Deskbell Giveaway and Changes over at Preschool Prodiges

Back by popular demand!  This is the second time we have paired up with Preschool Prodigies to do a deskbell/songbook giveaway.  We really love them and what they are doing!  This giveaway features their new, second songbook, and of course a set of the classic, color-coded deskbells.  You can watch the video below to see some of the improvements and changes he has made to his songbooks and workbooks.

But why now?  Mr. Rob is making some big changes to the structure of his website.  We wanted to create awareness before the changes go into effect.  Beginning October 8th, the lifetime membership will no longer be available.  The lifetime membership will give you access to all of the new, more advanced materials in Levels II and III coming in 2017-18.  The standard membership only gives access to the Level I materials now.  This is a HUGE change, and for anyone who may have been sleeping on getting either membership, knowledge is power.  Know your options.

Deskbells for learning Colors

My children really love these deskbells because they are easy to play and fun to work with. While they are great for any age, the bright, happy colors especially appeal to my 2-year-old.  He is so proud of his new-found knowledge of colors.  The bells were one of his favorite ways to practice not only music, but his colors too!  Win-win!  I would say "Can you play the red bell?" and he had a very simple, non-verbal way of demonstrating that he could. 

Furthermore, every time he played the red bell, he would hear the same sound, a "C".  He began associating the color red with that sound.  Furthermore, he associates the yellow bell with "E-ness", and so forth.  As a result, he is in essence learning to have perfect pitch- a skill which can be practiced and learned.  We use the bells to teach solfege, the letter name of the notes, and their number as well (1-8, marked on the bells).  This experience is then taken a step further to help them match the colors in the songbook and play some of their favorite nursery rhymes.

Gross-Motor Play

Tiny children learn so fast, and it often their biggest struggle for their bodies to keep up with their incredible heads.  Consequently one of the things I love about using the bells as a gateway for young children is that they are easy to play.  Deskbells do NOT require the same fine-motor skills that other instruments like the piano or violin do.  Hitting the button to make the bell ring is a gross motor skill.  That's seriously cool!

Preschool Prodigies simply nailed it when they took this awesome instrument and developed a full curriculum and interactive videos around them.  Check them out, enter to win, and good luck!