There is so much beauty to music. I don’t want my kids to overlook it just because it’s not considered a core subject to study for school. Personally, I have absolutely no musical talent whatsoever, but my kids on the other hand, do. Because there are so many benefits of music, it will continue to be a part of our homeschooling journey.
So…that’s why I’m sharing our homeschool music round-up with you today!
We are always listening to music around the house or on the go. We enjoy belting out the tunes from our favorite musicals like The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and recently, The Greatest Showman. We even have the good ole’ karaoke machine to sing our spelling words into, practice reading our essays, or just sing into for the sake of…singing!
During a typical school morning, we’ll jump on to Pandora and get some tunes that follow along with what we’re learning about that day. If we’re studying China, for example, we’ll put on an Oriental playlist. If we’re playing a game of Spanish Bingo, we’ll hit the Mariachi playlist button for background noise.
Typically, we “formally” learn about music, art, and Spanish on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Most other electives such as typing or baking happen on those days as well. Of course, we always take advantage of our time in the car to listen to classical music, audio books, and poetry.
To help build memory skills with our kiddos, we also use YouTube quite a bit for its music. Ly-Guy and Porkchop were memorizing their states for Geography last year so we would listen to this YouTube song over and over. Ly-Guy was also learning how to count by 2s, 5s, and 10s, so he listened to some of these songs. I think you get the point now! Music can be incorporated into any subject and only enhances what we’re learning.
Below is a list of resources, games, and curriculum to enrich your own musical studies. Oh, and as you listen, don’t forget to pour yourself a cup o’ tea!
Websites with Lesson Plans & Interactive Games
Classics for Kids
Making Music Fun!
Spinx Kids
DSO Kids- Dallas Symphony Orchestra
SQUILT Music
Famous Composer Coloring Sheets
Books & Curriculum
Beethoven Who? Family Fun with Music
Story of the Orchestra with CD (preschool-5th grade)
Welcome to the Symphony (preschool & elementary)
BEST LEARNING My First Piano Book – Educational Musical Toy for Toddlers Kids
Who Was Series-Who Was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
The Nutcracker Ballet: Step-Into-Reading book
My Father’s World Music Composer Cd Sets
Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Composers Series
- Bach
- Mozart
- Beethoven
- Handel
- Chopin
- Peter Tchaikovsky
CC Trivium Table: Music (All ages)
Songwriting Journals
Adventures In Songwriting: A Guide For Kids
Games
Classical & Romantic Composers Card Game
Movies & Soundtracks
Sound of Music
Mary Poppins
The Nutcracker
Swan Lake & The Swan Princess. There are adult and kid’s versions out there.
Peter Pan
Peter and the Wolf
The Greatest Showman
Oklahoma!
*I recommend the soundtrack to Oklahoma!. The movie reviews here suggest it may not be suitable for children due to violent content and frequent innuendos. I watched it years ago, but haven’t watched it recently to give an honest opinion. I remember singing these songs in show choir growing up. They are definitely catchy tunes for sure!
Pandora & Spotify Search Suggestions
Mariachi-During our Spanish studies
Classical
Bluegrassy Instrumental- One of our favorites!
Guitar Passion Radio- Another favorite!
Oriental/Chinese Traditional
Irish Traditional
French Cafe Radio
Electric Swing
Disney
Patriotic- 4th of July, people!
Caribbean- For when it’s summer!
These are all of my Pandora favorites, really! I typically don’t let the kids listen to music with lyrics during school time. I know, sounds kinda harsh, but I’m going for some nice instrumentals as background noise instead. Some music tends to distract my younger learners so we just leave that out til after our studies. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely moments when we throw on the Disney playlist and scream at the top of our lungs!
YouTube Videos
George Meets the Orchestra | An Introduction to the Orchestra for Kids
Backstage with Bleekie -Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Free School– Composers for kids
Little Amadeus– I have never seen this series, but it was recommended to me.
So….
That’s my music round-up for you today! Enjoy your studies as you expose your family to the wonderful benefits of music.
P.S. Don’t forget to buy that karaokee machine, ha!
The Hen House 