Music in a Homeschool Setting
by: Natasha Wunderlich
I
want to start this post by stating that I love music. I started piano
by age 4. At age 10 I started flute. I can play most woodwinds, write
music, and compose. I have played in concert bands, orchestras,
symphonies, jazz bands, and even a rock band. I love music.
Music
is important. There have been many articles on how music can help
learning, how learning an instrument helps develop self-discipline, and
how learning music helps develop the brain. Learning to appreciate music
is also important. It is around us in our daily lives all the time. It
is in movies and TV shows. It can help us learn new things (think of the
Periodic Table of Elements song by They Might Be Giants).
So
how do you incorporate music into your homeschool lessons? If you don’t
play music or have a piano at home you can still make music a part of
your lessons. It doesn’t have to be a “music lesson” that you have to
make music part of your day. Here are some ideas for making sure music
is a part of your homeschool day.
1. Play music while doing art or other lessons.
In our house, classical music is played while we are working on
traditional learning things – like math and writing. When we move to
art, I choose a different genre of music each time. For our last
project, painting flowers, we had on folk music. The day before, when we
made sculptures out of pipe cleaners, I played Aerosmith.
It doesn’t matter what you play (except for watching for lyrics and
inappropriate content) – simply playing music will help children
appreciate it.
2. Let your child make up songs to help them remember things.
There are many things kids might need to remember, or learn. My son
really likes math but is having a hard time remembering his
multiplication tables. So he made up a song about them. The lyrics are
simply this – “One time one is one, two times two is four, three times
three is three….” The fact that he made up the song is important. It is
helping he remember things.
3. Play music games.
Everyone can play freeze dance. Even my 16 month old gets into the
game. Musical chairs is another game that involves music. We also race
cars around our kitchen to music and the winner is the person who makes
the most laps by the time the song is over. Music games don’t have to
involve actual teaching, just simply having fun to music.
3. Music lessons.
This is when a child would actually learn how to play an instrument or
sing and read music. It is best to wait for these until the child can
sit still for a while. I teach piano and, unless there are extraordinary
circumstances, require the children to be 5 before I will teach them.
4. Sing songs.
Adults are more cautious than children. Children don’t care whether you
sound good or not, they simply like to sing. If you have a boy, who
doesn’t want to sing, then sing the active songs. MY son loves “5 Little
Monkeys Jumping on a Bed” because he gets to jump around during the
song. We also have “Head Shoulder Knees and Toes” races to see who can
sing it the fastest.
With “Old MacDonald” I sometimes end up on a farm with snakes,
dinosaurs, lizards, hippos, and elephants – but he is still singing and
enjoying music. You simply have to find songs they like.
5. Dance.
I don’t mean traditional dance where there are set moves. I mean simply
put on some music and wiggle. When I have my son and his friends, we
sometimes dance like worms and sometimes like robots. It can be fun and
is just good exercise.
6. Put music on when doing chores.
Unless we are talking, there is always music on during our chores. When
we are weeding I have music on, when we are cleaning floors I have
music on.
My
goal is to make music a part of my childrens’ lives. It is true that
they won’t have access to a school band. However, there are always
children’s symphonies and bands in most cities. There are children’s
choirs. Not to mention there are traditional music lessons a child can take. If
all else fails, gather a bunch of homeschoolers together and do a band
co-op class. They can put on a concert once a year and everyone can have
fun.
Music is important and I want my children to learn to enjoy it as much as I do.
Natasha Wunderlich
I’m
a homeschooling mom who made the choice to homeschool because I saw how
rigid schools were and noticed how fluid my son’s learning style was
and how hands-on his learning style was. We have been at it for over 2
years now (we started when he was 2) and are enjoying our time together.
Learning and teaching has brought us closer together as a family. I do
believe in structure and lessons, not simply free form schooling, but
those lessons are child-centered and directed by his interested. We are
moving on through Kindergarten and 1st Grade material now, and watching
him learn and grow is awesome. You can find me on: www.wunderfulhomeschool.
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