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Introducing Zeezok Music Curriculum :: a review and giveaway!

Introducing Zeezok Music Curriculum :: a review and giveaway!

homeschool music

I won’t ever forget the day our 8-yr old little guy was just a toddler of 16 months or so, and sat stacking blocks while I played the piano.

As Mom plunked out a tune, he began humming a familiar hymn — on pitch.

I paused, and listened as he carried on with verse, then chorus, then verse…and back and forth through most of the song!  We’re an incredibly musical family, everyone taken up with one instrument or more, but still, this fascinated me.

Turns out, music is our 2nd grader’s area of strongest aptitude, truly a natural gift.

So when the offer came to receive some music appreciation curriculum (at no cost to us), and to be compensated for our time to review the product, both my guy and I were thrilled.  We’ve poured over the contents for weeks, and want to share our thoughts with you.

As a musician and homeschool parent, I recommend this program with confidence!

zeezok music

Music Appreciation for Elementary Students

Zeezok’s music curriculum is written for children through grade 6; I used their product with my 2nd grader.

Allow me to share a peek into what all comes with the Book 1 collection:

  • 7 readers of composer biographies:  well-written literature covering the childhood & adulthood of each composer with black and white sketches and musical selections throughout; our 8-yr old read these on his own, but could be read-alouds as well
  • 5 music discs:  professionally recorded music of all selections in the books (performed exactly as written), plus other supplemental music

  • 1 student activity book:  separated into weekly lessons for each composer, this activity book is chock-full of comprehension questions, geography & history lessons, recipes,  timelines and MUCH more!

My favorite portion of Zeezok’s activity book are the character qualities notes highlighting a trait such as kindness.

Also, exact pages of where in the reader you’ll find an example of the trait is provided.  This may not seem like a big deal, but it’s a wonderful skill for children to cultivate, and one used in standardized testing.

You know…questions like this:  which line above tells you this information?  

So, using these page references, we practiced going back in the story to find the info on character — thank you Zeezok!

  • 1 lapbook CD:  includes all templates and pictures necessary to make lapbooks for each composer (see more below).

music curriculum

mozart composer study

he loved playing some of the music!

Mozart Composer Study

Zeezok makes studying music appreciation incredibly EASY for a homeschool Mom!

Outside of reading the introduction of the activity book, I simply turned to the appropriate section of the book and got started.  Literally — NO PREP.

Each chapter of our Mozart reader had comprehension questions to answer in the activity book (can be done written or verbally).

We also:

  • learned much about Mozart’s parents and childhood
  • listened to several musical selections
  • learned more about how powerful music is in culture
  • discovered new musical terms & their definitions
  • learned what other composers lived & created music during Mozart’s life
  • and more!

But the most enjoyed activity by my boy was creating the lap book (used to cement much of the above learning).

homeschool music curriculum

Mozart music curriculum

music curriculum

Music Curriculum for All Homeschool Styles

Zeezok has created a wonderful, comprehensive music curriculum!  A one-time purchase (outside of extra student activity books) which can be used in your homeschool for years to come without growing outdated.

Plus, pretty much any homeschooling style could benefit:

  • for the Charlotte Mason bent, there are ‘living books’ in the form of readers – full of historically accurate information, no twaddle!
  • for the Classical or Classical Conversations family, all information is presented in a chronological format and is an excellent supplement to ongoing music study (i.e. our Mozart study would be great for Cycle 1)
  • for the Unschooling or Eclectic — Zeezok outlines a plan, but pull from it what you’d like and start with any composer (no need to go in order)!  Your child can read the books alone or just take in the CDs, or mix and match to their heart’s delight.

We could go on right? 🙂  I think you get the point!

Enter to WIN Zeezok’s Book 1 Collection!

I highly recommend this entire curriculum set and am incredibly grateful to own it.

I hope one reader here wins the Book 1 collection Zeezok is giving away between now and March 20th (ending at 11:59 p.m.); a winner will be chosen on Friday, March 21st.  Prize shipped to U.S. mailing address only.

Consider investing in your family’s music education by purchasing the collection; Domestic readers can use this code –  ihomeschool – to receive a 10% discount through March 21st!

Pssst…should you WIN the set, Zeezok will refund your purchase price!  

Feel free to follow Zeezok on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or YouTube for more updates.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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  • ValerieFebruary 18, 2014 - 7:58 am

    My 3 YO seems musically inclined. He’s always putting words into song and seems to sing on pitch. He also really remembers the words to songs. Yesterday he was singing part of the chorus of Angels We Have Heard on High.ReplyCancel

  • LeanneFebruary 18, 2014 - 8:26 am

    This sounds fabulous! We, too, are a musical family (I teach piano privately), and I’m always on the lookout for excellent living resources that bring the composers to life for my students and my children. I’ve heard about this curriculum from other homeschooling families, and would love to have it to enrich our musical studies. Thank-you for the giveaway!ReplyCancel

  • HollyFebruary 18, 2014 - 8:30 am

    Would love to use this as enrichment over the summer!ReplyCancel

  • KaraFebruary 18, 2014 - 8:51 am

    I hadn’t seen this program before (came to your blog via Pinterest). Looks like fun for my elementary kiddoes!ReplyCancel

  • audriaFebruary 18, 2014 - 9:07 am

    I’ve been waiting to read reviews on this curriculum! My crew is not fond of lapbooks. Do you think this would still be worth using if we skipped the lapbooks or do you think they would miss out on too much?ReplyCancel

  • BrittanyFebruary 18, 2014 - 9:15 am

    Wow! This looks awesome! I was not exposed to many classical composers as a child, so I often feel like I don’t really know where to start with teaching music appreciation. I would love for my boys to be able to learn about them and appreciate their music, especially since I have a couple of musically inclined children.ReplyCancel

  • danieatdomesticFebruary 18, 2014 - 9:36 am

    Hi Audria — YES, absolutely! There are recipes to make, geography and map work outside of the lapbooking, art and science tie-ins and much more. Really, this curriculum is FULL, and you can pick and choose activities. I understand, I have one kiddo who doesn’t like lapbooks AT ALL. 🙂ReplyCancel

  • LindaFebruary 18, 2014 - 9:39 am

    Some of my children are very musically inclined, but I don’t have money in our budget for music lessons and so I let it sit on the back burner. I’d like to do a better job of bringing it to the surface and this resources looks wonderful! Thank you Danielle and Zeezok for this giveaway!ReplyCancel

  • LaurenFebruary 18, 2014 - 10:08 am

    This looks like a FABULOUS resource for my little ones! I have several musically gifted children (my oldest reminded me of your little guy in this post – his musical gifts showed up early too).

    Thank you for the opportunity to win! 🙂ReplyCancel

  • MarianneFebruary 18, 2014 - 10:26 am

    This looks like just what we’ve been looking for!!!!ReplyCancel

  • Amy HullFebruary 18, 2014 - 10:58 am

    Thanks for sharing this wonderful idea for music curriculum. We just started homeschooling after 3 years of public school for our two oldest children. Teaching with helps is much easier for me, especially with to preschoolers to chase as well. 🙂ReplyCancel

  • ChristineFebruary 18, 2014 - 12:53 pm

    I am an elementary music teacher, piano teacher and aunt in a musical family. These resources look great for those hard to reach learners in school, as well as supplement my piano lessons for elementary age students. Finally, I’d love to share this with my nieces (who are itching to start piano) and my own children someday. Thank you for this great review and introducing me to a new product!ReplyCancel

  • AudriaFebruary 18, 2014 - 12:59 pm

    Daniele, thank you for responding to my question! I’ve been on the fence about adding this to our curriculum next year but after reading your review it looks like it is well worth the cost (even if we skip the lapbooks) and something we will enjoy as a family. I appreciate the time you take to do such thorough reviews.ReplyCancel

  • KaceyFebruary 18, 2014 - 4:09 pm

    These look great! I’ve struggled finding fine arts curricula that I really like the looks of, but this is encouraging!ReplyCancel

  • Beth vossFebruary 18, 2014 - 4:09 pm

    I have been looking at this curriculum for a while. It looks like a lot of fun!ReplyCancel

  • CindyFebruary 18, 2014 - 6:09 pm

    This looks SO fabulous! We love to study ALL composers in our house. 🙂ReplyCancel

  • amandaFebruary 18, 2014 - 8:03 pm

    I was just thinking that I needed to share my love of classical music with my kids!ReplyCancel

  • NicoleFebruary 18, 2014 - 8:04 pm

    I need something to motivate me to do music appreciation!ReplyCancel

  • Mary HappymommyFebruary 18, 2014 - 9:01 pm

    This looks great! My sons are learning to play guitar and I’m not very musical (my husband is the guitar player) so this would really help our homeschool.ReplyCancel

  • Kimberly RFebruary 18, 2014 - 9:42 pm

    Would love to win this to use with my kids! Right now we don’t have any music appreciation in our homeschool, but I have been wanting to add it. I’ve seen this program before and it is on my wishlist 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Rebecca WaFebruary 18, 2014 - 10:07 pm

    Wow this sounds perfect for us!!! I’d love to win it!!ReplyCancel

  • kelly tillotsonFebruary 18, 2014 - 11:26 pm

    my sons love classical music–this would be wonderful for our homeschool
    thank you!
    *kelly
    kelly-tillotson@hotmail.comReplyCancel

  • PattiWFebruary 19, 2014 - 7:40 am

    I am so glad I stumbled on this through pinterest! My daughter loves her other music program, but it is definitely light on info. This looks like a better fit. Thanks!ReplyCancel

  • Debra EFebruary 19, 2014 - 11:29 am

    I’m not musically inclined but really want to learn to play piano and my daughter does as well.ReplyCancel

  • Hydrangeas and HarmonyFebruary 19, 2014 - 10:00 pm

    As a pianist, I’d love to learn more about Chopin and introduce his music to my younglings. We have been very gently studying famous classical composers but I could use more help with retention and review. We love the Zeezok books!ReplyCancel

  • JenFebruary 20, 2014 - 6:25 am

    Wow, I need this! I know nothing about music (other than that I like it!) but three of my kids are very musical. This would be a perfect way for me to add music to our curriculum.ReplyCancel

  • KaylaFebruary 21, 2014 - 8:32 pm

    I am new to homeschooling, My daughter loves music, this would be a great start.ReplyCancel

  • AimeeFebruary 22, 2014 - 8:25 pm

    I love to add in musician studies to our history as we got through history chronologically. This course looks like it would make it easy to stop and study a composer.ReplyCancel

  • KristineFebruary 23, 2014 - 5:52 pm

    I would love to have an easy way to add music appreciation to our homeschool. THis looks like it could grow with us–listen to cd’s and a little background now, keep adding to it as the kids grow. I’d love to win it!ReplyCancel

  • CarolsueFebruary 26, 2014 - 3:16 am

    I personally like Bach! I’d like this because my son is showing an interest in singing, instruments and music in general so this would be great tp have so I could work with him!
    Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} NetReplyCancel

  • AprilFebruary 26, 2014 - 7:26 pm

    Would love this! I am new to homeschooling and there are so many different curriculum I am dying to try but do not have the money for! The Arts are subjects very important to me and I want to find quality curriculum for my kids.ReplyCancel

  • Jenna DeMariaFebruary 27, 2014 - 1:07 pm

    I would love this because right now we are not doing anything for music and I would love to incorporate it into our Homeschool day.ReplyCancel

  • cdFebruary 27, 2014 - 10:45 pm

    I need help in this area because my daughter likes classical music but I have no musical knowledge or ability to teach it.ReplyCancel

  • MelissaFebruary 28, 2014 - 12:46 pm

    This would be a great addition to our homeschool curriculum. I saw this on another vlogger/blogger ‘ s sites and haven’t seen one that looked as much fun.ReplyCancel

  • barbMarch 1, 2014 - 1:12 pm

    Beethoven, Bach and Mozart. I don’t know that much about them.ReplyCancel

  • Darcy GarwoodMarch 1, 2014 - 1:37 pm

    This would be a blessing! Our family is struggling to find an appropriate music curriculum and this one looks great!ReplyCancel

  • ChristiMarch 4, 2014 - 11:47 am

    My nine year old would love this. He is very much in love with musical instruments and plays by ear very well. This is such a fun piece. Thanks for sharing.ReplyCancel

  • Melissa CMarch 6, 2014 - 1:37 pm

    My 9 year old is very musically inclined. She plays her recorder and harmonica or she hums. I have no idea how to teach musical anything. This would be wonderful for her. Thank you for the opportunity to win!ReplyCancel

  • stephanie gMarch 13, 2014 - 5:45 pm

    We would love to study them all!! I am just getting started with homeschooling and would love this!ReplyCancel

  • Stacie NMarch 13, 2014 - 5:46 pm

    both my 5 yr old and my 3 yr old are drawn to music. It would be nice to have a structure to follow to teach them.ReplyCancel

  • SaraMarch 13, 2014 - 5:47 pm

    What an awesome giveaway. My kids would love this.ReplyCancel

  • Heather HammontreeMarch 13, 2014 - 5:47 pm

    This sounds wonderful! I would love to use this with my kids! Thanks for the review and the giveaway!ReplyCancel

  • CayceMarch 13, 2014 - 5:53 pm

    I would love to try this with my son…especially since I am not that musically inclined! We could learn together:) he loves to sing and dance…just not in front of others!ReplyCancel

  • JacquelineMarch 13, 2014 - 5:53 pm

    Would love to win this for my boys. They’ve been showing a lot of interest in music lately and I couldn’t decide where to begin; this looks great! Thanks for the review and chance at a giveaway!ReplyCancel

  • Stacy M :-)March 13, 2014 - 5:56 pm

    This would be great for all of our children. Thanks for the giveaway!ReplyCancel

  • MarieMarch 13, 2014 - 6:02 pm

    I would LOVE this study. We are always looking for creative ways to teach musicReplyCancel

  • StephanieMarch 13, 2014 - 6:02 pm

    This looks like a really neat curriculum.ReplyCancel

  • MelissaMarch 13, 2014 - 6:08 pm

    Sounds like a fun curriculum for my kids!!!ReplyCancel

  • AndreaMarch 13, 2014 - 6:20 pm

    This looks like a really great curriculum.ReplyCancel

  • Patricia GordonMarch 13, 2014 - 6:22 pm

    My girls love music of any kind. It would really be nice if I could help them enjoy as they learn.ReplyCancel

  • AllisonMarch 13, 2014 - 6:36 pm

    This curriculum looks great. I would love to use this in our family.ReplyCancel

  • Heidi FigueroaMarch 13, 2014 - 7:10 pm

    Oh my goodness, this looks so awesome and easy to use – especially for a musically-challenged mom.ReplyCancel

  • Kristine KrebsMarch 13, 2014 - 7:26 pm

    Looks like fun!ReplyCancel

  • Nancy SueMarch 13, 2014 - 10:37 pm

    Thank you so much for review this music curriculum. The fact that you are a musician yourself, really added to the credibility of your review. We are homeschooling our 6 yr old kindergartener. This curriculum would be fabulous. I’d be interested in seeing it’s scope and sequence. Having studied music myself, I find it hard (and time consuming) to widdle down what I have, to be age/grade appropriate for our son. It looks great! Especially love the pics of your son’s lap book. Wanted to reach in and see those little booklets for myself. Well done Maestro!ReplyCancel

  • JaimeMarch 14, 2014 - 12:05 am

    This is such a great idea. I am not very creative and this is perfect for me to use with my kids.ReplyCancel

  • Sarah GMarch 14, 2014 - 10:04 am

    Music appreciation is a fun part of school, and we need to make more time for it. Thanks for hosting such a great giveaway.ReplyCancel

  • AngelaMarch 14, 2014 - 10:09 pm

    Thanks for sharing this, I’m not sure I want to spend the steep price, but I sure do hope I win it. I’m sure it’s a long shot!ReplyCancel

  • SylviaMarch 15, 2014 - 6:31 pm

    We are a musical family too and hope to pass this to our kids. I have just started to teach my son piano! Hope I can win this set to teach him more on music appreciation ! Thanks!ReplyCancel

  • SylviaMarch 15, 2014 - 6:37 pm

    Oh. Forgot to say. I like Mozart,ReplyCancel

  • JudyMarch 16, 2014 - 5:57 pm

    First time I have ever seen this, it looks fabulous. We don’t have a lot of money for lessons or music curriculum….this would be a blessing.ReplyCancel

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Daniele Evans