Skip to main content

Music Curriculum Ideas

Our children have taken piano lessons each year that I've been homeschooling, so that has been their music curriculum.  But, yesterday I brainstormed with a friend of mine ideas for music this year for her kids in grades 1 and 2.

Here was my idea:
Make a composer notebook.
Study one composer a week.        
1.  For each composer, read a biography on http://www.classicsforkids.com/ or http://makingmusicfun.net/htm/mmf_music_library_meet_the_composer_index.htm  These are very brief.  Then, find a past episode of Classics for Kids on the composer to listen to with your children.
2.  Making Music Fun has a composer job application.
You could also make your own if there are other details you want your children to record.
3.  There are coloring pages dot to dots and word search worksheets for the composers on Making Music Fun.          
4.  Look at this page for other ideas: http://www.squidoo.com/charlotte-mason-styled-composer-study
5.  Check out a cd from the library for that composer that you listen to in the car as you're going to and from places all week.

The cost of curriculum can add up and we all choose what items are most important to us and save where we can.  If music is one of those areas you find yourself seeking to save money on this year (but is a required subject where you live), this might be a free way of studying this rich subject this year!  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Missing Pieces

The other day I was discussing a book with my mom and explaining to her my concern about how "blame" is cast upon the child in the story.  My mom commented about how deeply I read and consider what is written. Sometimes I wonder if I go overboard.  Am I questioning too much?  Am I overreacting? Why am I reacting this way? I come back to knowing that God wired me this way.  But, I also reflect on how God has guided my path through the maze of books I've read over the past few years and what I've learned from the books themselves and from reading them.   Recently, I read a book that troubled me.  The book I finished reading was  Guiltless Living  by Ginger Hubbard.  When I began reading it, I found myself puzzled and then disconcerted. And in the end, I cried. But, I cried for a different reason than one might suspect. I'd like to explain. I did not read Ms. Hubbard's previous book “ Don't Make Me Count to Three ”, but I knew from f...

listening or rather not listening to directions...

This week has been very eye opening. I am observing and noticing what I need to learn in order to be a better homeschooling mom and teacher and what my daughter needs to learn to be a good homeschooling student. My weakness when I was a teacher in a first grade classroom was not understanding how small concepts had to be broken down--and I lost my patience very quickly. This week, in particular today, I am seeing how detailed my directions need to be. I am going to be working very consciously and deliberately on this. On the other hand, I realized that my daughter does not listen! Wowsers! In a classroom, Autumn listens very well. She is a compliant child and very influenced by peer pressure and conformity. So, she listens along with everyone else and follows directions. But, at home, it's just Autumn and maybe Sami and Mommy. Very, very different! I had forgotten that most of kindergarten in the public schools is not focused on teaching students academic and learning co...

ESV, NIV, or NASB and then there's the ICB, ESV or NIrV...which should we read?

I am so thankful for my friend's question about the ESV vs. NASB and NIV. I couldn't remember the difference so I went to look it up. I knew that John Piper and Tim Keller, both pastors and authors that I deeply respect have switched over to the ESV. All of the churches that we have attended over the past few years PCA or Reformed Baptist have also switched to the ESV. I did find a blog that explained the differences and that helped me ( http://thefoolishgalatian.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/niv-vs-esv-and-why-piper-switched/ ) I knew why I didn't like the KJV--it was written in the days when writers were paid by a patron and that often slanted the translation. The NKJV, from what I understand, is a revision of the KJV that uses more modern language. Most churches I have attended used the NIV until the ESV came out. The blog I found explained that the ESV is a more literal translation---like the NASB. The NASB is a very literal translation. The ESV has come to be consid...