic that golden age (producing instead, in many cases, riotous behavior).  It is also a celebration to remember that one day Saturn will waken and return, creating a new golden age.

But it’s not just the Pagans.  Look at the ancient Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Aztecs, and the various Asian religions.  It’s all there if you’re willing to dig for it.  Since Velikovsky, many scientists have looked into the electric universe, and his work is gaining popularity in the scientific world, especially as we learn more about deep space.

What about the LDS perspective?  Did you know that there are Saturn stones on the Salt Lake City temple?  Why?  mormonprophecy.blogspot.com offers compelling answers.  Here’s a video appetizer:

Nothing about this scientific theory is contrary to the gospel.  In fact, Velikovsky is referenced in the CES Old Testament manual on the creation:

“Although the majority of geologists, astronomers, and other scientists believe that even this long period is not adequate to explain the physical evidence found in the earth, there are a small number of reputable scholars who disagree. These claim that the geologic clocks are misinterpreted and that tremendous catastrophes in the earth’s history speeded up the processes that normally may take thousands of years. They cite evidence supporting the idea that thirteen thousand years is not an unrealistic time period. Immanuel Velikovsky, for example, wrote three books amassing evidence that worldwide catastrophic upheavals have occurred in recent history, and he argued against uniformitarianism, the idea that the natural processes in evidence now have always prevailed at the same approximate rate of uniformity. These books are Worlds in Collision, Ages in Chaos, and Earth in Upheaval. Two Latter-day Saint scientists, Melvin A. Cook and M. Garfield Cook, have also advocated this theory in their book Science and Mormonism. A short summary of the Cooks’ approach can be found in Paul Cracroft’s article “How Old Is the Earth?” (Improvement Era, Oct. 1964, pp. 827–30, 852).”

(https://www.lds.org/manual/old-testament-student-manual-genesis-2-samuel/genesis-1-2-the-creation?lang=eng)

So there, in a nutshell, is a different approach to cosmology, the king of sciences.  I am now a believer in this theory, and this is what I will be teaching my children.  Like evolution, they cannot avoid learning about and being aware of the mainstream sciences, but I am so excited to have a concrete resource to teach them which supports creational science.  I’ve been looking for this my whole life.  I hope that this can be of some interest to you as well.

Tamsyn Spackman

Christmas Update

Merry Christmas everyone!  It seems that my last post was made October 15th.  Well, I'm still here, and I've been busy working on two large projects, both of which will be ready for release soon.  One will be a surprise, the other is that I have been recording "Mother Play" with a good friend of mine.

"Mother Play" was written by Fredrich Froebel, who invented Kindergarten.  The music is charming, with an "art song" feel to it.  The original music consisted of unaccompanied duets which many teachers found hard to implement into their curriculum.  The book was widely distributed, but rarely used.  This is unfortunate as Froebel himself considered the music, and especially the moral lessons which accompany them, to be his crowning achievement.


In an effort to make the lessons more musically accessible, a new book, "The songs and music of Friedrich Froebel's Mother play", was published in English in 1895.  These songs have piano accompaniments, and we loved them so much that we decided to record them too.  Watch for our release soon!


Part of this project has been to make these Public Domain files more accessible.  Today I compiled information for the first song, "Play with the Limbs."  More updates will soon follow.

See the "Mother Play" page here.

Rainbow Castle for the international crowd

Recently one of my reviewers in Germany told me that she loved the Rainbow Castle game, which is part of "Beginning Rhythm", except that she could not use it  with her child because Germany uses a different notation system than America.  I forgot to compensate for that when I made the game.  In Northern and Central Europe, there is a variation of using the letter "H" to represent the white note below "C".  ("B" is the black note right below it.)  It was this notation system that Bach used to sign his name into many of his compositions with the notes "B-A-C-H."

In countries that use fixed do, the note names are simply 'Do', 'Re', 'Mi', 'Fa', 'So', 'La', and 'Si'."

I have now updated the "Beginning Rhythm" program to include game boards that accommodate these notation systems, as well as game boards for solfege with "Ti".

You can download international gameboards here for free.

For the entire game with the playing cards, I refer you to "Beginning Rhythm."  I have mostly added these files as an update for those who already have the game.

Rhythm Guessing Game

Perhaps I have been watching a little too much Sesame Street with my children...

In this video, we play a rhythm "guessing game", where a rhythm is spoken, and the student "guesses" where a certain rhythmic element is.  It's a listening exercise.  Watch this video with your student or child...

There are many applications for this kind of game.  As shown, it is best for the younger beginning student.  An older child, even if a beginner, may tire of it quickly.  Here are some extension activities to keep them engaged:

• Notate the whole measure with rhythm sticks or note cards.
• Mix and match different rhythmic elements, as in the last example, to make the game more challenging.
• Don't tell them what rhythmic elements you are going to use.  Make them guess!
• Have the child create a measure for you to guess.  (A memory game in and of itself.  Kids often do better than adults!)
• Rather than clap the rhythm, play it on a percussion instrument.
• Do longer sequences.

If you are interested in the templates used in the video, they are part of the Beginning Rhythm package, but you can easily make your own rhythm cards by hand on index cards.  You can also use Popsicle sticks or coffee straws for stick notation.  Just do it, and have fun!

So what's this comunnity tab at the top?

Ah yes, that tab that has sat dormant all summer while I worked on the e-book.  Well, it's an experiment.  I want a chance to get to know my readers, and for you to be able to get to know each other.  In short, a forum.

There are many ways to contact me, such as commenting on a post, commenting on facebook, and personal e-mail.  Those options will always be there, and I will try to answer questions any way that you feel comfortable with.

However, to get feedback from several people, and to start your own topic, you need a forum.

Why Blog Frog?  Well, for one, it's free for me on my end.  (I'm cheap.)  But more than that, I love how Blog Frog gives you a chance to promote your own blog while participating in other forums.  By being a member of a community, your most recent posts will show up.  When you comment, people have the option of seeing who you are and what your blog is.  That is, if you are into that kind of a thing.  You can also create an anonymous profile linking to no blog at all.  There are options.

Here are the first two discussions:

Getting Started

Getting to know you

Below is Blog Frog's standard tour video to give you an idea of what it is all about.