Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Piano for Preschoolers Giveaway!


Not surprisingly, many of the best products we review here on Cool Moms Rule were created by Moms like you, who saw there was a need for something for their own children that no one else was addressing. So they went that extra mile and solved the problem themselves.

Angie Crellin is one of those Moms. She's been studying classical music for 30 years (obviously she started when she was a baby!), and when the time came to teach her own oldest daughter to play the piano, she excitedly brought home all kinds of music books to help her learn to play the piano, only to see her daughter lose interest quickly. The books out there simply didn't appeal to her. And then Angie's youngest son showed some interest, and rather than try the same old musty books that bored her daughter, she considered classes. But all of the classes out there seemed to use the same old boring beginner's books that her daughter had abandoned.

So Angie created Piano for Preschoolers, and it really is a comprehensive program. And what's even more important, it actually appeals to kids and keeps them interested.

The program consists of :
  • A teaching guide book for the parent or teacher which serves as an introduction and gives some valuable tips for keeping kids interested, how to use the program, etc.
  • A color-coded book of songs kids will love, and can learn to play themselves.
  • Two durable plastic-coated key guides, that fit right over either a piano or a keyboard, so your kids know where their fingers should go by color.
  • A 17-track music CD with "count along" help for every song in the music book.
Here's some of the reasons I think Piano for Preschoolers really rocks (and why it is so successful):

Your know how your child learns. Let's face it, no one knows your child better than you do! You are already a great teacher; you're a Mom. But maybe you don't know how to play classical music yourself. Maybe you've never touched a keyboard. You know what? You can still teach your child with Angie's method!

Kids learn their colors early, and this system works on that premise. Don't worry about overwhelming musical charts in the beginning. All they have to do to play the notes is know their colors! (You may be aware, if you have older children, of the popularity of video games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. They use a similar premise of having the kids push buttons on the controller by color to play the guitar or drums, and they certainly keep kids' interest!) By the end of the program, your child will make the transition to musical notes easily.

Kids learn at their own pace. If they stumble over a song, they can take as long as they need to learn it.

The songs are catchy, and kids know them. Who hasn't sung the ABC song to her child, or Old MacDonald? How about Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star?

Now, imagine if your child could play these songs herself, with you singing along and praising her. Don't you think she would be motivated to learn to play more songs?

As I said, the program is comprehensive, and at $39.95, Piano for Preschoolers is more than reasonable. The only thing not included is the piano (hey, imagine what the shipping would cost for that!) or keyboard.

By the way, that's another thing I liked: kids can learn this program on a simple keyboard, which is easier and cheaper than a piano. But you may feel differently. Maybe you have a baby grand sitting around in your conservatory somewhere. ; )

And, if you discover you have a child prodigy on your hands, Angie plans to release another course for older children soon.

Win It!

Want to Win The Piano for Preschoolers Program? We were so impressed, we're giving away our review copy to one lucky Mom!

Here's how to win:

If you have a blog, link to this contest on your blog. Then come back and comment with the link in your comment.

If you don't have a blog, leave a comment below this post with the reason you think your child would love the Piano for Preschoolers Program!

All comments must be made by 9:00 PM EST on Monday, June 2nd (forget that midnight deadline, I'm a Mom, I can't stay up that late!). One lucky Mom will be declared the winner on Tuesday, June 3rd.

That's it! Good luck!

~ Viv

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd love to win this for my daughter! she already dances, so this is the next step.

Becky said...

Wow- this sounds so neat- We just bought a piano and I can't wait to start teaching my daughter! This would be perfect!!!

Anonymous said...

I would love to win this as I just inherited my mother's piano and 5 of my children and I are wanting to learn to play. I have a 4 year old as well as a 2.5 and 19 month old that could benefit from this. Even my 5, 8, and 9 year old may benefit as well.


I blogged you here:

http://laurawilliamsmusings.blogspot.com/2008/05/tuesday-edition-of-contests-galore_27.html

Uniquely Yours said...

I would love to win this I inherited my mother-in-law's piano several years ago and neither my husband nor myself can play. My nearly three year old loves to bang on it thinking she is making beautiful music. PLEASE save me!!!!

Anonymous said...

i have a 3 yr old and a 2 yr old that have been expressing they want to learn how to play. it's been do hard to teach them with the books i have. this would help so much.
bwalleshauser AT yahoo DOT com

blogged yahttp://notimemom.wordpress.com/2008/05/28/contests-42808/

holly K said...

My daughter has been asking to learn and I haven't found a book yet. This would be so great!!! cookiecutter72 AT hotmail DOT com

Bunny B said...

Sweet prize! I wanna win for my nephew :) I blogged you HERE! Thank you for the chance!

bunnybox9 at gmail .com

Unknown said...

This would be awesome for my daughter! She loves music and we're always saying how we'd like to get her into music classes when she's a little older, but with this we could start at home now!

Jo said...

This would be great for my daughter since we have a larger piano and she is dying to learn how to play it and we cannot afford lessons at the moment.

julie said...

music opens many doors to learning..patterns..sound..passion to explore...my nephew would love this.
3beez at bellsouth dot net

In Everything said...

What a fun giveaway!! I play a couple of instruments and read music but I really, really would love to learn the piano and especially have my children learn!!! I love that it's easly enough for me to teach them.....what I nice and relaxing way to introduce it and see if they even want to study it.

I blogged this contest here:http://seethefam.blogspot.com/2008/05/piano-for-preschoolers-contest.html

Anonymous said...

My daughter would love something like this! She has 2 keyboards but hasn't done much except beat on the keys!

sweetsue said...

This would be great for my two year old grandaughter and her mother. They recently bought a piano but neither know how to play.

Theresa N. said...

My daughter and granddaughter have a piano they can't play, this would be very helpful for them.
Theresa N
weceno@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I'd love to win this.

Anonymous said...

My twins love music and they are the perfect age for this.

denise_22315(at)yahoo(dot)com

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