This review is one of my favorites because we’ve been wanting to add music appreciation to our school days forever- and finally, thanks to Zeezok Publishing, we’ve found some very exciting curriculum.
Disclosure: As I share my review with you, please bear in mind that I have been compensated for my time and that I received this product for free. As always, opinions I express with you are honest.
Zeezok brings music appreciation to life!
A few weeks ago, I unveiled our box day as I excitedly tore open the packaging and looked over our curriculum for the first time. You can watch that video here. Since that day, I can barely walk by our bookshelf without taking a side glance at it. The kids and I are pretty excited about using it each week for school. It’s an attractive package that calls to us each time we pass it! I know it probably sounds corny, but it’s as if the composers are beckoning us to listen.As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been attempting to bring music appreciation into our school days for as long as I can remember. With scattered collections of composer CD’s (even tapes) I’ve picked up from various sources like garage sales and used book sales, it’s not been an easy feat to figure out how to bring the whole composer studies together.One benefit of using a program like Zeezok’s composer curriculum study is that it’s already put together for me. All I have to do is open up the books, pop in the CD and get ready to learn.I’ve also been able to combine both kids (ages 11 and 6) and it’s worked out beautifully. They each enjoyed listening to the music, hearing the biographies read aloud, and creating a lapbook.Our chosen classical composer this time around: Mozart.
Dig into the lives of classical composers.
My kids enjoyed hearing me read about the biography of Mozart provided in Book 1 of the Music Appreciation for the Elementary Grades. These books are just easy enough to read in a few days, but the idea is to take your time and read one chapter per week while completing the activity pages in the accompanying workbook.Each chapter fills my kids’ minds with simple biographical information about Mozart, weaving a compelling story for young minds about what his life was like growing up.The stories are quite interesting and keep the interest of even my 6 year old.In the back of the book and throughout the course of the book, there are over 25 minuets, sonatas (and more) by Mozart, complete with music score.
Listen to the beautiful music of each composer.
Zeezok Publishing has this to say about their curriculum:
The heart of this series is to introduce children to classical music, and begin to instill within them a love and appreciation for this unique genre.
My kids are beginning to differentiate between Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach as they listen closely to the different musical styles of each. That’s exactly what I was hoping for.The Music Appreciation Book 1 Collection comes with five CD’s of the different composers and plenty of music selections from each, plus a lapbook CD.
Hands-on activities make music appreciation fun.
The workbooks provided are filled with informative and engaging explanations of each composer.I like curricula that is well thought out and organized. It’s easy to find the composer you want to study. Just locate the color-coded tab and flip right to it.
My kids enjoyed plenty of hands-on activities- from workbook pages (including mapping skills, word search, comprehensive questions, short writing activities, and match-ups) to the ultimate project- our ongoing Mozart lapbook. An answer key is provided.I also loved how this curriculum has a very distinct Christian point of view- being sure to bring out the character qualities and Christian upbringing of Mozart. Lapbooking gave my oldest daughter (11 years old) a hands-on project to bring the music and workbook to life. It gave my 6-year-old kinesthetic learner something active to do with her lessons.
How to purchase the Music Appreciation Book 1 Collection
Head on over to Zeezok.com and view the Music Appreciation Book 1 Collection as well as many other resources available there.From February 17-March 21, 2014, Zeezok is offering a 10% discount on all orders. Just use the coupon code ihomeschool.
How to enter this Music Appreciation Giveaway by Zeezok!
Prizes are shipped to US mailing addresses only. You may enter between February 17 and March 20, 2014. The winner will be chosen and notified on Friday, March 21, 2014.If you happen to make a purchase during the giveaway, and subsequently win, Zeezok will issue you a refund of the purchase price.So- if you’re ready to enter the raffle, hop right in! And please be sure to follow Zeezok on Twitter (@zeezokpub), Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube.a Rafflecopter giveawa. Thanks for participating!
