Dallas By Chocolate and Nosh Euro Bistro

Stuart and I got a special treat today. We went on a tour with Dallas By Chocolate. Check out my post about it over at She Is Dallas.

We put the children in Adventure Kids so we could enjoy an afternoon with just the two of us. It was so much fun and I think I was going to burst from eating so much chocolate.

After the tour we walked around a nearby mall, just exploring. It was fun to leisurely walk around, looking at things we wanted to look at, without having to keep entertain the kids for a change.

Eventually we worked up a slight appetite for some real food and decided to try something different for dinner. We discovered Nosh Euro Bistro in Plano. We didn't have a reservation and ended up sitting at the community table but we were kind of early so there weren't many people at the big table with us. The food was incredible and I hope to go back again soon.

Playing with Foil

We had fun playing with aluminum foil! Check out Quirky Momma for all the creative things we did.

Kinderbach Review

Although I played piano for years and years when I was younger, I have struggled with trying to figure out how to teach piano to my children.

I first tried teaching my son on my own. I know chords, rhythm, and how to read sheet music. How hard can it be?

Well, that didn't work.

Then I bought a book to help me teach him. That didn't work either.

I gave up and figured we would probably have to pay big bucks and just go to a piano teacher's house once a week for both kids to learn to play.

But now I've tried Kinderbach and I think we can put that off for now.



Kinderbach is a fun and interactive video piano lesson curriculum recommended for ages 3-7. I have a 3 year old daughter and a 7 year old son and while they are on either extreme of the recommended ages, they are both learning and having fun.

The lessons are presented as fun videos. There are songs, hand motions, and dancing!



I use my lap top and set it up on our coffee table near the piano. In one of the early lessons, the kids were learning about rhythm and the video presenter asked them to copy her as she did various hand and body movements to follow the rhythm of a song. They both had a blast!

I love watching them laugh while they are learning!

There are bright colors and fun characters throughout the lessons. These are the Piano Pals pictured below. We have learned about their personalities and music appreciation as we have moved through the class. You can learn more about them too on the Piano Pals page.

In addition to the videos, there are also workbooks to download that correspond with the video lessons.



Here is a sample page from a workbook.



I love that Kinderbach isn't just reading from a book or just sitting at the piano. It is interactive and multi-sensory. It encourages the children to participate in a fun and exciting way and it can appeal to different kinds of learning styles.

But unlike a piano teacher, the Kinderbach membership cost covers both children and each can move through it at their own pace, go back and review or move ahead more quickly, as they need to. And the schedule is totally flexible around us and not stuck to a piano teacher's availability.

I'm so glad I found Kinderbach and I definitely plan to continue using it in our homeschool curriculum.

If you'd like to try Kinderbach in your home, be sure to check out the Kinderbach website and sign up for the free trial so you can be sure that it will work well for your family.

If you decide that you love it as much as I do then I have some good news! Kinderbach has generously offered a great coupon code for you. This coupon code gives 30% off any order - homeschool, classroom, online or DVDs. AND it is good for one year! Coupon Code: TOScrew2012

You can get Kinderbach in two version, online subscription or DVD. Both provide access to over 240 sessions along with accompanying activity workbooks that you can print as needed.

The online subscription is available in two payment options:
1 - $7.99 a month - Billed in a one time annual payment of $95.88 Great Value! Save 60%)
or
2 - $19.99 monthly subscription - Billed monthly for a year in 12 separate payments

The DVDs include the video lessons and come with a CD to download the workpages. They cost $40.45 for each level and there are 6 levels.

You may also want to follow Kinderbach on Facebook to keep up with the latest news and special offers.

Check out what other TOS Crew reviewers had to say about how awesome Kinderbach has been in their home.

Note: I received a free online subscription to Kinderbach in order to review the program. I was not compensated in any other way and my opinions here are entirely my own.

Hotel and Hockey in Allen

Nicholas' hockey team had a hockey game in Allen this morning at 8:30. We would have to get there for 7:45 in order for him to have time to get to the locker room and get all of his gear on. 7:45 is really early for us to be anywhere. But Allen is about an hour away for us so we would have had to leave our house at 6:45 this morning. Wow, that's too early!

Our team mates all live in our general area so they were all in the same situation. Most of them decided it would be easier (and more fun!) to just get a hotel room next to the arena in Allen for Friday night so they could just walk over to the game this morning. How fun for all the boys to be in the hotel together! We couldn't resist!

We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard. The kids and I went up early in the day Friday to get checked in and let the kids play. Stuart couldn't leave work early so he drove up and met us there later.

The kids helped me find our room.

We used the big valet cart to wheel all of our luggage and hockey gear up to the room. The kids had a blast as I pushed them through the hallway! Hee hee!

We played in the pool as the rest of the team arrived throughout the afternoon and joined us.

I got this new float jacket for Rachel. It completely holds her up in the water and she can't remove it. Although I stay with her anytime she is in the pool, it's reassuring to know that she will be safe in the water even if I'm not right beside her. She doesn't fully trust it yet and wants to hold on to me or the side of the pool but she can float upright in it just fine.

Last night the Allen Americans minor league had a hockey game so a lot of us got tickets to take the boys to see it. What fun!

Everyone loves when the R/C blimps float overhead and drop coupons and t-shirts on the crowd.

Rachel tried to catch something but it never dropped it over us.

But Nicholas ran down the row and caught a coupon. He was pretty excited but unfortunately the coupon was just for Choctaw Casino.

Rachel did better at the game than we expected. She watched some of the game even though she doesn't really understand what's going on.

Daddy brought her down lower between periods so she could watch the Zamboni clean the ice.

She also had plenty of junk food dinner options to keep her busy.

Eventually she got bored and I pulled out her vTech tablet to let her play. It was the only way to keep her in her seat but at least they are educational games.

There was lots of popcorn, nachos, hot dogs and more to be enjoyed.

The boys cheered for Allen and had a great time, even though their team didn't win.

This morning it was a little hard to get going and some of the boys were dragging a bit. Maybe staying up late for the game last night wasn't the best idea but it sure was fun! The coach gave them a pep talk before getting out on the ice.

At the games, Rachel plays with other young siblings that have to go to their older brother's games. Here is one of her good friends. Sometimes they play with little toys, playdoh, or whatever parents have brought for them to keep occupied with. Today there were just video games but they sat next to each other and watched each other play.

Although the boys are certainly well matched for this Allen team, they didn't win the game. We weren't too surprised considering the lack of sleep that most of them had. But it sure was fun and we'd love to do it again!

Pinewood Derby Car Time!

It's Cub Scout Pinewood Derby time!

Nicholas did a great job this year on his car. He sorted through his vast collection of toy cars and picked one that he thought would be aerodynamic and cool looking.

He drew a pattern for the car on paper then copied the pattern to his block of wood. He did a lot of work with tools on his own with just occasional help from Stuart.

It turned out looking great!

Side view

We had the races at the school. It's always exciting to see this track set up in the cafeteria.

Nicholas did great on his first few runs. He's the white car, second from the left in this video.



The boys race their cars multiple times. Unfortunately, as the races continued, Nicholas' car went slower and slower. We aren't sure what happened but something must have wiggled out of place which affected the car's performance.

Nicholas was a little sad that he didn't place because he did so well in the race last year. But it was a good opportunity for him to practice good sportsmanship and to start making plans for next year's car to be his best ever!