Category: Giveaway

I received a year membership to Teaching Children Music to facilitate this review. All thoughts are 100% my own.

Piano, singing, drums, guitar. Most parents want their children to take some sort of formal music lessons. Teaching Children Music has made it possible for everyone to learn music, including adults. 

I grew up in the home of a Piano Teacher. In 4th grade I began private violin lessons. When 5th grade rolled around I joined the after school band on clarinet. I played an instrument up through the age of 19 on a regular basis. Then I married a man working on his degree in music education. 

You would think our children would be little prodigies. But they aren’t. It turns out teaching children music was more difficult than I thought as we tried to balance work with family fun. I worked on reading and writing, and social skills, and general mothering duties, and sort of thought Mark would take over the music education. But after teaching music all day long to kids at school, he didn’t really want to come home and do it all over with the kids. 

So when a friend of Mark’s from college developed her own music lessons, I was kind of thrilled. We didn’t live anywhere nearby, but I’d sit and watch the youtube videos she posted. I didn’t always understand it, but knew Mark would be able to translate for me, and then I could teach the kids. After many moves, and well life just being crazy, Tamsyn reached out to me and asked if I would test their new membership option.

I said yes.

2 Days after I logged in and printed off the piano sheets, my kids were doing this.

No joke. I set Venice up to watch the individual lessons, which go through each song we printed. After lesson 2 she was more interested in just playing through all the music. She loves that the songs are one’s she is familiar with – Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Chopsticks, Rain Rain Go Away, Skip to My Lou, and more! My favorite is listening to chopsticks, but she enjoys The Bicycle.

While the lessons are directed at kids, adults could learn and benefit from these as well. For example – part of the membership gave me access to a Do Re Mi printable strip for the keys. After watching Tamsyn’s video on how to use this, I learned more about music theory and how scales work than I ever did when I actually took music classes! 

Teaching Children Music has given my kids a good introduction to music that has ignited a passion I knew was hiding just beneath the surface. It also gives us the freedom to fit it into our schedule and our budget. A one-year membership to Teaching Children Music costs less than 1 month of in person piano lessons – at least compared to everywhere I’ve looked! The success I’ve seen with my kids and the knowledge I’ve gained myself has been worth it, so I know we’ll be renewing when our year is up. 

If a year doesn’t fit in your budget, though, or you’d like to test it out before committing, you can buy the individual lessons at a lower cost. They just don’t come with the support of a community and all the extra activity’s and games.  

Of course, you could also just enter to WIN a membership! Two very lucky readers will win a one-year membership to Teaching Children Music. 

Psst. She also has Ukulele lessons, so if the piano isn’t your go to, you could try that out!

The Babiators information, product and additional gift pack have been provided by Babiators. All opinions are my honest thoughts. 

We’ve been on Summer Vacation for about 2 weeks now, and the kids have spent most of the time outdoors. We are on the move more, but that means I also need to be more aware of safety hazards. So how do you stay safe in the summer, while still having fun? 

Did you know that kids will be outside receiving 3x more UV exposure than adults, but less than 30% of parents are protecting their children’s eyes? I admit, I fall into that 30% of parents. At least I did until Babiators contacted me with the facts. 

While it’s important to protect the whole families eyes, kids eyes are especially susceptible, since they are still developing. You can read the Vision Council’s 2015 Report for more facts on how UV rays affect our eyes. 

Obviously, we’re not going to stop heading outdoors, but we can do some simple things that will help us enjoy the summer, while still protecting our vision. We’re starting with finding sunglasses for the whole family. Mark has always worn them, but it’s never been something I worried about, which led to the kids never wearing them either. 

Stay Indoors between 2pm-4pm. UV Rays are at their peak during these hours. Enjoy the outdoors during the morning or evening to avoid the strongest UV Rays. 

Wear Sunglasses. When heading out in the sun, even on an overcast day, bring your sunglasses. Look for glasses with 100% UVA/UVB protection. We love our Polarized Babiators. They protect but are also comfortable. The kids have been passing these around, but Lincoln has claimed them as his. 

Seek Shade. We just bought a Badminton set for some summer fun, but in order to use it, we’ve got to be out in the sun. For those not playing, and when the kids need a break from the game and hot summer sun, we’ve strung up a hammock under the apple tree. It’s the perfect spot for relaxing outdoors and protecting our skin and eyes from harmful UV rays. 

Wear Sunscreen. Hopefully this is one we’re all doing already, but I can’t talk about UV protection without talking about sunscreen. Our eyes are important, but so is our skin. So make sure to cover any exposed skin. A sunburn on the face could also mean a sunburn on the eyes. I also recently learned from our emergency trip, that applying sunscreen will help reduce the scarring from Lincoln’s stitches.

Stay Hydrated. Hot summer days, running around the yard and park will drain kids of liquids fast. Keep them hydrated so they have the energy to continue running and being kids. 

Where will you take Babiators this summer?

Win a pair of Babiators in Black! Giveaway open to US only. Ends 6/18/16

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