Happy Kids Songs- Schoolhouse Crew Review

Some reviews, honestly, I beg for.  And then there are some that just fall into my lap and end up being a big blessing in my life.  Happy Kids Songs is one of those blessings!

We recently had the opportunity to listen to the following music sets from Happy Kids Songs-

Friends and Sharing (set 1)

Happiness and Attitude (set 5)

Manners and Character (set 6)

These songs are geared for kids ages 3-8, but I am pretty sure that once you listen to them, even the adults will be humming along.  Don't say I didn't warn you! ;)  Each set has five toe-tapping songs and can be bought as a set for $4.95 or downloaded as individual songs for .99 each.  You then have permission, of course, to burn them onto your own CD.  You will also receive a free download of all the song lyrics plus coloring and activity sheets, which we reviewed as the Happy Kids Songs Workbook.($12.56)

About the songs- Written by singer, songwriter and child and family psychologist, Dr. Don MacMannis, each album is packed with songs that teach children good life lessons such as sharing, caring for others, and being a friend.  "Dr. Mac" is joined by fellow songwriter Brian Mann and together they have produced some fun kid's music.  While he may not look familiar, I bet many of you parents out there know him already- he was the music director and songwriter for the hit TV show Jay Jay the Jet Plane!  Just as my olders could sing that theme song by heart, my 7 year old can now sing these all by heart as well.

How we used this- Originally, we just downloaded the songs on our laptop.  Quite honestly, I thought we would simply listen to them a few times and move on.  The best laid plans, so they say!  In reality, what happened was that CJ asked to listen to the songs every day during school time.  We finally compromised and let him pick 4-5 each morning.  But then he continued to ask to listen to them.  Instead of firing up the laptop several times a day, we finally burned the songs to a CD for him and he happily took it to his room to enjoy on his own. All. Day. Long.  Several times I have asked him if he would like to listen to something different.  "No, thank you" is the answer I get.  

I will tell you, he does have his favorites.  Sailing on the Seven Cs in set one is probably his top pick. Just guessing since it is the one that gets played over and over.  And over.  Hey, even I know all of the words now.  So do his siblings.  Let's face it though, there are worse things for a child to remember than the ingredients for being a good friend!  He would also tell you that he likes the song Quirks from set 6, that talks about how each person has certain "quirks".  He not only had fun identifying his own one day, but then everyone elses.  We did have to talk about how we did not necessarily need to point out people's quirks! ;)

Additional collections include-

Social Skills and Bullying

Feelings and Fears

Practice and Success

Talking and Listening

Respect and Responsibility

A quick word about the Happy Kids Songs Workbook.  You will love these free downloads.  (You can also buy the workbook!)  If you have crafty kids, they will enjoy the coloring sheets and projects included.  I can also see that these would be a GREAT resource for a small group setting such as Sunday School, or for a rainy day project in your own home.   There are activities from crossword puzzles and word searches to writing about your feelings.  In addition, each song then has a list of activities with instructions for group or individual play. While they are secular songs, the lessons taught could easily be tied to a Bible curriculum or any character training program you are using.

I have to tell you I realized during this review that because he is the youngest of four kids, CJ has not been exposed to as many "kid" songs as his older siblings were.  His love for these songs reminded me that kids need to be kids and have fun singing silly, "kid" songs.  When they can learn good lessons from the songs- even better!

We will be purchasing the rest of the set for sure!

If you want to find Happy Songs on Social Media here's how-

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/happykidssongs

Twitter: @howsyourfam

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/4DrMacMusic

We Choose Virtues- TOS Crew Review

Gentleness, patience and self control.  OH, I how long to teach my children those and so much more. Thankfully, with We Choose Virtues you can!

We Choose Virtues is a company dedicated to helping parents instill positive character traits in their children.   We received their Parenting cards ($38.49) for ages 3-11 and have been working our way through them, one a week.  The parenting cards are 13 double-sided, heavy cardstock cards with one character trait per card.  They are available in NIV or King James as well as Spanish.

We also received the Downloadable Bundle ($7.99) which includes

• Kids of VirtueVille Coloring Book
• Family Character Assessment
• Teacher's handbook
• Butterfly Awards for Kids

Here's what you will see on the cards

Front of a card-

On the front of each card a specific character trait is listed along with a cute little guy or gal that goes with that trait, in this example Cake Jake.   The card starts with a positive statement of that characteristic and then is followed with the negative side of it, the thing we DON'T do.  Each card also has a Bible verse to go with it.

Back of a card

On the back of the card you will find a family challenge or activity to do that helps you practice that trait, plus an example of how to apologize to someone when you have broken that rule.  In addition, there is a teachable moments section that gives you starter ideas to help teach that virtue and a little backstory to the character that will help your child remember the virtue.  Virtues include:

Why we love We Choose Virtues In my humble opinion, virtues are something our whole culture could stand to learn.  Imagine how much nicer our world would be if we treated everyone with kindness, respect and patience!  But, honestly, those are not things that come naturally to kids.  They need to be taught and they are worth taking the time to do so.

Our goal as a family was to go through the cards one a week, having fun and letting CJ pick which cards he wanted to do.  Yeah, best laid plans, right?!  The reality is that there were a few cards that needed a few more dedicated minutes hours. 

Meet my favorite cards

Self control and obedience.  Yes, we needed to review them all, but these are the two that needed the most work in our house right now.  And so we concentrated on these for a few weeks.  While I think the cards are fun and can be used in that way, for these two specific virtues we used them in a slightly different manner.  For most cards we sang the songs, reviewed the child's name and their story, and had fun playing games and doing the challenges. 

But for these two - well, another story  After a slightly frustrating day and time in prayer, God led me back to these cards and a way to do them differently.  And so each time a behavior issue came up, my son was required to get the card off the fridge, read the front and then ask for forgiveness as directed on the back.  Afterwards we would pray together and ask not only for forgiveness from God, but for guidance to do better.  This. Was. Hard.  

A child asking a sibling for forgiveness is often easy with a quick "I am sorry."  To ask forgiveness  from God is much harder.  But, boy is it fruit producing.  It was not a quick fix.  It was not easy.  But it did work.  It allowed me as a mom to remove myself from the equation and make him responsible for his own behavior AND for fixing it.  

Once we felt like we got a grip on those (notice I did not say mastered) we moved on, adding another card to the fridge.  I love that location as it is central in our house and allowed the other family members to participate in the fun parts.  

The virtues on the front of the cards are catchy and simple to remember, as are the songs.  Beware, they will get stuck in your brain and you may or may not find yourself singing in the car alone.  The teacher's handbook is a good guide for parents.  It is not a day by day curriculum, but rather a resource to inspire you with ideas.  It encourages you to:

• Expect Excellence
• Explain with Enthusiasm
• Emphasize Everyday
• Examine Everything

I chose to do the self assessment for my son as I felt like he was too young to fully comprehend it.  We did use it as a jumpstart to a few conversations of "what do you think you are good at" and "what do you think you think you need to work on most?"  Hard questions for a 6 year old, but a good self assessment for slightly older kids as well as adults!

The coloring book was not a huge hit with us either, but I suspect this is because it was being used by a boy who is not very interested in coloring.  He did color a few while I was reading, but we found it to be a distraction rather than a help.  We had better luck when his older sister offered to help him! I have no doubt that a child more interested in art would love them as they are so cute!

And the butterfly awards?  Not really a motivator for my son, but he did like the concept of being a caterpillar and learning and growing and then changing into a butterfly.  He did ask several times if he was a butterfly yet, so I know he understood it, but I was careful to tell him that just because you were a butterfly in one area did not mean that you could not go backwards and be a caterpillar again.

Let's face it, character training is HARD.  I am thrilled that We Choose Virtues has made a product to help parents in that training process.  It may seem like a slow process at times, but I do believe it is getting through.  I would highly recommend it to parents of kids of all ages.  We are never too old to learn, right?!

You can find We Choose Virtues:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/wechoosevirtues
Pinterest –  http://www.pinterest.com/WeChooseVirtues/
Blog -- http://www.wechoosevirtuesblog.com/