Last year I found a fabulous music website called Daria Music. Daria has lots of great resources for parents and teachers! She has lots of great freebies and giveaways as well. In January I reviewed one of Daria's CD's, I Have A Dream and fell even more in love with her products. Daria has a NEW CD I would like to tell you about called Cancioncitas De Los Andes (Little Songs Of The Andes). There is also a great giveaway at the end of this post.
A moms review:
Daria was kind enough to send our family the A Childs Life In The Andes (CD plus Companion Book) to review. I downloaded the files very easily and placed them into my Dropbox App so I could easily pull them up on my phone or tablet. This worked out great for our family since we are always on the go. We listened to the songs many times on our car rides.
As with all of Daria's music the songs were fabulous. The 6 songs included on the CD used traditional Andes instruments, had great beats and were very inspirational.
The CD is fabulous and includes the following songs:
-El Condor Pasa
-Papel De Plata
-Alturas
-Valicha
-Surphy
-Yaw Yaw Puka Polleracha
About halfway through Gwyn (my 7 year old) asked, "Mom what culture are the songs from." That was music to this mom ears. That definitely told me that the music was resonating with her and she knew that the songs were not songs we listen to everyday. She knew there was something different about them by the words being spoken, instruments being used, etc.
This was one of the kids favorite songs. Gwyn loved the pan flute. She said the song reminded her of a tribal dance.
The corresponding digital book is a MUST. Remember Gwyns question? Well the eBook helped us learn more about the Andean culture. There is lots of information included in the eBook which is broken down into 8 sections.
-Section 1 - learn about the Andes Mountains and where they are. There are a couple of great maps included which really help children visual exactly how far the Andes are from where you live.
-Section 2 - learn more about each of the songs and what they are about.
-Section 3 - learn about the various instruments including the Quenas, Zamponas, Chapchas, Rainsticks, Bombo, Guitar and more.
-Section 4 - learn about what an Andes child's life is like.
-Section 5 - learn more about the animals of the Andes. My children really enjoyed learning all about Llamas, Alpacas and Vicunas.
-Section 6 - learn all about the food of the Andes. Did you know Guinea Pigs (or Cuy) are eaten as a special treat or delicacy.
-Section 7 - learn some Spanish and Quechua. Spanish is the primary language however in remote areas Quechua a language dating all the way back to the Incan empire is spoken. The songs on the CD are mostly spoken in Quechua or Runa Simi.
-Section 8 - my children's favorite part includes coloring pages, activity sheets, instrument making directions. We were able to easily utilize these via Drop Box as well by opening the pdf in qPDF. This App allows you to make edits directly on the pdf and save them as well. This set up made it very easy for us to use the activity pages without having to print anything.
This is definitely a CD that you will listen to over and over again with your children. It is a great resource to not only use with music lessons but also geography and history.
Each month Daria has a monthly song page which has lots of freebies including songs, links to printables, videos, instrument making how-to's and more. There is also always at least one great giveaway (many times more).
Make your own rainstick:
My children love music. They love listening to music, making music and dancing to music. They also love making their own instruments. If you need some ideas I encourage you to visit Daria's Music Craft Page. I also have 10 Easy/Inexpensive Instruments To Make With Your Kids.
I encourage you to make rainsticks with your children. They were lots of fun and easy to make!
Materials:
-Paper towel tube or other long tube
-Aluminum foil
-Small dried beans, rice, pasta, etc
-Glue
-Scissors
-Paper
-Crayons, markers glitter, etc
What to do:
Decorate your tube as desired. Next make a circle by tracing around your tube onto a piece of paper, make 2 of these. Draw a bigger circle around that circle and then cut several spokes between the two circles. Glue the spokes onto one end of the tub to make a cap. Cut a piece of aluminum foil about one and half times the length of your tube and about 6 inches wide. Crunch it to make a long snake like shape then twist the foil into a spring shape. Put the foil into the tube. Next pour in some rices, pasta or beans. Fill the tube only about 1/10. Have fun and experiment to see how different amounts and different types of beans, etc change the sound. Take the remaining circle and glue the spokes onto the other end of the tube to cap it. I found that tape was a lot more secure for affixing the circles to the ends. Now have fun and make some music!
Here is a video of the kids telling you about their rainsticks and then playing them:
Gwyns (7 yrs old) and Rowyn (6 yrs old) Review:
Gwyn, "We had fun learning about the Andes, listening to songs and making instruments. My favorite song was the flute one (Yaw Yaw) and the Condor."
Rowyn, "I liked the music. My favorite song was Papel. It neat instruments."
Links to follow:
-Daria's Website
-Daria's Blog
Where to buy:
The songs and CDs can be purchased on Amazon in both MP3 and hard copy. Or you can also order them directly from Daria's website. Most of her songs are also available on iTunes as well. Prices vary on products.
Now time for the giveaway:
Daria Music has graciously offered to giveaway a Daria CD (of your choice) and a Mini Shekere.. Only the first entry is mandatory. Other entries are optional and give you extra chances. This giveaway is not affiliated with Facebook in any way. The winners will be posted on the blog and will be emailed. Winners must reply within 48 hrs with their contact information or another winner will be chosen. Prize will be mailed by Daria.
