Think back to when you were little. What was the first thing you learned? For most of you, the answer is the “ABC song,” of course! When you learned your ABCs, you learned them by singing them in that tune that we all know so well. Not only that, but you likely watched television shows that sang songs about shapes and numbers. Remember the Electric Company and Sesame Street? Most of us who grew up when the Electric Company was around learned a lot from those clever songs.         

Even though the Electric Company may not be around anymore to help our kids learn through songs, we can still give our kids some fun songs to listen to and learn from.

Audio Memory has some wonderful CDs and DVDs that are filled with songs that will help your child learn important facts! They have songs for all ages to learn things from addition facts to geography.

One of their products is their States & Capital CD kit, which comes with a CD and map. The songs on the CD will help you memorize, as the name implies, all the states and capitals of the United States of America. It is recommended for students of all ages (or adults who want to refresh their memory!).

There are 14 songs on the CD. The CD breaks up the country into sections and begins with the Southern Border Capitals song. The rest of the songs include: Norther Border Capitals; Eastern Border Capitals; Middle States Capitals; Honolulu, HI; Juneau, AK; United States (Norther Border); United States (Southern Border);United States (Eastern Border); United States (Middle); and United States (Pacific States).

After each of the capital songs, there is a “test” song. It is the same as the previous song, but it leaves out the crucial information, so your student has to fill it in with what they have just learned.

On the map that comes with the CD, there are 172 things for students to label, including the names of the states, their capitals, other large cities, as well as places of interest, such as the Badlands, large lakes and rivers, Yellowstone National Park, and more. Your student can also color the map if that is a way that helps them learn!

Also on the map are the lyrics for each song, so you can follow along while looking at the map.

This CD and map could be a great addition to any household, whether homeschooled or not! I also feel it would be great in a group setting, like a co-op or enrichment-type homeschool program. It would be a popular class! (In fact, I am using it at our enrichment this next school year!)

-Product review by Nicole Coffman-Cole, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, June 2017