Jean Welles’ Worship Guitar Class for Kids is an excellent program for children and adults to learn to play guitar. Being a non-guitar playing person I was surprised by my own ability to follow through and successfully duplicate her fingering. After I gave it a try I introduced the streaming videos to the girls and they are starting to get the hang of how it works. We were so excited about our ability to make a few sounds that we went out to see how much a proper guitar would cost. (For this review I had to borrow a friend’s guitar.)
Although the title of this course is “Worship Guitar” secular homeschooling families should not feel that by purchasing this product that they are subjecting their children to any form of indoctrination. The lessons start off with a quick prayer and the songs are dedicated to God and the values that everyone needs to be successful in life. People from all faiths should be comfortable with the songs and the spirit in which they were created.
One thing that my girls really enjoyed was the feeling that they were in a personal lesson with Ms. Welles. Ms. Welles has a cat that is present during her instruction and for my cat loving girls this was a giant plus. I think that showing parts of the live lesson with the adorable little girl was also a brilliant touch because it gives the little ones confidence seeing another student receiving corrections and praise for a job well done. As a parent I felt that she had a genuine love of her students and of God. This quiet and loving confidence made the lessons special and enjoyable (for us at least) than many that we have experienced with music teachers that we’ve encountered in real life.
The Worship Guitar Class for Kids is also incredibly affordable for any family. You can get the nine streaming video lessons for $28. If you would like to have the children practice without tying up the computer, you can also request the lessons on DVD for an additional $5 for a total of $33. The course covers:
How to hold down a note to get a clear tone on the guitar.
A couple worship songs with the melody plucked to strengthen their hands.
MathTutor has created one of the most beautiful math programs for young children that I have ever experienced. I find it difficult to describe the visual and auditory beauty that you experience in “Young Minds Number and Counting.” I have a three year old son and although we all found the cover intriguing with the tree frog, Michael hasn’t expressed any real interest in “formal” learning. We don’t have cable (hence we have not television) so he hasn’t been exposed to much Sesame Street and the usual suspects.
But once the video began, he was entranced. I mean, the perpetual motion boy just sat and watched the entire presentation without a word. On the next pass (he insisted on it being played again) he kept jumping up to make sure that we were watching the many animals that were being counted while beautiful classical music played in the background. The music chosen were selections from Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Vivaldi, Brahms, Pachelbel and Chopin. (Sometimes I just put it on to listen to the music!)
This is a basic counting DVD, but because of the extraordinary images and music it is more of a feast of numbers than I would have thought possible. I mean, how interesting can you make counting to 15? If you really want to know you need to watch this video.
The Basic Math Word Problem Tutor
While not as colorful or musically inspired, this eight hour video course is very thorough and an excellent way to explain word problems to your children. The instructor begins at the beginning and builds on each foundation. My oldest daughter has trouble with word problems (as it seems a lot of kids do), but she really enjoyed watching the video and working alongside the instructor. Actually, I was surprised that she wasn’t goofing around while the DVD was playing. Instead she ran upstairs got her notebook and took notes on what the instructor said and did. Her word problem skills still need work, but she seemed to really appreciate the way that the teacher explained things.
I personally found his explanations and illustrations to be quite clear. And he went through the entire strategy for tackling a problem. If there were more than one way to arrive at the correct answer he explained each of them while helping the student to focus on key words that supply the clues to what you’re supposed to accomplish. Overall, I was quite impressed and even re-learned a few things that I had forgotten about. I know that these three DVDs will hold a prominent place in our bag of math tricks.
I'm a homeschooling mom with seven children: 3 human, 2 feline and 2 canine. I'm also the wife of one very patient husband who seems to like the role of ringmaster to our circus. I am a virtual assistant who enjoys writing, crafts, music and laughter. I hope you'll visit often. Please be aware that this blog is supported by affiliate links, although every link isn't necessarily an affiliate program.
Jean Welles’ Worship Guitar Class for Kids is an excellent program for children and adults to learn to play guitar. Being a non-guitar playing person I was surprised by my own ability to follow through and successfully duplicate her fingering. After I gave it a try I introduced the streaming videos to the girls and they are starting to get the hang of how it works. We were so excited about our ability to make a few sounds that we went out to see how much a proper guitar would cost. (For this review I had to borrow a friend’s guitar.)
