Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Zeezok Publishing - Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades Review




Studying music is not always just about playing an instrument.  We recently had the opportunity to review a wonderful musical program from Zeezok Publishing - Music Appreciation: Book 2 for the Middle Grades.  This has been a wonderful expansive musical education program for our family.


Do you remember studying music in elementary school?  Playing hand bells or tapping sticks together to the beat of a song scratching away on the record player in the corner of your music classroom.  We also sang goofy songs while our teacher played away the tune on the piano.  This was an enjoyable childhood memory.  But I never realized who some of the best classical artists were, because we never covered them in classes!  I find this so hard because I feel like I missed a good chunk of education by not studying classical artists.

Zeezok Publishing - Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades takes the traditional music class and pushes it to the next level.  Not only do are you learning using literature based curriculum.  But you are also combining studies of history and geography into the mix.  As you can see from the above picture, it's not just reading from a textbook.  We could read together as a group or the girls could read the chapters independently, depending on the days activities.

As you delve into the chapter books and assigned reading, at the end of each section there are conversation questions or comprehension questions that you can work on together or independently.  I really liked that we were able to mix this up as an option.  Caty wants to work independently, yet Lydia struggles in this area.  So it was nice to have that flexibility.  Zeezok Publishing - Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades is very user friendly.  Each week there is a check-off list of assignments that should be completed to finish the program in a specified amount of time.



As you study about not only the artist, but also the history of their country or even instruments, there are hidden surprises on many of the pages.  Or at least that is what I call them, hidden surprises.  In the picture below, do you see the QR bar code?  


I do not have any fancy apps downloaded, but you do not need one.  I simply snapped a picture and the capture on my phone sent me over to watch a really cool video for those. 


Somehow I find that much cooler than singing weird lyrics to songs.  There is so little extra work for me with Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades.  I really like that!!  I just look at our schedule and add the sections to their Assignment list that we should finish each week.  Now we are going at the program a little slower than most.  But that's all up to you.  The girls are enjoying it.  Reading time is approximately 20-30 minutes, depending on how many chapters we are reading out of the books that day.

Other days, there is musical reading taught.  


We haven't gotten to this material yet, but I have always wondered exactly what a conductor is telling the musicians!!  Now we will get a chance to learn more about that also.




This was absolutely Caty's favorite thing so far.....there was a recipe under the section on Chopin.  She got to make an easy poppy seed cake.  And this is for Music class!!!  







Like I said, we are moving a little slower at this program than suggested.  It takes us a little longer for comprehension on materials.  There is approximately a full "school" year of material included, or seven months.  We have been enjoying watching the videos and reading extras, so we are planning on doing this over a two "school" year.  This program is very flexible and able to suit many various learning styles.  That is my favorite thing about using it so far.  We are learning so much about important artists that shaped what we listen to today, and still learning important musical literacy.  Both girls have given a thumbs up to keep learning with Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades!!

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades.  Click on the box below to see how they felt about this product and how they used it with their families.

Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades {Zeezok Publishing Reviews}
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