Making Music on Android Devices

Music is a big part of our world. We will often have music playing in the house and in the car when we travel near and far. NHL is now in his third year of band at school where he plays percussion instruments. It has been an amazing process to watch his knowledge of music grow thanks to classes in school and his phenomenal band teacher. JSL is six and really wants to play an instrument, but a few things have stopped us at this point. I am not sure he knows what he really want to try and trying/renting/buying instruments is not exactly cheap.

Android apps to play music

Over winter break, JSL saw a keyboard in a store. He quickly became fixated on getting on and learning to play the piano. We are mean parents because we refused to buy it. Quite honestly, I didn’t want a toy and thought we should investigate things a bit more. Try explaining that to a stubborn six year old. While we got him out of that store, we have heard about his NEED for a keyboard to almost every single day since. I have asked multiple people for recommendations, but need to investigate before we invest money into this. Sunday afternoon we were in the house and while NHL was practicing drums, the little kid started pouting about the keyboard again. I decided to look for something to pacify the situation. Enter Learn Piano by rubycell for Android devices.

Learn Piano app by rubycell

Within a few minutes TechyDad had installed this app onto JSL’s Galaxy Tab 2. Then I heard something else playing. Why yes, TechyDad installed it onto his Android smartphone and was playing Katy Perry’s Roar. JSL wanted to check it out right away. The Song Book on this app is fantastic. There are songs that I grew up with, items for the kids, and family favorites like Do You Want to Build a Snowman? from Frozen.

Screen of Learn Piano for Android devices

As you can see there are ads on the free version, but it really did not seem to bother the kids. You can pay $1.99 to remove the ads and this also allows you to load midi files. For $2.99 you can get the previous items, as well as all instruments and song packages via the Diamond Package. We will see how the kids continue to use this over the next week or so. Why yes, once NHL was done with band practice he wanted to use it on his Galaxy Tab 2. At one point, I was listening to JSL play In Summer, NHL play For the First Time in Forever, and TechyDad playing The Imperial March. Curious what it looks like when you play? Here’s the screen when I put it on my Droid Mini and tried the song Pure Imagination.

Playing a song on Learn Piano app

While this is not a substitute for music lessons and a real keyboard, it is keeping my little guy happy. I am watching to see how his patience are with trying to follow along and it is keeping him actively engaged. Want to see the app in action? Here’s an Instagram video that I made of TechyDad playing a song.

I have to admit I am curious, what song would you look for first when trying out this app?

It's Me

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I received one of our Galaxy Tab 2 and the Motorola Droid Mini to test out and share ways that I use them with my family. There was no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

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Making Math Fun

Growing up, I remember spending hours playing on calculators and adding up catalogues for fun. Not really fun for most people, but it kept my interest in technology and numbers working together. My love of math, science, and technology continued as I followed my dreams to become a teacher. As a parent, my boys likely have no idea when I sneak some math fun into our routines. I mean does this look like the makings for a math activity?

Math fun at home

Yes, that really is something for math and more about it will be coming soon.

Thanks to being one of the parent bloggers on the Bedtime Math blog, I have a new location to find exciting activities to try with the boys. Here are some of the latest that will be perfect for these cold winter days:

There were also posts for the holidays that were items I saved on Pinterest to look back at for next year. I know I am looking forward to seeing what comes next from the other talented people on Bedtime Math parent blog team. I hope you will join us over there and if you have a great math activity that you have done with your kids, I would love to hear about it. I am always looking for new options to try with my boys.

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My Disney Side

It it really hard to explain what my Disney Side is because Disney is part of who I am. I can not recall a time that Disney was not in my life. I still remember going to Walt Disney World as a Toddler without my brother. Then, learning to make phone calls was extra magical on our Mickey Mouse rotary phone (classic). Multiple magical trips to different resorts in Orlando as a child, and the adventure to Hawaii and Disneyland to celebrate my father’s 40th birthday. When TechyDad and I began our life as husband and wife, we went on a Walt Disney World honeymoon. This was his first trip and I quickly made him understand why the Disney Side was crucial in life. While we now bring the kids with us, I still love how Disney can make me feel like a kid, melt away the stress of life, and smile every day.

My Disney Side

Focused on the Magic

Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

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Cold is an Understatement

Growing up in New York State, I remember a lot of snow during my childhood. The kids in our neighborhood often made snow forts, snowmen, and went sledding. Sure it was cold, but it never hurt to play outside.

Winter in New York StateFast forward to winter 2014 where Mother Nature is roaring across the country. She is dumping large amounts of snow all over. In addition to this, the temperature is plummeting while the snow continues to fall. Right now, it is zero degrees Fahrenheit, but feels like -25 thanks to the wind chill. Many roads in New York and beyond have been closed due to a snow emergency. Road crews are having a hard time dealing with blowing and drifting snow. In addition to this, salt does not work very well in these extreme temperatures.

Perhaps it is because I am an adult now, but winter seems so much worse. It could be because we have the responsibility of our own house, cars, and kids. Still, I do not recall the roads and places being so bad.

Time for you to weigh in: Has winter changed where you are or is it just different now that you are an adult? Now please excuse me if I am quiet for a little while, we have a lot of snow to shovel.

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Happy New Year 2014

New Year 2014 is here and I hope to have a lot to look forward to. While I am off spending time with my family, I can not wait to share more of my #DisneySide in the year ahead. Thinking and living a Disney life helps me to smile, deal with stress, and dream big. Another perk is that Disney is part of our family and so many milestones have happened with it in my life and now my own children. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2014. Be sure to stop and enjoy the magical moments in each day while making memories with your own families in the year ahead.

Disney wishes in 2014

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Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

It's Me

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