The Magic of Music Improves Your Homeschool
Growing up in a family full of professional musicians…
…there was always another melody rising to the rooftops. If you didn’t have the music blasting or the guitar strumming, you weren’t living. So you would think that because of that immersion that I would be musically inclined and play instruments etc. Wrong. I didn’t receive a single talent gene in my body. However, a life filled with music has taught me one necessary truth: it is beautiful. It seems like a simple phrase and that sure, music is nice and wonderful and that is easy to brush off as just another thing in life.
But what I mean is, music is a treasure trove that is versatile and timeless. My husband grew up listening to his grandmother play the piano, her soft fingers dancing across the ivory keys with ease and fluidity. It was like her own language that she could express even as her eyesight began to fail. It is a universal language that brought the family together and was ever present in those many summer family gatherings in her farmhouse.
If you stop and listen, you will realize that music is everywhere, it’s in your everyday life. And it’s necessary.
Putting music in your every day homeschool…
Music can be interwoven into every aspect of your homeschool world:
- Math
- Reading
- Writing
- Memorization
- Learning an instrument
- Focus and concentration
- Creating a mood/atmosphere
- Motivation
Why music is so important in education…
Music has the ability to create a mood or dissipate a mood. It can affect how you think and the energy in the room. Why not channel that towards learning? Our middle child often struggles with the most basic of tasks in schoolwork due to his ADHD and constant energy. We do not diminish his intelligence simply because he has trouble focusing or thinks differently about how to come to an answer, but instead we rethink how he can express himself and express his intelligence in his own way. Music has become a very strong passion for him and we make it as accessible as we can in order to help him.
How do I use music in my homeschool if I am not musically inclined?
We know the feeling. My husband and I are both surrounded by fantastic and gifted musicians. Yet we can hardly remember or sing a tune. That doesn’t stop us from doing what we can with what we know to provide music to our children.
Use what you know:
We love to listen to music. We love new kinds of music and different songs. Sometimes we are called eclectic. So we got a Prime Music Unlimited subscription. Changed our world. Any music we feel like or want to listen to is at the tip of our fingers. Depending on the need, we can provide music for that need. We might choose classical for reading or up-tempo for cleaning. Hymns for worship and mindfulness. Maybe throw back some oldies while playing a board game.
YouTube has great free resources to spruce up the boring everyday. Anything from a nursery rhyme to a classical song with lyrics typed at the bottom. This takes some time to narrow down a good set of YouTubers that fit your family needs but eventually you can have a set profile with many fun musical options for any occasion.
Keep the music in your homeschool simple:
Buy a piano or any other instrument that is simple for you.
This first step we took is we bought a piano. Piano is a classical instrument and it’s also well known, well respected, has lots of opportunities for growth and diversity AND it’s easy to find resources for a piano. We started with the Yamaha 88 key digital piano . A piano was cheaper than a full blown upright piano and it is mobile. A great start for families with young kids or a small space. We currently are working through Alfred’s Basic Piano Library Lesson Book series which includes a lesson book (songs), technic (drills), theory (music concepts), and recital (show off what you learned!). So we recommend getting all the books together before starting because this curriculum is the best way for beginners (children and parents alike!) to learn how to play piano and get the core concepts as well in an easy to read format.
Use it all day long:
Our son can’t keep focused while he works on his math because his brother is wandering around or his other brother has moved on to a show or game distracting him. So we put headphones on him with some classical music playing and suddenly he’s side shuffling while completing his work. And on average, he scores much higher this way on his tests.
Our youngest struggles to be motivated and clean or do his chores. He struggles with everything he doesn’t want to do. But we put on a few peppy songs of his choosing and away he goes. Suddenly he’s in a brighter mood as if his spirits are lifted and he wants to clean together or get the job done.
However, our eldest enjoys singing along to songs while playing games or working on a task to express energy and also to help him clear his mind due to stress and usually overthinking. When an INTJ (or similar personality) feels comfortable in their environment, a more emotional and expressive side manifests. Letting him listen to music and sing along often directs his thoughts and he does better in the everyday communicating and expression. It also keeps him calm and relaxed which is often a challenge for his personality.
Mnemonics are your friend:
What is it about the brain connecting music to information and the memory never being able to erase it?
Everyone seems to known the song for memorizing your alphabet.
- Remembering the planets?
- Learning all the states and maybe the capitals too?
- Find yourself humming or bouncing to find John in the books of the Bible because you know it goes to a song?
Whether you are a maestro or not..
Find a way to incorporate music into your daily life and learning. You may find that it sparks an interest in your child or it may just change you. It’s well worth trying. It may just change your homeschool journey for the better like it did ours.