How to Include Music in your Homeschool (Even if you aren’t Musically Inclined)
Homeschool music doesn’t have to be intimidating. This post covers some ways to include music in your homeschool, even if you aren’t musically inclined.
When it comes to teaching the creative arts, many home educators would love to implement it in their curriculum. Unfortunately, not all of us are creatively inclined, so we often have feelings of doubt and fear about whether we should attempt to teach certain subjects.
One such subject that many parents would love to introduce to their children is music and music appreciation. I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to be a musician to teach your child how to play an instrument or how to appreciate music. Let’s chat for a bit about some creative and resourceful ways that you can make music and music appreciation part of your homeschool experience, even if you aren’t musically inclined.
7 Ways to Include Music in Your Homeschool
1. Listen to Music
Seriously, this is the most basic (and easiest) way to introduce music appreciation to your family. Spend time each day listening to music – different genres, artists, composers, languages. Explore! There is an entire world of music out there. Music that excites, ignites, calms, motivates, inspires, and more. Music that makes you want to dance and music that relaxes. Music that is carefree and music that makes you reflect. Music that is all instruments, all voice, and everything in between. Make a conscious effort to listen to music every day – whether at home or in the car. Simply exposing your children to a wide variety of music is a great start. We use Amazon Prime Free Music to listen to a variety of music and make our own playlists. Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial
2. Do a World Study of Music
Integrate music appreciation with geography by doing a world study of music. Pick a country and study the various musical genres that are popular in that area, the notable artists and composers that live(d) there, and even talk about the musical instruments that originated there.
3. Study the Artists/Composers
Pick a genre of music and do an in-depth study of some of the artists/composers. For example, you could do a unit study on the history of classical music in which you study Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven. Or you could also do a study of Jazz, Swing, Rock and Roll, Opera, and a wide variety of other genres. Or you could simply focus on a different artist/composer each week, regardless of the genre.
We really enjoy the self-paced online courses from Music in Our Homeschool. There are several to choose from based on time period/style. Created by a homeschool mom, these are a great way to include kids of all ages in the study of music appreciation. A new course has just been added, A Year of Charlotte Mason Music Lessons, and you can get 40% off through July 7, 2019. These courses really make it easy to include music in your homeschool. We like them for our Morning Basket time, too.
4. Make your Own Musical Instruments
One fun way to combine music with art is to create your own musical instruments. This website has a ton of great resources on making all types of musical instruments with your kids that you can actually use.
5. Join a Local Band/Orchestra
Check out your local schools and musical organizations to find out if your child can join their musical programs. Perhaps there is a local band or orchestra that your child can join. That way, they can learn how to play from a musician and actually experience live performances.
6. Learn & Teach
If you are really committed to teaching your child how to play a musical instrument, there are a wide variety of online resources that you could use or order to learn and teach them from the comfort of your own home. Legacy Learning Systems offers options for guitar, piano, and drums.
7. Invest in a Tutor
Of course, another option that you have at your disposal is to hire a tutor that can teach your child how to sing, read music, or play a musical instrument. Check out local schools, music centers, and music stores to find out if there are any teachers available in your area that can provide affordable music lessons either at their place or in your home. You could also check with your local homeschool community to see if any of the co-ops will be offering music lessons during the year or if any of the parents teach music and wouldn’t mind your child joining in on the lessons.
What do you do for homeschool music?
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