Experience History Through Music

If you have been popping in and out of here for the last few weeks or been to our FB page, you have surely seen by now that I have mentioned a new product release, Experiencing History Through Music.  I have had the privilege of being part of the launch team for this set of three books and accompanying music CDs and want to take a minute to tell you about them.  Not a homeschooler?  Not a problem. These gems will bless any home, I promise!

Diana Waring, the mastermind behind Experience History Through Music, followed her heart, teamed up with some other great folks, and put together the three books in this history series.  Each book has a series of stories telling the background of the songs.  These stories are full of great historical facts and fun stories as well as pictures.  As a bonus, in the back of each book is the basic sheet music for all of the songs.  Love music?  Be ready to have some great sing along fun!  Love history?  You will discover the backstories to many old favorites and some new-to-you songs as well.  Want to beef up and add a little excitement to your history studies?  These books are a great addition to your current history studies or would make great unit studies as well.  The possibilities are endless.  Our family has just had fun listening to the songs, on quite a regular basis I must say, and then reading the stories about them during family time and on our own.

 This is what Diana had to say in a recent interview-

"Are these Experience History Through Music products to be used as curriculum?  Is there a schedule to follow?

Though students can experience American history through these three books and CDs (and have a lot of fun in the process), it is not an actual curriculum. They are supplementary materials that can be enjoyed by anyone.  There is no specific schedule to follow, no tests to take. You might describe it as a sort of "stealth academics," meaning that your kids will be having so much fun singing the songs, they won't even realize they are learning.  But YOU will."

Western Ho! The Heart of the Old West, is a collection of stories about pioneers and their lives around the campfire. With songs like Home on the Range and Chisholm Trail, you will be transported back into a time of cowboys and adventure.  The boys, in particular, loved this one.  What boy doesn't at some point dream of riding a horse and rounding up bandits!

America The Beautiful is a patriotic collection that every school age child should hear. I remember learning  many of these songs in music class back in elementary school, before music was taken away due to lack of funds.  How sad that a new generation is not as familiar and in some cases has not even heard of songs like Yankee Doodle, Old Dan Tucker and Oh Susanna.

Musical Memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder is indeed our family's favorite.  We have read all of the Little House books and have recently begun re-watching the TV series as a family, so we were especially excited about reading the stories that accompanied each of the songs in this set.  I could just close my eyes and imagine Pa pulling out his fiddle and singing to his family.  Wait for the Wagon was my youngest son's favorite, but the girls and I especially liked In the Sweet By and By.  Just watching the girls gather around the piano to play and sing together makes these books a favorite.

Want a peek?


In The Sweet By and By from Ashton Pleasants on Vimeo.


Each book and CD set can be purchased separately for $18.99, or in the month of July, Diana is offering them as a set for $50.00!

There is also time to enter Diana's big giveaway valued at over $700, in addition to my own giveaway in which Diana is blessing one reader with her Homeschool Encouragement pack.  Quick, they are both almost over!

Experience History Through Music shout out and TWO giveaways!

Have you ever noticed that I speak highly of most of the products I review?  Someone asked me about it recently, so here's the scoop...

I am pretty picky about the things I review.  Surprise!  I choose only things that I feel we will enjoy and use. There have been a few times that things have not been the perfect fit for our family, but never have the products been bad.  I do my research, and so far it has paid off almost every single time.

This one, well, this one is no exception.

As a matter of fact, the Experience History Through Music three book and CD set has blown me out of the water.  Really.  I was not really sure what to expect from it, as I mentioned in our giveaway post, but I knew that music and history combined would work for our family.  It has!  I cannot wait to share my full review with you next week.

What I did not realize is how this book launch would bless me personally!

Let me tell you a little bit about Diana Waring.  I knew "of her" from her books Beyond Survival and Reaping the Harvest and so I was pretty sure I would like anything she was a part of.

Here's what her bio says...
Author of Beyond Survival, Reaping the Harvest and Diana Waring's History Revealed world history curriculum, Diana discovered years ago that "the key to education is relationship." Beginning in the early '80s, Diana homeschooled her children through high-school—the real life opportunities to learn how kids learn.  Mentored by educators whose focus was honoring Him who created all learners, and with an international background (born in Germany, university degree in French, lifelong student of world history), Diana cares about how people learn as well as what they learn.  Audiences on four continents have enthusiastically received her energetic speaking style.

Here's what her bio doesn't say...

She is spunky, fun, and living a life full of adventure.  Like meeting two of the Von Trapp sisters at homeschool conferences and hanging out with THE Almanzo Wilder at those same conferences.  As a part of her book launch team we have had the privilege of hearing many of the back stories of these beautiful books and their accompanying CDs.  This one I have to share as it touched my heart, made me cry and reminded me of how God weaves his way int o our lives daily!

Sometime in the mid 1990s, the partnership that had originally produced "America," "Westward Ho!" and "Musical Memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder," decided that it was time to let a "real" publisher take over. So, we signed contracts with a company that was quite large in the homeschooling movement at the time. We were excited to have others doing the day-to-day details, as I had moved from the Portland area to South Dakota, and this was going to make things so much easier for us all.

However, when this business went bankrupt in the late 1990s, something happened that was past my comprehension. I still don't know why, but when they declared bankruptcy they simply threw everything in the dumpster—including our masters. When I heard this, it utterly devastated me. These wonderful projects were gone, and to reproduce this again seemed too hard without the audio masters. Between having to start over from scratch with all of the images and graphic design and having no audio masters, I thought the entire project was gone forever.

People would ask us about them from time to time, as they had read about them, or heard of them, or had owned the original cassette tapes, but we always told them sadly, "I don't think they will ever come back into print."

Then, several years ago, Gena Suarez of The Old Schoolhouse contacted me to see if we might have any remaining stock of this product. She had heard of a family who had gone through a fire and lost everything, and her company was trying to help them rebuild their lives. I guess that the mom specifically talked about these American folk music in history books/audios, and this prompted Gena's call to me.

To read the rest of the story go to Diana's websire- you won't want to miss it.

BUT, this is what you REALLY won't want to miss.  Just after sharing the story with us, Diana decided to post it on her site.  Shortly thereafter this is a message she received-

from Joanna. . .
"That lady with the house fire was ME! We so miss our "Yankee Doodle Tells A Tale" cassette! I'm so excited about the launch! My first round of kids loved these and now we are homeschooling our second round since we adopted two little ones out of foster care and I know they are going to love these songs, too."

Here's what Diana said to her launch team-

"Can you believe it??? For all of these years, I have wished that I could give the three books/CDs to this woman, but I never knew her name and I didn't have the products!!"

Well, now she does have the products and you can have the chance to win them through a special giveaway valued at over $700.00!

We also hope you will join us on Tuesday, July 1st for her facebook launch party!

You can also win a copy of the Encouragement for Homeschool Moms Collection, a collection of 8 articles and 4 MPs downloads that will bless your socks off!  Just leave me a comment telling me what you like BEST about homeschooling!  A winner will be randomly selected next Friday!

Wow, did you get all that?  I hope you can feel the excitement and I look forward to giving you a full review on Friday the 4th of July!  I am even trying to sneak in a video of my girls playing a few of the songs from the books - shhhhhhhhhhh, don't tell! ;)

Blessings,

Diana and Friends Experience History Through Music Giveaway- $700+ value!

If you have been hanging around my Facebook page, you knew I had one right?, you may have seen me talking about a new History book series with music.  As a member of the launch team for Experiencing History Through Music I have had the pleasure of seeing these books and listening to the music for several weeks now.

Experiencing History Through Music by Diana Waring is a three book and CD set that includes Western Ho!  Heart of the Old West, Musical Memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder and America- Heart of a New Nation.

I love music!  And my kids love history, so I thought this would be a good combination for us.  I was right!  I have a review going up about all three books and the music included next Friday, but until then I want to give you a chance to enter to win those and more!  This is something you will not want to miss.  Even my mom, who is visiting this week, has been walking around humming the tunes from the Laura Ingalls book.  We have been so inspired by that book in particular that we are purchasing tickets on Groupon (is the timing perfect, or what?) this week to go visit the family homesite in DeSmit, SD!




To celebrate the release of Experience History Through Music, I am joining members of the Diana Waring Launch Team for an amazing giveaway. Friends of Diana have joined in and as you can see, someone's homeschool is going to be greatly blessed!  Here's what you could win! 

From Diana Waring Presents

Experience History Through Music - set of 3 books with CDs ($50/set) Diana Waring Presents is about to bring back into print the BEST folk music you have ever heard, combined with the fascinating stories they represent in American history!   The Experience Music Through Historyseries includes: America - Heart of a New Nation, Westward Ho! - Heart of the Old West  and Musical Memories of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The musicians are amazing, every instrument is real, lots of great vocalists, and more toe-tapping music than you can imagine! The books tell the stories behind the songs.  Together, they bring American history to life through it's music!!With fascinating history books and toe-tapping folk music CDs, American history has NEVER been this fun!

Encouragement for Homeschool Moms Collection ($25) Every mom needs that word of encouragement from someone who has been there, who has grownup children and can speak with assurance about the journey. Homeschool moms have an extra portion of the journey to navigate, and often wish for an extra voice that will offer direction but without nagging or prodding. Diana Waring has that voice.  

From A Journey Through Learning

$50 Gift Certificate $50 to spend in the A Journey Through Learning store, applicable toward any digital download purchase.  

From Homeschool Legacy

Westward Ho! Part I ($19.95) Load up your wagon! Discover the extraordinary times of adventurous frontiersmen and brave pioneers as you travel cross-country along the Erie Canal,  Oregon Trail, and even “remember the Alamo” in Westward Ho Part I. Westward Ho! Part II ($19.95) Continue the exciting saga begun in Westward Ho! Part I as you journey with the forty-niners, ride the rails of the Transcontinental Railroad, experience life on the prairie, and discover the exciting era of cowboys and cattle drives in Westward Ho! Part II.  

From Knowledge Quest Maps

Map Trek: Atlas and Outline Maps of World History ($55) Map Trek is a historical atlas plus outline maps that allow you to teach geography alongside history. This is a resource that any homeschool parent can use with brilliant success, even if you don't remember a thing from your history or geography classes in public school.  

From Home School Adventure Co. 

Philosophy Adventure™ Digital Download ($39.95) Philosophy Adventure™ is designed to help students 6th-12th grade cultivate and defend a biblical worldview by teaching them how to write skillfully, think critically, and speak articulately as they explore the history of ideas.  

 

From Heidi St. John (The Busy Mom and Real Life Press)

Firmly Planted Family Devotional Digital Volume 3 ($39) The Firmly Planted Family Series is divided into ten-week studies and is your key to making sense of the Bible—even if you’re learning right along with your children. Each lesson provides a core idea, a simple narrative, memory verses and discussion questions for children of all ages. And the companion student workbook is filled with age-appropriate, full-color, reproducible activities for children of any age!  

From Raising Real Men

Free Registration to Boyhood Boot Camp or Boot Camp 9-12 LIVE webinar series (winner's choice) plus Mom & Dad Special Raising Real Men (Book for Mom to read in the bathroom + AudioBook for Dad to listen to on the commute) ($62-69)

 
Free Registration for Marriage Retreat Online plus His & Hers Special of My Beloved and My Friend: How To Be Married To Your Best Friend Without Changing Spouses (book + audiobook), ($65)  

 

From Institute for Excellence in Writing

$50 Gift Certificate $50 to spend in the IEW store, applicable toward any purchase.  

From The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

SchoolhouseTeachers.com ($139) A one year membership to the curriculum arm of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Nearly 100 classes for Pre-K to High School, taught by expert teachers, and lots of extras including the Schoolhouse Planners, Schoolhouse Expos, monthly free ebook downloads and more.

 
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine 2014 Print Book ($15) Be encouraged, enlightened, and educated with the all new 2014 Annual Print Book published by The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine.You’ll get a year’s worth of homeschool support in almost 300 pages in this full color one-of-a-kind print magazine for homeschoolers, by homeschoolers. This is a magazine you’ll refer to again and again.  

From Writing with Sharon Watson

The Power in Your Hands ($53.96) With The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School, they’ll learn what they need to know for high school and will be prepared for college writing.

  Writing Fiction [in High School] ($35) Are you raising the next C. S. Lewis or Jane Austen? Help your students develop their fiction-writing talents with Writing Fiction [In High School]: Bringing Your Stories to Life.

To enter the giveaway, use the Rafflecopter below. Residents of the U.S., age 18 and older only. Other Terms and Conditions can be found in the Rafflecopter. a Rafflecopter giveaway