KinderBach

Karri Gregor created KinderBach when she tried to enroll her own children, then 4 and 7, in piano lessons and they were deemed “too young.” She opened a music studio and eventually developed KinderBach for use in other classrooms and in the home. It isn’t intended to take the place of more formal one-on-one lessons but rather to introduce young children to the benefits of music instruction. The program is available in several different formats, and my daughters and I were given a few months of access to the KinderBach Learning Center, an online program that utilizes web video and printable activity pages, to use and review.

Karri, who has a background in art and music, teaches and sings in the lessons in front of cartoon backgrounds, asks questions, and enthusiastically encourages kids to interact with the lessons as much as possible, much like Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, and other popular preschool shows. She has a warm and inviting personality that comes across in the lessons, and it’s clear that she enjoys teaching and has put a great deal of effort into teaching musical concepts in an engaging manner. A large cast of characters help young kids learn music theory, note reading, rhythm, ear training, hand position, and other musical concepts.

When a lesson has an accompanying coloring page or worksheet, the printer icon is displayed (if not, it has a circle-slash through it); a PDF opens when you click on the printer icon. The Learning Center lessons are easy to navigate, even for children, and an introductory video is included for each week to inform the parent what concepts will be explained and what materials you will need for that week’s sessions. Online games and a karaoke application are not yet available.

My 3-year-old, Jemma, loved learning about Dodi the donkey, listening to the songs, and especially playing with rhythm instruments from around the house. She loves to color and requested that I print her more Dodi coloring pages several times in the past few weeks outside of our KinderBach lessons. My 7-year-old, Isabelle, also enjoyed the lessons but felt like some of the content was too young and silly for her.

The program does seem geared more toward preschoolers than early elementary students though it is recommended for ages 2-7. I’m not sure how much they learned about playing the piano during our testing period, but my older daughter retained the information about music note recognition and is interested in doing more music appreciation in our studies. I would prefer to go through the program on DVD rather than view the lessons online, as our computer desk arrangement isn’t well suited to two children watching lessons, coloring or writing on worksheets, playing a keyboard, and doing action songs.

You can try the first 2 weeks of KinderBach lessons free. An annual subscription to KinderBach Learning Center costs $85.95, or you may opt for a month-to-month subscription for $14.95. Home Educating Family recently featured the Gregor family and how they developed KinderBach, and you can read more about this home-based business here.

To see more reviews of KinderBach, see the TOS Homeschool Crew blog!