Skip to main content

Music Studies

I have to admit that I haven't had a lot of motivation to do our music appreciation curriculum in the evenings the last few months, so now we're playing a little catchup.  Last night, we listened to Classics for Kids about Vivaldi and learned a lot of fun and interesting information.  Then, we moved onto the Classical Era of Classical music and watched Chuck VanderChuck's video on the PBS website (easy to find by googling) and the Fast and Friendly Guide to the Classical Period on Youtube.  My kids loved these short videos.

Now, we're moving onto the composers of the Classical period.  We started this morning with Beethoven.  We began by listening to the shows on Beethoven on Classics for Kids site.  My kids took notes on a Beethoven notebooking sheet I found online and listed in the post I wrote a few months ago on Music Appreciation  (see Here).  After listening to the first two shows, I printed off Classics For Kids worksheet on Beethoven and my kids enjoyed the activities on the sheet.  After we finished listening to all 5 shows (only 6 minutes each) about Beethoven, we watched a few videos on youtube that my kids really enjoyed.

First, we watched the Peabody and Sherman clip of Improbable History about Beethoven and I asked them to tell me all the things from the video that couldn't have happened (ie. celebrating 4th of July with fireworks, cars, Beethoven could hear, making a cake with mustard, etc.).  Then, I asked them to tell me what was true in the video (Beethoven's wild hair, playing the piano, wrote the symphonies--just not in the order in the cartoon).

After watching this video, we watched one more clip that we really enjoyed about Beethoven, which was the Muppets singing Ode To Joy.

  

It's quite fun to watch!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

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...