Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
We love listening to a wide range of music, but I don't always do a good job making it happen... When it comes down to it, I'd generally prefer silence versus the cacophony of seven children's voices layered on top of whatever music I'm trying to get them to listen to! But I thought it would be worth a try to check out Smart Kidz Radio: Member's On-Demand Radio Program Library and see what they had to offer.
20% of the proceeds from a Smart Kidz Radio membership fees goes towards their educational foundation, Smart Kidz Foundation, which provides resources for young people to educate themselves, follow their dreams, and shape a better world.
I figured lunchtime would be the best time to try, since mouths would be (mostly) too busy to interrupt, and everyone was excited to try out some new music! We began by listening to the Tribute to World Music playlist, which had pretty good variety but quality was varied—a couple of the pieces (Hungary, Ireland) were unpleasant midi-generated instrumentals, and I am confused as to why those were selected as the only piece representative of each country. Permissions can be tricky, I know, but I think it would have been preferable to leave these out completely rather than expose children to sub-par music. My kids didn't notice a thing though, and really enjoyed listening!
We've focused a fair amount on classical music in our normal school music studies as well, so the kids were eager to explore the classical composers available to listen to. It was a pretty limited selection, which I wasn't expecting... Given how easy it is to find works by these composers to listen to online, I expected a wider range of composers and pieces, but perhaps the creators figured they would focus their energy more on other musical genres, since there's plenty of classical music widely available for free listening. The pieces we listened to were good quality, and a nice extension of our regular composer studies, with the added benefit of me not needing to hunt them down on various sites!
In addition to music, there are plenty of educational programs available in short formats - programs educating children about insects, ocean creatures, mammals, and more. There is music available from many different cultures (beyond the small sampling that was available in the Tribute to World Music playlist), nursery rhymes, hymns, jazz, silly songs, educational songs... A huge variety! There are stories available for kids to listen to when you need a break from reading aloud. There's something for everyone!
We listened to this at home using my phone hooked up to a bluetooth speaker, but I wish there were a way to let it stream in the car, where we do much more of our music listening. I don't have adequate data to use it up on streaming radio!
Navigation is very easy, as is searching for whatever you might be looking for. I love that, if necessary, I can let the kids browse and find something they'd like to listen to without worrying that they might stumble upon something explicit or unsavory.
How do you add variety to your music listening?
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