Give Yourself the Gift of Music with Piano Online {Review}

I grew up with the sound of my mother playing the piano and it's an instrument I've always wanted to learn to play.  Fifteen years ago we bought an upright piano and my oldest two and I enrolled in piano lessons.  A few months into lessons I developed severe morning sickness and could not continue with my lessons.  Recently the Homeschool Review Crew were presented the opportunity to review the Music & Creativity - Foundation Course by Simply Music sparked the desire to learn to play the piano again.

The Music & Creativity Course is an on line course presented by Neil Moore the Founder and Executive Director of Simply Music.  Neil developed the Simply Music program and has been teaching music for over twenty seven years. Simply Music uses a playing based education to teach playing the piano.

What we received
Enrolment into the Music & Creativity Program Level One.  This level is FREE for anyone to enrol and use.  Simply Music have made this in celebration of all the students that have learnt to play the piano with them.

It included:

• Reference Books
• Practise PDF
• All backing Soundtracks - these can be downloaded or streamed for use as you practise and learn.
• Music and the Art of Long-Term Relationships

Enrolling in the Music & Creativity Program is so easy.  I didn't need to enter any payment details.  All they asked for were my name, email address and password.  Within minutes I received my welcome email and immediate access to the program.

How It Works
While using Simply Music approach the pieces of music are from a variety of genre's such as contemporary, classical, gospel, blues, improvisation, accompaniment.  You learn from the beginning to play with both hands.

 Upon logging in you are taken to the Music and Creativity Program home page.  Here you can see at a glance which course you are currently enrolled in and how far you have progressed through the program as well as available courses to purchase in order to continue your piano music education.

At present there are two courses available: Foundation Course and Foundation Enhancement.  There are four Development levels and four Special Courses (Accompaniment, Composition & Improvisation, Arrangements and  Blues & Improvisation) being developed.

The course home page contains the option of downloading the PDF practise and reference books as well as a ZIP file containing the Soundtracks.  Below that you can see the Course Content.

 There are 19 lessons and a Quick start lesson. Upon completing a lesson you mark it complete and the system will auto track the where you are.  A no entry sign indicates that the lesson is not unlocked due to the previous lesson remaining incomplete.

Once you click through to your lesson you are taken to a page with an embedded video lesson where Neil teaches the lesson and takes you step by step through different pieces of music.  He does a great job of explaining step by step the notes, your hands and how to play the piece of music and how you are to practise.

You then practise what you have learnt using the sound track for that weeks lessons.  You can re-watch the lesson as many times as you would like. Once you have reached a level that you are happy and comfortable with you manually mark the lesson complete.  The system will then unlock the next lesson for you to begin and take you there.

You can watch the lessons on any Internet connected device.  I have watched them on my computer, a tablet and my phone.

This is my favourite piece of advice from Neil.  He is an encouraging teacher and puts no pressure on you the student.  He recognises that some learn slower and others learn faster and the most important thing is to learn at your OWN UNIQUE pace.

He explains to the students that every single time you sit down to practise you are learning and if you rush and practise wrong you will have to unlearn the mistake and relearn correctly and it is therefore prudent to SLOW down and teach yourself correctly the first time.

Simply Music Methodology

Neil explains - "The usual entry into learning piano is a 'reading-based' approach. In other words, students are first required to learn how to read music as the means of learning how to play. Although some students succeed with this approach, for the vast majority the reading process can feel unnatural and slow and end with the feeling that "music is not for me" or, "it's hard" or, "It takes a long time" or, "I don't have any musical talent or ability" etc.

Our 'playing-based' approach is based on a different premise. We say that everybody, without exception, is profoundly musical. Pretty much everything that we all do, on a moment-by-moment, day-to-day basis, is underscored by our musicality - this includes the rhythm of our heartbeat and our breathing, the perfectly smooth and even rhythm of our walking, as well as our ability to talk. In fact, conversation consists of spoken sentences and phrases of astonishing musical complexity, yet speaking comes easily and naturally to us all. In fact, it's our innate connection to musicality that gives us the ability to talk.

The Simply Music Method draws on and nurtures the natural sense of music we all possess; it teaches students to play the piano by immersing them in the actual process of playing. In the early stages of learning with Simply Music, music-reading is delayed. "

Important Notes/Format

This is an on line product, including video-based instruction, down loadable soundtracks, and three pdf documents.

Connect on Social Media

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube

 If you would prefer face to face lessons with a teacher Simply Music has many trained teachers in 12 different countries around the world using their system of teaching music.  Find a teacher near you via the Simply Music Educator Location page.

Neil recently shared that Simply Music currently has students enrolled from a 100 countries around the world.

Overall

This program is very different from any program I have ever tried.  Neil is both the developer and the presenter of the program.  He is encouraging and clearly communicates each step of the course and helps you to understand the how and why of what he is doing.  You can learn more about the philosophy and the beginnings of Simply Music on their site as well as meet the staff who are working to support you on line.

I am looking forward to continuing my lessons and have encouraged Paul to begin lessons with Neil.

To find out what my fellow home educating Mom's and their families thought be sure to take a look at more reviews  at the Homeschool Review Crew.

PS:  Did you know the piano contains over 12,000 parts?

Join the Homeschool Review Crew! {Mid-Year Intake Now Open}

Morning Home Educating Friends.It's been a while since I've shared around here and for good reason too.  We have been in South Africa celebrating milestone birthday's with family and reconnecting with friends.  I am home now and feeling refreshed from the time away.  I wanted to let you know that the Homeschool Review Crew have opened a mid-year application to join their ranks.

I initially joined the Crew in 2013 and loved it so much I have now been part of the crew for six years.

As a home educator I understand how tight finance can be and wanting to try out new products or wanting to look at products to see if they would work for our family.  Being a part of the Crew ment I could do this without spending any money.

How does it work?

The thing I enjoy about being a part of the Crew is that I am independent. I am never forced to review a product I really don't want and I am not told what to write.  My reviews are honest and I share truthfully.

• Each week via a private members forum I am introduced to a new product, told what is expected of me as a reviewer for the product.
• Once I have researched the product I fill in a Vendor Interest Forum (via Google Docs) where I notify the leadership of my desire for a product and why it would be a good fit for our family.
• If there is a product that is not a good fit for our family I use the same form to let Debra (Crew Manager) know.  This takes very little of my time.
• Once a week the leadership notify us via the same forum if we have been selected to receive a product.  
• Via the same forum we are provided with all the support and information we need to successfully use a product and write our reviews.
• Once a review is written we get to keep the product and use it at our discretion.

Benefits of being on the Homeschool Review Crew

• I get to use home educating materials and keep them.
• Support from the Crew Leadership and a mentor I can contact any time.
• 24-hour access to a private membership forum
• Membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com which has over 400 classes for my homeschool.
• A copy of the  The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine every three months.  

Can I join if I'm not in the USA?

Yes!  I live in Australia.  Some of the Vendors post their products internationally and some do not.  Most digital products are available to international home educators.  Eligibility for product is determined by the Vendor.

What types of Product does the Crew Review?

The Crew review products that are home education related.  On occassion they have reviewed products designed to bless the Mom or Dad only.  The products range from physical to digital curriculum. I have loved every-single-product I have every received and been surprised by the variety of products on the market today for home educating families. You can see some of the products the Homeschool Review Crew have reviewed so far in 2019 here.  You can have a look at our top products for 2018 (as voted by the Crew) in the 2018 Blue Ribbon Awards.

What criteria makes you elegible to be on the Crew?

• You need to LOVE looking at new curriculum and telling your friends about it.
• Either a Blog or a Vlog channel.
• A social media platform.

For more detailed information on the Crew and it's requirements please take a look at:  Apply to Join the Homeschool Review Crew! {2019 Crew Mid-Year Intake}

How do you join the team?

Fill in the  Homeschool Review Crew Mid-Year Application Form via Google Docs.  If you are successful you will receive an official inviatation from the Crew Leadership to join the team.

I do hope you will join me on the Crew I love meeting homeschooling families who blog and look forward to reviewing home schooling products with you for the remainder of the 2019 year.

Blessings
Chareen

Floor of Your Core {Tummy Team Review - Pelvic Floor Rehab at Home}

Over the last few months I became aware of feeling like I was falling apart and my core was not feeling as strong as I was a few years back following the Core Foundations program by The Tummy Team. This was in no way the programs fault it was mine for not remaining consistent in maintaining the strength I had gained.

This time I know I needed more help than just my core.  As a woman I was noticing some symptoms that are often seen as a normal part of being a woman/mother and often the advice is just put up with it, this is how you cope. I honestly did not want to have coping strategies for the next 40 years.  I want to live well, strong and stable.

After seeing how The Tummy Team transformed my husbands life a few years back I knew I needed some true lasting functional pelvic floor strength with realistic tools to obtain it. I had noticed some chat on the Client Forum that The Tummy Team have a program specifically to help woman called: Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation.

Functional pelvic floor is about connection, coordination and consistency not tension, gripping and intensity - Kelly Dean, MPT

What I Gained doing Floor of Your Core

• I learnt realistic tools to obtain functional strength.  Functional strength is not found through a ten minute exercise session each day.  It's found in what you do the most of every day through out your day.  
• The Tummy Team taught me how my body was designed to function how to use this effectively to help me heal.
• Each week they provided me with a rehabilitation program that is structured into my personal daily routine (for example I learnt that I could do the calf stretch while brushing my teeth). 

  Symptoms of Pelvic Floor weakness

• Stress/Urge/Urinary Incontinence - wetting yourself when laughing, jogging, sneezing or being unable to hold on to go to the bathroom.  While this is common to many woman it is not normal.
• Pelvic Organ Prolapse - feeling pressure after intimacy, a feeling of heaviness down there, feeling a bulge when wiping.  
• Intimacy Issues - pain during intimacy or a numbness is not normal and may be a symptom of weakness or injury.
• Pelvic Pain - painful tailbone, pain in pelvis during your cycle, deep pelvic pain, pelvic instability, pubis-symphysis pain.
• Pain - lower back, sciatica, pubic bone pain/instability, abdominal and hip. 
• Birth Trauma - both physical and emotional.

Finding balanced helpful answers to these issues can be a challenge and I was so relieved to discover that The Tummy Team are committed to supplying woman with the correct information and dispelling the myths that surround pelvic floor issues and providing accurate medical advice and support.

After reading more about the pelvic floor on their blog and hearing Kelly explain how the pelvic floor is an important part of the core I contacted the team who have graciously gifted me a Floor of Your Core - 8 week On line Program to try in exchange for a review.

Floor of Your Core Program Walk Through

Once you have purchased your course and log in you will be taken to the My Account screen.  Here you are able to update all your information and access any courses and past purchases. This screen is accessible at any time by clicking on My Access.

Navigating to your course is via the My Courses tab.  Here you will find a list of your registered courses and pending courses that still need to be activated. Once you select your course, it will open a new page showing the weekly lesson/course materials links.

Upon completing the work for that week, and you mark a unit/week of study as complete a green check mark will appear. Lessons are released at the pace of one a week. This is intentional.  The information you receive builds one upon the other and needs to be viewed and implemented in the order that it is presented in the same manner as if you were actively meeting with your personal physio therapist once a week. 

Each weeks lesson/consultation is presented as follows and in the same format:

Each weeks class/consultation opens with a welcome note and summary of the weeks focus.  Below this there are three buttons:

1. Focus of the Week - Here is where you will find the purpose and focus for the week ahead. Some great encouragement and coaching.
2. Helpful Tips - Here you will find a bullet point list of possible physical responses to the exercises / stretches for the week.  The list is comprehensive and spot on.  I appreciated knowing these things before commencing the weeks homework as I was prepared for the changes and how my body may respond or react to the new alignment and strength it was gaining.
3. Weekly Downloads - This is where you will find the pdf downloads for you to print.
• Rehabilitation plan for the week ahead. 
• Exercise Explanation Summary -  these contain detailed  photographs and explanations of the exercises/stretches you will be focusing on for the week ahead.
• Exercise Chart - this is a chart to help you track when you do your exercises and helps you to find natural spots in your daily routine to incorporate them.
• Pelvic Floor Assessment chart - this is done three times during the course of your treatment.  I encourage you to take your time and do these.  I discovered symptoms that were such a normal part of my daily living that I did not even realise they were symptoms until I did the assessment.  It also assisted me to see my progress as it was so gradual I was unaware of my progress until I compared notes.

Below this section you will find your video list for the week.

Week 8 Video List

  As you work your way through the video's the little dot to the left changes colour to green indicating you have completed that specific video.  Once you have completed the list of video's there is a button at the bottom to Mark your week Complete.  This in turn changes the tick box to green on the course home page making it super easy to know where you are each week.

Week 7 Video 3 - Low Impact Fitness Guidelines

When you click on a video to watch it opens an embeded video. At the top just above it there is a short one or two focus sentences for the video class.
The video can be played full screen by clicking on the four mini arrows on the right and the little cog allows you to manually select the quality of the video you want to play, available streaming is 360p to 1080p. It's default setting is auto. The video's in the play list will auto load upon completion, there is no need to click on next video.

What does each week cover?
When I started Floor of Your Core I had a traditional mindset of pelvic floor exercises and was a little confused when for the first four weeks there was no specific pelvic floor exercise instruction. Having worked with the TT before I trusted their judgement and did the exercises I had been given.  I was thrilled to discover that all the exercises I was doing, were effectively exercising my pelvic floor without me being aware of it. By the time I did week five I had the correct basic strength and technique needed to do the exercises taught to bring about deeper healing and strength.

• Introduction
  
  • Welcome
  • Connection Between Core and Pelvic Floor
  • Anatomy of the Abdominals
  • The Transverse Abdominis Muscle
  • Common Symptoms
  • How Exercise Contributes to Dysfunction
  • Emotional and Spiritual Connection
  • Splinting for Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation
  • Pelvic Floor Self Assessment
• Week 1 - Anatomy and Core Awareness
  
  • Understanding Your Transverse Abdominis
  • Active Sitting
  • Basic Abdominal Massage
  • Functional Integration of the Core
• Week 2 - Core Connection/Pelvic Floor Awareness
  
  • Engaging vs Bracing
  • Bones of the Pelvis
  • Adding Pelvic Floor Awareness to TA Holds
  • Common Compensations
  • Potty Posture
  • Preparing Your Environment for Baby
• Week 3 - Neutral Pelvis
  
  • Neutral Pelvis
  • Standing Transverse Holds
  • Active Core Postures
  • Active Walking
  • Weaning from Your Splint (Part 1)
• Week 4 - Pelvic Floor Connection
  
  • PF Reassessment
  • Muscles of the Pelvic Floor
  • Pelvic Floor Strengthening
  • The "XOXO" massage
• Week 5 - Pelvic Floor Integrations
  
  • Pelvic Floor Standing Integration
  • Pelvic Floor Connection in Active Walking
  • Weaning From Your Splint (Part 2)
  • Neutral Rib Cage Stretches
  • Vaginal Devices
• Week 6 - Functional Awareness/Intimate Connections
  
  • Integrating Squatting and Bending
  • Listening to Your Body
  • Intimacy Issues
  • Pelvic Floor Massage
• Week 7 - Challenge
  
  • Squatting Progression
  • Low Impact Fitness Guidelines
  • Low to High Impact Progression
  • "I love U" Massage
  • Finding a Pelvic Floor Specialist
• Week 8 - Fitness and Lifestyle Transition
  
  • Final Self-Assessment
  • Case Studies
  • Mini Trampoline Training (advanced)
  • Transition Fit2B
  • Fit2B: Pelvic Floor Connections
  • Fit2B: Defining Deltoids Workout
  • Fit2B: Walking Workout
  • Thank You 

What do you get with the program

• Eight weeks of personal Pelvic Floor and Core Rehab Specialist  instruction. These are presented by a Core Rehab / Pelvic Floor Specialists in pre-recorded video sessions which are accessed in the comfort of your own home, or any Internet connected device. 
• A new set of instructional on line video's are made available to access each week. This is intentional structure in the course so that the content builds upon the week before. It is important to watch each instructional video as understanding why you are doing things a certain way is foundational to you successfully healing.
• Each week there are a set of pdf sheets containing a summary of  the weeks lesson.  Where appropriate an exercise tracking sheet and on line support handout.  These are the same handouts which are given to clients who come into the clinic.  They are a written summary of the key elements of your program for the week.
• Access to a private client forum on Facebook. On this forum you can ask any question and one of the Tummy Team Core Rehab Specialists will answer you.  Most questions are answered within a couple of hours. 
• Tools to help you become strong at life.
• Ten weeks of on line access. 
• If you need an extension you can purchase an extra Four Weeks of on line access  for your course.  Please note that extensions begin immediately so do not purchase until your original course access is complete. 
• Extension access can be purchased should you want to do a refresher of any of the courses you have completed with the Tummy Team.

Please note there are two purchase options for each program

1. BUY NOW, START NOW - means your ten week access starts immediately upon payment of your program.
2. BUY NOW, START LATER - means you get a voucher that you use when you are ready to start your program.

FREE Resources for You
These include downloadable printables and where applicable YouTube video's.

• Daily Posture and Alignment instructions/worksheets: These cover active standing, sitting, computer station (standing and sitting), picking up items and driving.
• Parenting Postures -Carrying your children, stroller, high chair, diaper changes, play pens, playing on the floor, feeding baby etc.
• Stretches - These five stretches will help release the muscles that are compensating for your week core and pelvic floor.
• Pregnancy & Postpartum - These are really helpful if you are pregnant or just had a baby. There are 12 video's to help you.
• Pelvic Floor - Four Video's covering Kegels VS Functional Strength, What is a Prolapse, Exercise and Incontinacne and Why "Holding It" is a bad idea.
• Fitness exercise to avoid and three exercises to replace them with.
• Planks are not good for you, watch this clip and Kelly will explain why.  The second most common exercise done for core which does not work is the crunch.  Kelly explains here why you should stop doing crunches.

Who are the Instructors?
There are two instructors for Floor of Your Core: Gillian Sukachevin and Kelly Dean. Together they form an encouraging and empowering team and walk you through each stage of your rehabilitation program.

Gillian Sukachevin

Gillian is a passionate holistic pelvic care specialist who graduated from Andrews University in 1998, becoming a clinical instructor at Georgetown University where she became familiar with neuromuscular re-education.

Gillian teaches from a foundation of personal experience in that she herself has experienced a back injury, car accident, infertility and a delivery-related injury.  She came to The Tummy Team for care and recovery in 2012.

After finding healing and relief for herself she completed further training to specialise in Core Rehabilitation alongside The Tummy Team.  Gillian combined her passion for holistic pelvic care and core rehabilitation to develop Floor of Your Core bringing hope, health and healing to others.

Kelly Dean

Kelly is an articulate instructor. She takes time to explain your anatomy, the process needed to gain healing and more importantly the why behind every step of your core rehabilitation instructions.

Kelly's focus is on empowering you with knowledge to help equip you with the tools you need to become strong for life.  She is a Core Rehabilitation Specialist who specialises in neuromuscular rehabilitation and home health. Kelly is passionate about to fully understanding the neuromuscular, postural, and alignment issues that contribute to core weakness and abdominal separation. Her combination of multiple approaches specifically treats these conditions for long-lasting changes.

The thing I appreciate about learning from Gillian and Kelly is that they are speaking from personal experience.  They recognise that each of us have our own story and it is these very things that influence how our bodies are going to heal. Together they equip you the patient with the knowledge and tools you need to heal and become strong for life.

Learn More about The Tummy Team

• The Tummy Team Story
• The Full Story Behind The Tummy Team  (21 min)
• Benefits of Abdominal Rehab Splnting 
• Could you be suffering from a diastasis?
• Overview of Core Rehab   
• Encouragement and information on The Tummy Team Blog.

 Connect on Social Media

• Facebook @TheTummyTeam
• Twitter @TheTummyTeam
• Instagram @thetummyteam
• Pinterest The Tummy Team  
• Hashtag: #strong4life #StrongCore4Life
• YouTube: The Tummy Team

I would like to thank Gillian Sukachevin and Kelly Dean for their passion and dedication, for making Floor of Your Core available worldwide. It is revolutionising my life and helping me to take my health back in a way I did not think was possible. The changes that I noticed within a couple of weeks were surprising.  The initial symptoms I experienced were barely noticeable within three weeks of beginning my rehabilitation. I love the new habits I have gained because they are sustainable and I have a deeper understanding behind why I am doing what I am doing and how these actions are protecting my body making it strong for life.

Blessings

Chareen

A big Thank You to the Tummy Team for sponsoring me with Floor of Your Core.