love2learn.net

This is a beautiful hymnal with all the favorite traditional Catholic hymns and the parts and prayers of the Mass in English and Latin. It avoids any use of "feminized" (a.k.a. inclusive) language, which has destroyed so many of the Church's beautiful hymns and even tried to remove the use of "he" or "him" when referring to Jesus. Our family has taken to pulling out this hymnal every morning after prayers and each person picking out their favorite song to sing together before beginning the school day. My six year old daughter who is just reading likes to scan through the index in back to look for something familiar. She is unwittingly introducing herself to the concept of "alphabetical order" and getting a little reading practice as well. The choir edition (424 pages) contains all four parts for those who wish to learn the harmonies and the chant parts of the Mass are in the traditional chant notation.I think this is an excellent resource for the Catholic homeschooler's music curriculum. Included are traditional Christmas Carols (such as Hark the Herald Angels Sing), favorite Marian Hymns (such as Salve Regina and Hail Holy Queen), hymns for every liturgical season and special feasts. Many hymns are offered in both English and Latin (such as O Come All Ye Faithful). The multiple indices in back are also helpful for finding particular songs and you'll even find an "Index of Scriptural References Related to Hymns."

More sample pages can be viewed at Ignatius Press's website.

It is commonly believed today that Mozart's music is so beautiful and well-ordered that it can have a beneficial effect on the brain's development in children who listen to it during their developing years. Using this theory, the Baby Einstein company have made an audio and video package meant to capitalize on these ideas. The audio CD takes some of the most famous (and most beautiful) compositions of Mozart and performs them with alternate instruments (small bells and/or a xylophone I believe) to make them more "baby-friendly." I didn't really care for this version of music. (In a way it seems to be a lesser version of the real songs, in a similar way to how elevator music compares to the original songs). I've found that my children, even at a young age, really enjoy fine recordings of the "real thing". Some would probably find the idea somewhat condescending toward children (especially considering the theories of Maria Montessori and Charlotte Mason) and there really isn't a lot to recommend this over some more straightforward Mozart recordings.

More annoying than the CD, however, is the video. The video takes the same watered-down music and combines it with images of moving toys that make their way across the screen. (This goes on for about half an hour, I believe. I haven't been able to sit through the whole thing.) The end of the video provides information on where to buy the toys. The toys aren't particularly beautiful or educational - just rolling toy animals, jack in the boxes, etc. I can't deny that my younger children enjoyed watching the video, but children like a lot of things that aren't necessarily all that great for them. I'd much rather have my children playing with pots and pans in the kitchen than be mesmerized by videos of toys and Mozartish music. I also object to the idea that this company charges money for what seems to be little more than a fancy toy catalog.

Additional information (added September 2007):

TIME Magazine article on studies involving "educational" videos for babies
Disney demands retraction of Baby Einstein study
Are "Educational" Baby Videos a Scam?

Each set in this series contains two or three tapes and a book. The books contains the lyrics and music to a wide variety of folk tunes from around the world, hymns, and Gregorian chants. The Gregorian chants are relatively difficult, but the other songs are fairly easy to sing. I didn't know many of the songs, but we have enjoyed learning them. Each set of a book and tapes is roughly aimed at different ages, but I am having no trouble using the 4th-6th grade set with my seventh grade daughter. The sets are 1st-3rd grades, 4th-6th grades, and 7th-8th grades. The number of tapes in each set is the same as the number of grades covered. I recommend this program.

This book consists of a fine selection of favorite hymns, including musical notation, and rather detailed stories about the authors of the text, the composers of the music, giving the student a good idea of how and when the music came about. The author's purpose in writing the book "was to restore attention to some of the finest hymns, in the hope that they might replace the miserable afflictions that keep cropping up in ... "missalettes"... It seemed to me that hymns might be better appreciated if we knew a little more about the stories behind them: first of all, who wrote them and in what circumstances." (From the Introduction). Approximately 100 hymns are included. I'd like to note that the text of the hymns is often not the text that Americans today are most familiar with. There's a good reason for this. Over the years, the text of many hymns has been "simplified" which has often detracted from its meaning and significance. Fr. Rutler would like us to appreciate the songs as they were originally written.

What a wonderful Catholic resource for real music appreciation in the homeschool. What we give our children today in this realm may have a significant impact on turning back to more beautiful and reverent music in the future. Please note that there are some hymns that were not written by Catholics. Fr. Rutler explains in the introduction: "If the following selection of hymns joins to these great orthodox souls a Lutheran such as the war-ravaged Melchior Teschner ... this is testimony to the wonders God accomplishes through those who seek his goodness...some of these in their day wrote of doctrine more sturdily than" [many of today's composers].

Bravo for another treasure from Penny Gardner! The 40 plus songs in this book provide plenty of material for Christmas programs or supplemental lesson work. Organized according to ease of playing, these pieces presume some prior recorder experience. (For those brand new to the instrument, I highly recommend the original Nine-Note Recorder Method text which includes instruction and 30 familiar Christmas songs.)

The duet and trio arrangements in Easy Duets for Christmas allow for creative use of any two or more "C" instruments; imagine "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" or "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" on combined recorder, violin and piano. Our seven year old is reading some of the easiest pieces ("Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" and "We Three Kings"), and a little augmentation from siblings - easy with the duets in this book - makes his efforts sound very polished.

If you are looking for some new music to add to your Christmas repertoire, this book would be a wonderful, affordable choice.

This book is a special companion to Penny Gardner's original Nine-Note Recorder Method text. Containing almost 50 traditional Catholic hymns, it offers arrangements suitable for Mass as well as lesson work. Prior recorder experience is assumed.

As with the other books in this series, the duets and trios in Easy Duets for Catholics can be played on any combination of "C" instruments. While the creative possibilities are seemingly endless, perhaps my family's favorite part of this particular book is that the lyrics are included, allowing us to be steeped in the truths of our faith while making beautiful music!

Titles include: "Immaculate Mary", "O saving Victim" and "Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest

Three time national fiddle champion Bonnie Rideout put together an enchanting collection of songs and poems for children on this CD. She has set traditional poems and nursery rhymes (such as Bobbie Shafto and Wee Willie Winkie) to traditional Scottish tunes and includes familiar songs such as My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean and Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be.

The best part of the CD are the pieces of original and traditional music set to the poems of Robert Louis Stevenson and an absolutely ingenious adaption of the Yeats poem, The Fiddler from Dooney.

I cannot praise this CD enough, it is extremely well done. As part of our homeschooling we memorize poetry so my children were in awe of a Robert Louis Stevenson "song." The music is irresistable and we are all singing the songs throughout the day. The intruments used in creating the music on various pieces include the following: fiddle, viola, harp, recorder, bodhran, piano, guitar, tin whistle, ocarina, dulcimer, and if you can believe it, coffee can, tinkertoy can and kazoo.

If you and your children like traditional Irish and Scottish music, this CD would be a great addition to your collection. It can be ordered from any music store or directly from the music company.

Father Fessio is encouraging all Catholic families, especially homeschoolers, to learn chant. He suggests starting with the two chant settings of the Mass included on the tape, learning them as a family, then using them when families get together for Mass. The tape, aimed at parents or older kids (highschoolers), is an excellent intro to chant, giving some historical background on the use of chant in the liturgy, especially in light of the documents of Vatican II. Father then walks you through, step by step, reading and singing the two chant settings. He explains the chant notation and sings it himself a line at a time to show how it's done. At the end of the tape is a recording of a monastery choir singing these selections. This tape assumes no prior knowledge of chant or of reading music. It comes with a folded card with two different chant settings of the Mass. Father gives permission at the end of the tape to duplicate both the tape and the card that accompanies it. I use this tape to learn chants to sing to my kids around the house. Our local Catholic homeschooling group will be using this tape and card as the basis for our monthly First Friday Mass, so all our kids will be exposed to chant on a regular basis.

This is a very beautiful, if eclectic recording of Gregorian Chant, Renaissance Polyphony and some miscellaneous "popular" tunes from numerous European countries (ranging from the 11th to the 17th century). Composers include Hildegard of Bingen, William Byrd, Giovanni da Palestrina and Josquin des Prez. An enclosed booklet gives brief biographies of these and other major composers of the time. I think this is a nice place to start for those unfamiliar with early music. Everyone at our house enjoyed the recording very much. You can listen to samples at the Naxos website.