How to Study Music in Homeschool

There are three main ways for homeschooling families to incorporate music into the curriculum; music appreciation, private instrument lessons, and music groups. Each has their advantages and disadvantages. Cost, flexibility, commitment, family demographics and interests all are determining factors in how each homeschooling family decides to incorporate music into the curriculum.

Music Appreciation

Music appreciation is the easiest and cheapest way for families to include music in a homeschooling curriculum. Classical composer study, hymn study and folk tune study make up a portion of the curriculum in the Charlotte Mason style of education. Students learn the history of a piece of music and information about the composer or area where the music originally came from. They then listen to the piece frequently over a period of a few weeks or months. After consistently studying music in this fashion children begin to recognize patterns from different geographic regions, and time periods. There are many homeschool music curriculum resources available. In addition to the resources listed below, be sure to check out the Charlotte Mason philosophy full curriculum providers as they commonly sell the music portion of the curriculum separately.

• Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers: Bach, Beatles, Beethoven, Bernstein, Brahms, Chopin, Copland, Ellington, Gershwin, Handel, Mozart, Sousa, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky - K-3rd, picture book biographies, secular, 
• Great Musician Series Books by Opal Wheeler - 4th-6th, story books, secular
•  Sebastian Bach, The Boy from Thuringia
•  Mozart, The Wonder Boy
•  Joseph Haydn, The Merry Little Peasant
•  The Young Brahms
•  Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends
•  Frederick Chopin, The Early Years
• Frederick Chopin, The Later Years
• Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray
• Edward MacDowell and His Cabin in the Pines
• Handel at the Court of Kings
• Robert Schumann and Mascot Ziff
• Peter Tchaikovsky and the Nutcracker Ballet
• The Story of Peter Tchaikovsky
•  Paganini, Master of Strings
•  Adventures of Richard Wagner 
• Classical Kids CD's - Volume 1, Volume 2  - Audio CD's with classical music intertwined with stories for kids, secular, K-5th
• Stories of the Great Composers - book and audio CD, K-5th, workbook
• Color the Classics  - K-3rd, coloring book and stories, Christian
• A Coloring Book of Great Composers - K-5th, coloring book and stories, Christian

Private Lessons

Private lessons work especially well for homeschooling families because they are able to meet with instructors during public school hours. Private music lessons offer children an opportunity to learn commitment, dedication, improve coordination, gain self-confidence and learn music theory and technique. Although private music lessons can be expensive, they can be highly effective as the teacher is able to work with the student at his/her own level. Teachers can be found through music stores, professional music associations, hobby band and orchestra groups, school music teachers and references from local families. If lessons are cost prohibitive, sometimes there are teenage students of a particular instrument willing to instruct younger students. Private music lessons are an effective way for homeschooling families to incorporate music into the curriculum.

Group Lessons

Many families new to homeschooling believe group lessons don't exist for homeschooling families. Fortunately this is far from the case as there are opportunities. Although available, group lessons tend to involve a big commitment from the parent as well as from the child. In Michigan, homeschooled children are allowed to take any classes at the school not required for graduation. In addition, homeschooled children can participate in any clubs the school offers. Since choir, band and orchestra are all school electives, homeschool children can participate. It is the parents responsibility to get the child to and from the school to attend class. So depending on how far a way you live, this may or may not be an option. In addition to the public school, private music teachers sometimes organize group music lessons. Just like finding private instructors, it would be best to check with music stores, professional music associations and other local musical families to find out about these opportunities. Sometimes homeschool groups will have music as part of a co-op. In the Grand Rapids area there is a homeschool band group and my son was able to take part in choir through a homeschool co-op. Finally, theater groups that perform musicals offer opportunities for kids to get involved with music as a group. Finding group music opportunities takes commitment and dedication, but the opportunities are out there. So if you want to incorporate group music into your homeschooling curriculum a little research can go a long way.

Learning about Theater

My daughter was an orphan in a local production of Annie.

Participating in community theater is a great addition to any education program. Attending performances is an excellent place to start. You might just have a child who wants to be on stage and watching a show may be all the inspiration that's needed.

My youngest child has loved being on stage since she was about three years old and had her first opportunity to be in the spotlight. In Germany, we participated in a traditional German dance class that put on numerous performances during the carnival season. When my youngest was three years old she happened to be much younger than any of the other kids in the program. I think the nearest her age was around 6-7 years old. She was involved because both her older sister and I were dancing at the time. She learned the dances by attending our practices and could actually do the moves and remembered the dance. Needless to say, she was noticed because she was young and because she had a little talent. The dance club decided to dress her in a special outfit and had her lead the other dancers onto the stage.

After she performed her dance with her class she was supposed to stand still on the stage with the other kids while the MC talked about the kids. She saw this as her opportunity and rather than standing still, wowed the crowd with a series of high kicks, cartwheels and splits.

The second night she performed her dance the teachers made sure she knew she was supposed to stand still, but she still managed to steal the spotlight. She did the pee-pee dance throughout her routine. It was quite entertaining.

Later that year, her pre-school teacher in Germany gave her a prominent role in the school play. Dressed as a mouse, she had to dance with a six year old on the stage. My daughter didn't hesitate as she knew people would be watching.

Fast forward several years...... The past two summers she attended a two week theater day camp and loved it. So when we heard the local theater community was putting on Annie, I knew she had to try out.

This was my first experience with theater and my daughter's as well and we've both been very happy with it. First, I was stunned when 60 children turned out to audition for the seven orphans parts in the musical. The director ended up choosing the seven, plus an additional fifteen or so for the orphan chorus. That is the part my daughter received.

Since the initial audition, she attended a call back audition, and then began rehearsing. As show time approached, rehearsals became more intense and ended later at night. I'm thankful that homeschooling allowed her the flexibility to sleep in after late nights. I'm also thankful that the director and all those involved with the production kept such a positive, encouraging attitude.

This was a memorable experience and she learned so much. She learned there is lots of down time backstage when you are not in a scene. Down time presents great opportunities for making friends and having some fun. Performers don't just turn up on show night for thundering applause. Instead, they train like athletes for several months before performances. She learned a lot about singing. With no formal training, participating in the musical is at least worth a music credit. Practice and hard work are required. In the end when the audience cheers, it is worth it!

If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend participating in a small production of some sort. Kids gain so much knowledge with each unique experience they have and this is a great way to introduce them to new opportunities, people and the local community.

Prehistoric Creatures Unit Study - Lesson 4: Paleozoic Era

We watched several videos to learn about significant evolutionary changes which took place during the Paleozoic Era.

Time Periods in the Paleozoic Era; Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian.

Cambrian
The Cambrian Period was the first time of widespread life on Earth. While the land was barren, the seas saw an explosion of life. The single celled organisms of the Precambrian developed into multi celled creatures. At first creatures had soft bodies, but during the Cambrian Period, the first shells were developed.

Cambrian Explosion

Ordovician
During the Ordovician Period the warm shallow seas were filled with trilobites, sea scorpions and coral. Nautiloids evolved and after 25 million years of volcanic eruptions, the atmosphere was filled with carbon dioxide. The major evolutionary advancement of the backbone led to the evolution of the first fish.

Sea Monsters - A Walking With Dinosaurs Trilogy

The above video was my children's favorite as it featured Nigel, who traveled back in time to venture into the ancient seas. In addition to featuring the Ordovician Seas, Nigel explored other prehistoric environments.

Silurian
The Silurian Period gave rise to the first land based plants. The evolution of jaws was a major event as predators became much more dangerous.

Evolution of Jaws

Devonian
During the Devonian Period large armored fish ruled the seas and the first sharks evolved. The air was rich with oxygen, and the first creatures developed the capabilities of breathing air and walking on land. Plants which had evolved during earlier periods became numerous upon the land. Forests began to grow and the shade proved by the trees provided shelter for land animals.

Evolution - Link to Our Past

The above video explores the links between prehistoric creatures in search of the first tetrapods.

Carboniferous
This was the age of giant insects as 80% of the atmosphere was filled with oxygen. The mass of trees led to the first dirt. Creatures developed the capability to produce hard shelled and amniotic eggs which led to the evolution of mammals and reptiles. Hearing developed and the relationship between carnivores and herbivores was established.

Permian
During the Permian Period mammals and reptiles continued to evolve on land.

Paleozoic Era
Overall the Paleozoic Era saw major changes in life on Earth. From single celled organisms to shells, backbones, jaws, limbs, lungs and eggs - specialization was beginning to take place. The video linked below covers the entire era.

Miracle Planet - New Frontiers - Episode 3

Song
To remember the major events of the Paleozoic Era, we created a song to the tune of Little Bunny Fu-Fu.

5-4-3-2-1 Boom
4.5 billion years ago the Earth was formed
Single celled bacteria lived in blue-green water

5-4-3-2-1 Frozen
Carbon dioxide levels fell and Earth became a snowball
Volcanoes warmed the Earth after 25 million years

C-O-S-D-C-P Cambrian
Multi-celled creatures evolved in the seas
First they had soft bodies, then some developed shells

C-O-S-D-C-P Ordovician
Shallow seas, warm water, lots of carbon dioxide
The first fish developed without any jaws

C-O-S-D-C-P  Silurian
Creatures developed backbones and fish got jaws
Plants began to grow upon the land

C-O-S-D-C-P Devonian
The air was full of oxygen and forest began to grow
Tetrapods with four limbs walked upon the land

C-O-S-D-C-P Carboniferous
Giant insects flew about in oxygen rich air
Reptiles evolved with shelled eggs and hard scales

C-O-S-D-C-P Permian
The first mammals evolved and they could hear
Reptiles ruled the land until..............

5-4-3-2-1 Boom
Volcanoes erupted for hundreds of thousands of years
Acid rain, volcanic winters, the food chain collapsed

But-That-Was-Not-All
Carbon dioxide in the air warmed the Earth and sea
95% of species died but some survived

Timeline

Creatures which lived during the Paleozoic Era were added to our timeline.

Check out these great blogs full of educational activity ideas. 

Renaissance Unit Study - Music

Week 13: We sang Ode to Joy.

During the late Middle Ages and Early Renaissance a system of written music similar to what is used today was developed. This revelation enabled people in different parts of Europe to enjoy the same music. Music from the south, Italy, was lyrically based, where as music from the north, Germany and England, was more focused on instruments and harmony.

This lesson introduced lots of vocabulary:

Madrigal - secular song, lyrically based on popular poetry
A cappella - singing without instrumental accompaniment
Word Painting - Musical technique of matching musical pitch with lyrics
Chromaticism - Musical technique of using shocking pitches to draw emotion
Polyphony - Music with two or more independent lines of melody


The Education Portal is a free internet educational resource which happens to offer several videos on the subject of Renaissance Music.

• Songs of the Renaissance: Madrigals and Vocal Parts
• Renaissance Music: Sacred vs Secular
• Renaissance Composers: Josquin, Palestrina and Dufay
• Composers of the Renaissance Period: Instrumental Music of Byrd and Gabrieli
• Rise of Renaissance Polyphony: Dufay, des Prez, and Palestrina
• Schools of Renaissance Composers: English and Italian
• Instrumental Music of the Renaissance: Instruments, Composition and Dance
• Dance of the Renaissance: History and Forms

In addition to the above videos, the Sacred Music Series below weaves the history of music with examples of current performers - The Sixteen directed by Harry Christophers - singing the music of the past.

Sacred Music Series: Episode 1 - The Gothic Revolution

Sacred Music Series: Episode 2 - Palestrina

Sacred Music Series: Episode 3 - Byrd and Tallis

Sacred Music Series: Episode 4 - Bach and the Lutheran Legacy

After learning a little about Renaissance Music, the kids were separated into two groups and given sheet music for a portion of Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

First they practiced their parts and learned musical lyrics are written with the verses above each other.

The first group sang Part I, then the first group paused while the second group sang part II, then both groups sang their lyrics together.

Here's the video. The best part is at the end when the two groups sing together.

Not bad for only 20 minutes of practice!




To see the other activities from our Renaissance Unit Study please visit our History Page.

Middle Ages Song

We created a song to help remember the events and people of the middle ages.

This is the last post of our Middle Ages Unit Study which lasted 25 weeks. Each week we added another verse to the song which is to the tune of The Farmer and the Dell. Posts detailing the activities and resources used during each week can be found on our History Page. The song is covered by copyright under this blog, but please have fun learning the words for personal use.

Words:

The Roman Empire Fell
Invaders attacked
The Dark Ages began in Europe
in 500 AD

Justinian ruled the east
at Constantinople
Byzantine, Hagia Sophia
it thrived 1000 years

Moors came to Spain
Across the Straits of Gibraltar
New fruits and water technology
Geometric designed mosques

Charlemagne united Europe
He built roads and schools
Converted to Christianity
Crowned by the Pope

Vikings attacked Brittian
Vikings attacked France
They burned and killed and plundered
Then settled in Normandie

Alfred the Great of England
Fought off the Vikings
Hid in the woods, translated texts
And created new coins

William the Conqueror of France
Descended from the Vikings
Fought the Battle of Hastings
And became the English King

Crusades were wars
Over money and religion
Christians took Jerusalem on the Third Crusade
Saladin took it back

Venetians escaped the Huns
Ruled by the Doge
Laid siege to Constantinople
During the Fourth Crusade

Early Christian, Byzantine
Romanesque and Gothic
Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo
Cathedrals of Europe

Manuscripts were books
Written on vellum and parchment
Miniatures, words, boarder decorations
Illuminated with gold

Pan flute, lute and harp
Hurdy gurdy and zither
Maypole dance and egg dance
Celebrating the Middle Ages

King Arthur and his knights
Sat at the round table
They lived in Camelot
Pulled the sword from the stone

Robin Hood stole from the rich
Arnold Winkleried threw himself into battle
William Tell shot an apple off his son's head
Chaucer wrote tales

Boys were pages from seven to fourteen
Squires from fourteen to twenty-one
Then they became knights
And were ready to fight

Tournaments and jousts
Blind-Man's Bluff and marbles
People slept together on beds of hay
Chamber pots dumped in the street

Book of Heurs from the Limbourgs
Triptychs from VanEych
Halos and angels from Angelico
Botticelli painted in the round

Thomas A Becket of Cantebury
Thought the church should be in charge
He quarreled with King Henry II
Murdered and became a Saint

Richard the Lionhart went on crusade
Bad King John was in control
He signed the Megna Carta
Kings had to follow the laws too

Two years of bad weather
Caused widespread famine across Europe
People learned food preservation skills
Hansel and Gretel were born

Edward III of England
Wouldn't pay taxes to the French
So the had a war for 100 years
And Joan of Arc became a Saint

Descendents of King Edward III
Fought for the crown
The War of the Roses lasted 30 years
Then red rose married white

Henrys and Beauforts wore red roses
Edwards and Richards of York work white
The Plantagenet line died out
Henry Tudor ended the war

Johannes Gutenberg of Mainz
Invented the printing press
First Bibles, then science and literature works
Brought the Middle Ages to an end

Playing the Organ

We played an organ.

Playing an organ is like playing the piano, but there is a lot more gymnastics involved. Piano music contains a treble clef which is typically played by the right hand and a bass clef which is typically played by the left hand. Organ music contains these two, plus an additional bass clef for the feet. As the hands move through chords and melodies, the feet do too. Sometimes it's necessary to play one note with the toe, and the next note with the heel so as to create a smooth transition. In addition, the feet often cross as they move up and down the keyboard.

A standard piano contains seven and a half octaves. Our cheap keyboard contains five. The church organ we played contains four and a half on the top row, four and a half on the middle row, and two and a half on the feet for a total of eleven and one half octaves.

Since organs are primarily housed in churches, and all churches are different, organs are custom made. Hence, they are not cheap and all are a little different. Sometimes the organ is located on a second story behind the congregation, and other times it is in the front. An upgrade to the one in the photos which added the top row of keys was completed around ten years ago for sixty thousand euros.

Lots of air is required for the 70,000 or so pipes which create the sound. Older organs needed several people to pump air through the pipes with a type of bellows system while the organist played. More modern organs use electricity, but there are many which still require at least some manual pumping of air.


The typical path to becoming an organist, is to first learn the piano, but our friend and host learned the organ first and doesn't play the piano. The speed and strength used to push piano keys changes the sound, but organ keys only are on or off and require lots of pressure. Knowing the details of each instrument is important, but I think with a month or two of practice, she would be an excellent pianist too.

Yankee Doodle on the Organ

Testing out the Foot Pedals

Trying Piano Songs

The kids and I were hooked right away. We stayed and played for an hour and a half. Thanks so much Katrin.

Best Music Picture Books

Do you have any favorite children's picture books with a musical theme? Leave me a comment below. Here are some we have enjoyed.

Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue - George Gerschwin was a talented musician who knew a little bit about composing music. A friend of his signed him up to create a modern concerto for a festival celebrating American Music. Would the piece be done on time? Would George even agree to compose it?

AIDA is a tragic opera love story written in picture book format for children. When the Ethiopian princess goes exploring she is captured by enemy Egyptians and becomes a slave to the princess. After years in slavery she falls in love, but is soon torn over loyalty to country and love as is her lover.

Opera Cat: When a famous singer gets laryngitis, her biggest fan, her cat, steps in to save the show.
 
Ty's One-Man Band tells the story of a one legged man who wanders into a town making music. The book is filled with rhythm and rhythm words and gets the reader listening.

Gabriella's Song (Aladdin Picture Books) - Set in Venice, Italy, Gabriella, a little girl puts sounds she hears throughout the city into a song. When others hear her song some think it sounds happy, others think it sounds like a love song and others think it's sad. This book is entertaining and a good way to introduce children to the sounds of major and minor keys.

Be sure to check out these blog hops for more great kid educational activities.



* I did not receive any compensation for this recommendation. I'm just a homeschooling mom who has found many products that I like. If you're interested in the products I recommend on this blog I want to make it easy for you to find them. 
** I am an Amazon associate and receive a small portion of the sales on orders made after clicking in from this site, which I promptly spend on homeschooling books and supplies for my children.

Jamari's Drum - Activities for Kids

We made our own drum after reading Jamari's Drum by Eboni Bynum.

Jamari's Drum is a picture book that tells the story of how a boy maintains balance in his African village by playing his drum.  When the volcano erupts, Jamari knows just what to do to restore order. (Ages 4-10).

This is a perfect book to read in conjunction with doing hands-on activities. Volcanoes, geography, music, and language are all covered.

Make Your Own Drum
Materials:
Balloon
Tape
Empty Container

To make a simple drum, a large balloon (white in the picture above) was stretched over an empty food container and the ends were secured with tape.

Additional Activities
This story is perfectly suited for any volcano activities. Here are a few activities we have done in the past.

Lava Viscosity Activity
Pompeii (for older kids)
Volcano Model

Coloring Africa on the world map is simple and fun.

The story contains onomatopoeia words in association with the sounds the drum makes which provides the perfect introduction to poetry, or making other words that represent sound.

One particular rhythm is repeated throughout the story while the drum is being played. Discussing these words is fun to do along with clapping, echoing and repeating games.




This post is linked to these blog hops.

Free Piano Lessons for Kids

The kids are learning piano by watching videos, and it's working really well.

Free Piano Lessons for Kids has uploaded over 50 free piano lessons. Each video lasts between 5 and 10 minutes. Although my 6 and 10 year old kids have had some prior piano experience, they really enjoy this format. The lessons build on each other, yet go at a pace where the kids don't get overwhelmed.

Most of the lessons take less than 10 minutes to complete, but they were especially inspired with Lesson 8 - Rhythm Dictation: Hot Crossed Buns.

During the lesson, the instructor used his heartbeat mat to place quarter notes, eighth notes and rests to match the rhythm of Hot Crossed Buns. After they lesson they both wanted their own heartbeat mats and notes.

Next, they placed the notes to match the rhythm of other familiar songs.

I highly recommend this series of videos as a gentle introduction to music.




This post is linked to:
Fourth Grade Flipper
Tuesday Tots
Montessori Monday
True Aim Education
Living and Learning at Home

* I did not receive any compensation for this recommendation. I'm just a homeschooling mom who has found many products that I like. If you're interested in the products I recommend on this blog I want to make it easy for you to find them. 
** I am an Amazon associate and receive a small portion of the sales on orders made after clicking in from this site, which I promptly spend on homeschooling books and supplies for my children.

Rome Unit Study - Roman Empire Song

Week 11: We learned a song about Rome and talked about the end of the empire.

The Roman Empire was in the state of decline for many years before the time most historians consider the official end. When Rome was powerful, one main source of income came from conquering. Each time an area was conquered, the city of Rome would gain wealth in the form of slaves, gold and other assets taken from enemies.

Rome expanded like a balloon being filled with air. Eventually, Rome grew so big that the gaps between soldiers on the boarders grew large enough for enemies to penetrate. At this time the effort was focused on keeping enemies out of Roman territory as opposed to conquering new lands. Since lands weren't being conquered, no new wealth was coming into the city. In addition, the trend of using foreigners as soldiers continued to increase.

Inside the city money was being spent on pet building projects for emperors to increase their own popularity such as bath complexes, market places, theaters and temples. There were many programs such as free grain rations, which gave handouts to the poor. The spending habits coupled with the lack of new income put the empire into a state of bankruptcy.

After a while, the soldiers did not receive their pay. The government tried to rid themselves of the problem by setting a trap for their own auxiliary soldiers. Many died, but the ones who survived were angrier than ever. A group led by the barbarian Roman trained soldier Aleric, marched into the city to collect what was promised.

Several other barbarian nations entered Rome and after it had been sacked a number of times, Odavocker, a barbarian from the north took over the western empire.

Roman Empire Song
During each week of our Rome Unit Study we added another verse to a song to help us remember what we learned. The last week we talked about the fall of the empire and sung the entire song. 

I wrote this and taught it to the kids. Please feel free to use it for personal or classroom use. It's to the tune of "This Land is Your Land".

Rome was founded
By divine twin brothers
Romulus and Remus
So long ago
Tarquin the King was booted
and they formed a republic
The Roman Empire lasted 1000 years

We're talking about Rome's land
2000 years ago
From the plains of Africa
to the Rhine and Danube
From Dacia and Panonia
To the Pyramids in Egypt
The Romans ruled the Mediterranean Sea

Ruled by two consuls
Elected by the people
Censor, quaestor, adile
Worked in the government
There was a senate
Of ex-officials
The government was a republic

5000 soldiers
Made up a legion
There were centuries
Of 100 men
Led by tribunes
They defended boarders
Against the ferocious barbarians

Rome fought Carthage
In the Punic Wars
Hamilcar and Hanibal
They fought at sea
Hannibal crossed the mountains
With all his elephants
Carthage became a retirement communitee

Slavery was essential
To the Roman empire
Housekeepers, craftsmen
Doctors and teachers too
Captured in war time
Birthed by their mothers
Julius Caesar almost became a slave

In 79 AD
Mt. Vesuvius Erupted
Herculaneum and Pompeii
Were both destroyed
People were unaware
That danger threatened
Frozen in time forever with eggs and bread

Trajan's Forum
Caracalla's Baths
Hadrian's Pantheon
and the Colosseum
Concrete and Arches
and lots of slaves
were the keys to Roman building success

Chariot Races
Thermal Baths
Toys, games and pets
They went to school
Aqua ducts carried water
Mosaics decorated houses
Girls got married when they were 12 years old

Rome split in two
East and west
Goths filled the army
Rome couldn't pay
Huns threatened the Goths
Vandals attacked from Africa
The west was close to fall

Odavocker
and the Visigoths
came to Rome
To collect their pay
Immigration
Played a role
The west died and the east lived on

This post is linked to:
Living and Learning at Home
No Time for Flash Cards 
The Chicken Chick

Music Software for Kids

When my children were very young we borrowed the Mozart's Magic Flute computer game from the library and I was very impressed. Players take young Mozart on a journey to restore the color to the land. Identifying the instruments in the orchestra by listening is only one of the challenging musical activities.  Here is a sample of the game.

It was such a wonderful game I wanted to purchase it to introduce it to my youngest child who was too little to play before. Since it's so old I was worried about it working on my computer. Set of 3 Music Games, Windows Only CD-ROM

My husband was able to get one of the games to run, and it did require a little extra effort. He had to install an old version of macromedia player, copy the CD to the hard drive and disable the virus checker during installation. It worked. Unfortunately he couldn't get the other two to work.

My kids still love the game and so do I, but I would only recommend purchasing this game if you have a very old computer, as it has not been updated to run on new systems.

 

Lesson Planning Link-up- Music

For the past several years we have followed the Ambleside Online Composer Study as a large part of our music curriculum. I purchased the songs from the list via iTunes and downloaded them to my iPod. We played the songs while eating meals. The kids learned to recognize a lot of music this way.

The Ambleside Music curriculum focuses on classical music, English language folk tunes and hymns. While I have been very satisfied with the method and content, I would like to expose them to a greater variety of genres.

This year I'm going to loosely follow the Ambleside Composer Study. I have a ton of music in my iTunes account, but don't always have the exact songs on the list. We will listen to the classical music of the composers and exact songs if we have them. When we don't have the music I will substitute other songs by the same composers, Jazz music, bluegrass, and perhaps some Elvis, Michael Jackson or Beatles tunes.

In addition to music appreciation, the kids are learning to play the piano. I have basic knowledge so teach them until they are at level 3 and then send them off to an instructor with more knowledge. My eleven year old is also playing the violin. I told her she could pick another instrument to play when she turned eleven. She chose the harp....... Expensive, big and beautiful.......... I think it would be a wonderful instrument for her to learn, but thought it would be easier to start with something more common. Her back-up was the violin which she loves.

This is a series of link-ups for educators to share ideas and lesson plans for the upcoming school year.

Here's the Rest of the Schedule
May 16 - Lessons Learned from 2012/13 
July 11 - Writing
July 18 - Math
July 25 - Science
August 1 - History
August 8 - Music
August 15 - Art
August 22 - Handicrafts
August 29 - Geography
September 5 - Foreign Language
September 12 - Reading
September 19 - Organizing your Classroom/Schedule


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Now it's your turn. Please share your plans for music.

Link-Up Rules

• Link-up to your post URL
• Include a link back to this page in your post – You can grab the button below
• Check out what other educators have planned for music

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This post is linked to:
Montessori Monday

Learning Through Stamps

We received free stamps from the Postal History Foundation and used them to learn by creating a beautiful scrapbook stamp album.

The Postal History Foundation offers stamp packets for educators - (home school, private school, public school and other educators). On the website there are spaces to indicate how the stamps will be used and how many students are involved. The stamps are free, but they accept donations and appreciate money for shipping expenses. After reading about this awesome free resource on The Traveling Sisterhood I immediately requested some stamps for my children.

Since my daughter loves myths and legends I requested a packet of Mythology stamps. I thought the Aqua duct packet would go well with our Ancient Roman studies and I requested plants and leaves because my son is currently very interested in plants.

My daughter already has a stamp collection of her own and an inherited one. In the past she spent a great deal of time sorting them by country and then pasting them on appropriate pages in a great big book. For American stamps she sorted them by date and placed them in a different album.

Although this provided many hours of amusement, she soon grew tired of the activity. With an infinite number of stamps available this task was never complete. It was easy to identify which country some stamps came from, but not so for others. By mounting stamps on a country page their beauty could be appreciated, but often, little was known about what was on the stamps. Needless to say, she lost interest and the stamps sat untouched for a year.

When we received the new packets of stamps I suggested a new way to organize them which was more like scrapbooking. I suggested she select a few stamps (2-10) that she was interested in and focus on them. By looking up information the stamps would have more meaning. She loved the idea and spent the entire weekend working on her stamp collection and has more work planned.

I'm so excited that she liked this idea and hope her interest continues. Researching, writing, history, art, reading, science and music (for particular stamps) are all covered. She can spend her summer educating me and herself.

Here's a close-up of the aqua duct stamps. She wrote:

"This aqua duct was originally constructed as a wall in the Byzantine Empire from 1530-1536. In later periods until 1911 it brought water to the city."

"This aqua duct was constructed to bring water to a city named Akko (sometimes called Acreu). Akko is located in Israel orn the coast of the Mediterranean."

"Mr. Johan Sebastian Bach came from a very musical family. Over 70 of his relatives made their livings as musicians. He was a German composer and during his life he made extra money by repairing organs. One time he worked for a prince until he felt the prince was getting too bossy and decided to leave. When the prince found his plans out, he had Bach thrown into jail until he finally let him go. Bach died in 1750."

Six Great Math and Music Educational iPod Apps

We have had an iPod for a little over a year and recently bought a second one. It has been a good source of entertainment for Jemma in the hospital. I downloaded several apps and looked at them all to make sure they are educational. If they are going to be playing games I want them to be learning something too. Here are some of the family favorites.

Speed! - Skip-Counting Card Game (My Husband Created this one) - One player plays against the computer to see who can get rid of their cards first in this fun, fast-paced game.

Rogo - This is actually the only game I have paid for. I downloaded the free version and liked it so much I upgraded. It's a math challenge game something like Sudoku in that it is challenging, addicting and you need to think. The play board consists of a grid of boxes. Some of the boxes contain numbers. The player must create a loop which contains the designated number of boxes and also results in the highest total sum of the numbers with the cubes in the loop. There are several different levels available.

Factor Samurai - As numbers float across the screen the kids touch any that are not prime. After being touched the numbers blast apart into two factors. Each non prime number must be touched to advance in the difficulty of the game. Although I consider knowing and understanding prime numbers a math concept to be learned in late elementary school, my five year old can name them up to 50. She loves this simple game.

Divisibility (McGraw-Hill) - In tetras style, balls containing numbers fall from the top of the screen and stack up if not used. In another ball off to the side is another number, let's say 3 for example. Players select two of the number balls to create a two digit number which is divisible by three to blow up. For example, 4 and 5 or 45 is divisible by three. If all of the balls are blown up the player wins, and if a mistake is made the balls turn to stone and create a blockage.

Fractions (McGraw-Hill) - Fractions is a card game in which players must select two equivalent fractions to get rid of cards. Again I do not consider this a math skill in which a five year old is capable of understanding, but mine loves this game. She not only loves it, but selects appropriate fractions and is able to advance in the game.

Recorder Master - As birds fly across the screen, players must push the correct musical notes on the recorder. The kids are learning to recognize various notes and patterns within music. Plus they like it.

Virtuoso - This is a piano simulator. The kids don't play with this too often, but I like it and encourage them to use it. My daughter learned how to play Yankee Doodle at home and practiced in the hospital until she had the notes memorized.