Do you remember, oh, about three years ago when I told you about Juanita, the Spanish lobster/Juanita, la langosta española? That CD has remained one of my children's most favorite homeschool lessons. And Maestro Classics has continued to be one of my favorite resources for introducing my children to classical music. Not only do they absolutely LOVE to listen to the stories in music - do YOU know anyone who doesn't love/recognize the story and music of Peter and the Wolf? - but I love the activities and lesson plans that accompany each album. You can get any of the albums as a CD or MP3. We've used both.
Merry Pranks for Master Till is the newest album from Maestro Classics. It features music of the great composer Richard Strauss. This musical work is actually one of Strauss' tone poems and is considered one the best tone poems ever composed even though most of his audiences didn't understand or like it at the time of its release.
The poem tells the story of Till, a witty boy from medieval German folklore who is prone to playing pranks on the snobby people around him who are of the upper class. Although his main purpose seems to be entertaining others, he's also quick to teach them the error of their ways! Click here to listen to some sample snippets.
The album comes with a 24-page booklet that is full of activities and is illustrated with cut paper art by Giles Laroche. My kids so enjoy flipping through the booklet and doing the activities on their own.
I love that I can go to the Maestro Classics site and download lesson plans specific to this album. The curriculum encompasses many subjects including history, science, geography, language arts, music, art and math. I don't have to do any research. I can find information, links, and ideas all in one place. Last year in history, the kids studied Medieval history so the Merry Pranks for Master Till and the links we discovered through the curriculum were a perfect complement. There were also a lot of crafts related to the time period and I'm really looking forward to making these German Schultüte {school cones} filled with candy for the first day of school.
So if you're looking for fun materials and activities to keep your kids busy and entertained, I highly recommend the albums from Maestro Classics! All of them, including Merry Pranks for Master Till, are available for purchase as a CD or as a MP3 (the MP3 includes the booklet as a pdf download).
Disclosure: This product was sent to me for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.