Reviews

"The Family/Homeschool Edition was released in the spring of 2009.  Since then, we've been humbled by the glowing reviews which continue to surface.  I promise, none of these industry experts, writers, or reviewers are related to me!" – Kate Daneluk

 

Monday, January 24, 2011

Thinking Happy Thoughts with Music

 

 

Posted by Sarah Harkins
The Clay Rosary Girl
Holy Innocents Homeschool Group

 

 

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Making Music Praying Twice
Out of the Frying Pan and into the Pot…and How We are Surviving

On Sunday night I smiled to realize something: Directly following our crazy-busy weekend was…two full weeks of swim camp.* I smiled because what else can I do but deal with it? That is, after all, what we busy moms do best.

 

Now then. Because we have a half hour of drive time both there and back, I lean heavily on CDs of all sort to see us through. Music soothes the savage beast and in my case, there are six of them! (Not counting me. Ahem.)

 

Well, I’ll tell you. Making Music Praying Twice is going to see us through the next two weeks! I love these CDs, and you will too.

 

Making Music Praying Twice is a music curriculum that focuses on the liturgical year. I received a sampler CD at the homeschooling conference three weeks ago and we listened to it nonstop. I have since gotten the full 5-CD set (the homeschool edition) and couldn’t be happier. This program will be perfect for my family.

 

There are 95 songs total. Each disc is a compilation of sacred and secular music. It’s great! We go from “This Little Light of Mine” to “Jubilate Deo”. [grin] We began our study with the Easter-Pentecost CD because of its summertime theme—lots of bumblebees & birds & all—and plus, learning about the Resurrection and the Holy Spirit is always relevant.

 

We’ll start the Fall/Ordinary Time curriculum in early September.

 

What else? Well, the vocals are crystal clear and very pleasant. In fact, one of my favorite musicians is on board! The music is as diverse and entertaining as it is edifying. There’s Native American music, traditional tunes, folk, spirituals, Japanese and Latin.

 

Yes, Latin.

 

I don’t know about you, but I need these bursts of Gregorian chant to boost my morale and remind me—again and again and yet again—of who I am and where I’m going.

 

My children, too, need these reminders.

 

If you’d like to learn more about this music program, you can visit their website and request a free CD. (Here’s the link for that.) You can also click on the image of any one of the five CDs (they’re at the bottom of this page) and listen to numerous samples.

 

Even if you’ve already finished your planning for the new school year, these CDs are one of the easiest things you can add. Trust me; they’ve even made Baby Anthony smile…

 

…and that’s something to sing about.

 
All for the greater glory of God,

Minnesota Mom,  patentsgirl.blogspot.com  
June 23, 2009

 

 

 

Making Music Praying Twice

 

I am not ready to write a complete review of the program – but I was so excited to see the materials that I had to briefly mention it. As you plan out your next school year, I wanted you to know about this program. We have never been able to do a Kindermusic program for the little ones. The older children are involved in a wonderful orchestra program and play the strings – 2 on violin, 1 on viola and 1 on cello (yes, I have a string quartet!). But, my little ones have always been left out of the music plans.

 

Now, Making Music Praying Twice has a solution. The program consists of 5 seasonal CD’s, 5 coordinating songbooks, and a Teacher’s Manual. I believe this could be a well spent $96 – it is not consumable and can be used from year to year. I am quite sure Kindermusic program are much more pricey – so this is a one time purchase that can be used by all your children – so do not immediately be turned off by the price.
The developer of the program gives you the option of daily lesson plans (about 15-20 minutes each day), or a 45 minute once a week lesson plan. Songs include a lovely assortment from religious – Magnificat, Holy God We Praise Your Name, Dona Nobis Pacem, classic children’s songs – Kookaburra, Old King Cole, My Bonnie to traditional songs like Battle Hymn of the Republic, classical music like Ode to Joy and many ethnic songs from various parts of the world.

 

Each song is discussed in the Teacher’s Manual – how to use the song formally including using various instruments, movements to go with the music, streamers. There are also suggestions for using the songs informally (changing the words, singing with babies). This is followed by a section on Milestones to Observe and then Cross References.

 

I plan on implementing this is the fall on a daily basis to have an activity that is geared to all my little ones since they often get left out of the school activities. Many songs take no prep time at all, others have suggestions for instruments to use like drums, others teach some finger play motions, another song incorporates sign language, others use props like streamers.

 

I love the Catholic content that is scattered throughout the program.

 

Please look for more updates as I delve more into the program. One suggestion for Dona Nobis Pacem is to incorporate it into your morning prayers – what a lovely way for all of us – youngest to oldest – to start the day.

 

Catholic Homeschool Support – catholichomeschool.org
July 14, 2009

How music made a great day!

 

I received “Making Music Praying Twice” this past summer. Since we were not in school, I did a simple review of the product – a first impressions. I had planned on beginning the program at the start of the school year not realizing just how intense the first month of schooling two ninth graders with Mother of Divine Grace would be. I have made it through nearly six weeks of school and decided on impulse to bring out the program today. I did not read the manual in depth; I did not gather any musical instruments or scarves or do any other preparation. I decided simply that since we were most of the way through the week I would follow the suggested Ordinary Fall week one schedule and this is how the time went.

 

As a note, the developer gives many different options of how to use the program:

 

      ·    a generic, fill-in-the-blank schedule if you are planning on doing the program daily
      ·    a generic a weekly schedule for a once a week music program
      ·    suggestions if you plan to use the program in an unstructured manner
      ·    blank lessons plans if you want to plan out a semester or year
      ·    8 weeks of daily lesson plans that feature all the songs and activities for the season
      ·    4 weeks of weekly lesson plans that feature all the songs and activities for the season.

 

So, you have the freedom to use the program as best suites your personality and your family needs. I chose to start with the first week  of the Ordinary Time (OT) Fall Weekly plan, again featuring all the songs and activities included for the fall. (She has the same type of schedules set up for Advent/Christmas/Epiphany,Ordinary Time – Winter, Lent, and Easter/Pentecost for an entire school year’s worth of music).

 

The first week had the following schedule:

 

1.    Good Day
2.    prayer – Father I Adore You
3.    sit and sing – The Blacksmith
4.    sit and spin – creative substitutions – Sissy in the Barn
5.    spoken rhyme – Humpty Dumpty
6.    Rhythm Patterns
7.    shaky egg activity – Hamaba
8.    free instrument time – Sing and Play
9.    scarf dancing – My Bonnie
10.    Tonal Patterns
11.    dancing with streamers – Looby Loo
12.    dance activity – Moroccan Melody
13.    Tonal Patterns
14.    prayer – Our Father
15.    God Bless

 

First impression – the printed material is very nicely bound books and the CD audios are clear and the vocals are beautifully done with both children’s voices and adults, male and female. Next impression-beautifully Catholic-I will explain more in detail.

 

So, as I said I did no preparation; therefore, I did not know how to implement the Rhythm Patterns nor the Tonal patterns, so I skipped them (I was pressed for time and trying to take advantage of a momentary surge of energy I was experiencing  Also, I had no musical instruments, rattles or shaky eggs, nor did I have scarves. But, it all worked out.

 

I popped the OT Fall CD in, and the first song on the CD corresponded to the first song, Good Day. My children’s eyes lit up as we used their names in the song. The song (and all the rest) were long enough for my children to catch onto the melody and even sing or hum along.
Next, we started on Father I Adore You which happened to be track 2. Again, there were enough stanzas that we could catch the melody and sing along. The music was beautiful and they even in later stanzas had the song in the round.

 

Now the pace picks up again and we moved on to The Blacksmith. My youngest followed my hand gestures as we hammered and tapped and clip clopped in rhythm to the music. Following this was the substitution song – Sissy in the Barn. This was a bit more difficult for me to follow. One stanza was written out with the notes and words. Then below that were a number of pictures; a man, a woman, a pig, a cow, a boy and a girl. The song used those pictures to substitute to make new verses. You could sing over them and make up your own as I realized later.

 

Humpty Dumpty was a rousing success. My learning challenged five year old heard the spoken rhyme enough times to catch on. And, we used hand and body motions to go along with the somewhat dramatic presentation (fell off the waaaaaaalllllllllll).

 

As I said, I skipped the rhythm pattern and even now, I am not sure exactly where it is explained or what CD I should use. I also skipped the free instrument time. But we did go through Hamaba that was based on a Gambian folk song. Next we sang My Bonnie. Although we did not have scarves to use, the children enjoyed swaying in time with the music. Looby Loo was a fun, full body experience that everyone enjoyed participating in (put your right hand in, shake it all about, etc.) The last song before finishing up was Moroccan Melody. The instrumentals and vocals were ethnic including perhaps a sitar and drums and finger cymbals (I am sorry but I am unfamiliar with the names of the instruments).

 

Finally, we came to the end. Our Father was sang without instrumentals in a very clear, beautiful female voice. It was sang again in almost a polyphonic chant perhaps.

 

The last song was a nice wrap up and in the style of the first song – “God Bless” where you substituted your family’s names.
Other songs on this particular CD included the Magnificat sung by a female singer with no instrumentals. As I listen, my nearly three year old is signing along, at least the melody. Holy God We Praise Thy Name is a male vocalist accompanied by a classical guitarist.

So, after one day, I am absolutely thrilled. I love, love, love the Catholic content and the following of the liturgical year. I love the ethnic music and exposure to different tonalities and instruments. I love the well laid out plans (although, I do intent on using the daily plans for the rest of the year).
Complaints / suggestions? Hmmm, none – I would suggest that you write the track numbers on the song books that accompany each season as the CD has no track names. And, I will have to search out the huge teacher’s manual for how to do the rhythm and tonal exercises, but I am comfortable leaving out this feature entirely.

 

Downside? Finding time for the little ones – but after one day, I see how much they enjoyed this, and my intent this year was to be more proactive in finding activities for the little ones. And, cost is a downside – yes, it is nearly $100. But, this is a non-consumable product and the quality of the printed material and the CD’s is top-notch.

 

I hope and will suggest to the developers that they try to attend some Catholic homeschool conferences so others can see this in action. This could even be a great vendor talk to offer.

 

I plan on updating this post as I move through the additional seasons.

 

Update: We begin again for the new year. The young kids are very enthusiastic about the music. I also shared this with a friend that has a large family with young children and she was very excited about it.

 

Catholic Homeschool Support – catholichomeschool.org
September 10, 2009

 

 

 

Making Music Praying Twice

 
Making Music Praying Twice is a music and movement program for the young Catholic child. There are a variety of ways the parent can use the program. It can be used with your own children or with other families in a homeschool co-op or a group class for the parish. Because the program is highly adaptable, the age range is quite wide. The class could be for newborns through age 5, or toddler through second grade.
If you are familiar with the song books from days gone by like the Catholic series, We Sing and… or secular series from the same time period, this series is similar to them in that the “Children’s Songbook” includes a number of young children’s songs written as simple melodies along with the words.

 

The parent manual is loaded with creative ways to implement the program. Along with each song are suggestions on how to use the song, such as “play a simple beat with hands or sticks and sing the song” for Little Drummer Boy. Each song also includes "Milestones to Observe" and "Cross References". Some songs in the parent manual include guitar chords as well. This program encourages the children to actively participate with their whole bodies; either playing instruments, dancing, or using egg shakers. The back of the book includes other helpful information: glossary, suggested listening, further reading, and more.

 

For the parent who is not confident in sharing music with her own children, she can first listen to the CDs. The voices are pleasant to listen to, the melodies are not too complicated. To add interest, the background accompaniment varies from track to track.

 

A sampling of the songs include Ave Maria, Billy Boy, Did you Ever See a Lassie, Michael Row the Boat Ashore, Father I Adore You, Clementine, and many more.

 

If you have wanted to include music in your homeschool program for your younger children, but have been reluctant because of lack of resources or knowledge, this is an easy-to-use program that is highly adaptable to your needs.

 

The complete package includes five CDs, five Children’s Songbooks, and a teacher’s manual. The Children’s Songbooks include Ordinary Time—Fall, Ordinary Time—Winter, Advent-Christmas- Epiphany, Lent, and Easter—Pentecost. Items may be purchased separately.
For more information, please visit their website.

 

Elizabeth Yank
June 23, 2009

Featured on love2learn.net and in Mater et Magistra Magazine

 

 

 

Making Music Praying Twice–Lent
 

This program is awesome. The songs and lyrics are so musical, with the different instruments they use also.  The way they lay out the whole program, the structure, the intensity, the involvement with each student. This could be used through 5th grade. I am currently using it with my 5th grader, who really likes this program. It will be too babyish beyond that. We don't use all the songs, but the ones we use are so good. A CCD program should pick this up. As a homeschooling mom, I could see this idea for a co-op setting also. I give this an A++. Yes it is that good in my opinion.

- Noelle Mador
 

Abiding Faith:  Our Journey of Real Learning
Wednesday, March 10, 2010

 

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Making Music Praying Twice is a Catholic music curriculum that focuses on children from birth through 8 years old, although many older children may enjoy the curriculum (or maybe even just being helpers).  It is a 95 song journey through the Liturgical year of the church.  Making Music Praying Twice (which comes from a quote by St. Augustine of Caterbury who said, “He who sings, prays twice.”) is available as both a regular edition (for parishes and preschools), as well as a homeschool edition.  My family has been thrilled this year to have been able to receive the homeschool edition of this wonderful and faithful music curriculum.

 

Making Music Praying Twice is one of those pieces of curriculum that makes me feel even better to use, as it was developed (and is sold) by a homeschooling family.  I love the thought of supporting other homeschoolers!

 

What is included in the set?\

 

The homeschool version of Making Music Praying Twice (which sells for $96.00) includes:

 

• A 273 page Homeschool Edition guidebook which contains a wealth of information including lesson plans for using this program either daily or weekly (so that each day or week looks different), as well as all of the music with suggested activities for each song.
• Five CDs each containing between 17 – 25 songs.  Each CD represents a certain part of the liturgical year – Ordinary Time – Fall, Advent-Christmas-Epiphany, Ordinary Time – Winter, Easter-Pentecost, and Lent.
• Five Children’s Songbooks, each corresponding to one of the CDs.  They contain pictures, words to the songs, as well as the actual written music.  (My older boys feel a sense of accomplishment to look at the music in some of them and say, “Hey – I could play that on the piano!”)
• Online Music Education Activities are not specifically included in the set, but they are available on Making Music Praying Twice’s website.

 

Making Music Praying Twice uses everything from traditional children’s songs to finger plays to Gregorian chants to favorite hymns, plus so much more!  There is a fabulous variety of types of songs and some spoken word recordings (even some in foreign languages) in order to teach and promote all types of musical brain development such as different types of tones, beats, meters, and tonal and rhythm patterns.  The best part about all of that is that children just feel like they’re having fun!

 

Although my children all take piano lessons, one of their favorite things is getting to play with some of the instruments and equipment that Making Music Praying Twice suggests that you use with their program.  These aren’t included with the program, and we only bought shaky eggs and rhythm sticks, as well as being able to use some of the items on the list that we already have at home.

 

My only regret with Making Music Praying Twice is that I didn’t start it when all of my children were young.  Although the older children still enjoy it, I know that it is definitely more geared toward my younger child (although my nine year old that loves music is also a big fan, but it really helps that he loves music so much).

 

I would definitely recommend Making Music Praying Twice as a music curriculum for Catholic families with children in the 0 – 8 age range.

 

Angie writes about faith, family, and household management at her blog, Many Little Blessings.  She is also the founder of The Homeschool Classroom and Catholic Mothers Online.  She dreams of being an artist.