Leftyplayer Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 I plan to get DS piano lessons, but first we have to work through some fine motor skills issues or else he'll be too frustrated. In the meantime, I'm hobbling together my own plan but I don't have very much. So far, we are learning about one instrument per week (it's history, how it sounds, the culture it's played in, etc). But we just got started homeschooling and I would like to incorporate the act of us MAKING some music. Problem is, I can play a tiny bit of guitar and that's all. I don't have much of a music education myself nor am I an instrument player. What do you do music education? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabinfl Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 My husband and I are both (very, very amateur, but enthusiastic) musicians, so there is always a lot of music around the house. My kids had organized music lessons starting at age 3 with the MusikGarten program (our church music director is an instructor, so she teaches those methods at the preschool there and in the Wednesday evening children's program -- we also had her come in for private lessons for a while). I really like that approach, where they start learning to feel music right off the bat, not just memorizing a song or notes on an instrument. I try to sprinkle some of the same principles in here & there myself, rhythm games, singing songs, etc. Music isn't so much a piece of curriculum at this stage as an intergal part of our daily lives. :D They also participate in the children's choir at church & VBS, dance lessons, theater camp in the summer includes a little music, we go to see live shows (music, theater, and dance), and last year we prepared an old children's hymn which they sang in the church "talent show" too. We have an electric piano at home and a drum set out in the workshop on which they are allowed/encouraged to noodle around, and one of these days I'm going to get around to setting up formal piano instruction. My crew actually picked up a LOT from watching Little Einsteins! They love the show and really got into following along with the activities and answering the questions. I also play a lot of classical music around the house & in the car, and we talk about the different pieces & composers -- I'm always surprised at just how much they recall from the show! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 I think the way you're doing it sounds great. :) Let's see- I have use Calvert's Discoveries in Music. I hesitate to suggest it though because of the price and the videos themselves are so old that the clothes and hair are funny. Other than those two things, it is a cute program that provides a nice overview. My son liked it. http://homeschool.calvertschool.org/why-calvert/homeschool-enrichments/discoveries-in-music Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten- The Carnegie Hall website has an interactive-guide. http://www.carnegiehall.org/Article.aspx?id=4294972032 The piece is online and on recordings. Be sure to listen to one with the narration. Classics for Kids is fabulous and free. http://www.classicsforkids.com/ Your little man may yet be too young (maybe not if he can sit still and listen to a piece of music he will be fine), but check with your local symphony and see what they offer in the way of educational outreach. I live in mid-TN and the Nashville Symphony has a number of outreach programs. HTH- Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess4879 Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 I'm not sure how old your son is, so this might not work, but we are doing rhythm instruments this year. I bought this: http://www.amazon.com/Rhythm-Instrument-Activities-Young-Children/dp/0876592906/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380551074&sr=8-1&keywords=101+rhythm+activities+for+young+children and then got the sticks, sand blocks, etc. We haven't started yet, but I think the kids are really going to love this. And it's easy enough for me to teach...I hope. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 We've always taken outside classes for music. In the toddler/preschool ages we did Music Together. Now both of my kids are in a children's choir, and the oldest also takes piano lessons. We haven't started it yet, but I also recently bought this book and plan on using it with the kids this year: http://www.amazon.com/Story-Orchestra-Listen-Instruments-Composers/dp/1579121489/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1380558795&sr=8-3&keywords=meet+the+orchestra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorisuewho Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 We did two years of Pfeiffer House music lessons. . .CD and lesson plans. It was quick and easy and the children really liked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leftyplayer Posted September 30, 2013 Author Share Posted September 30, 2013 I should've mentioned his age, he is young 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyerin Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 We take Musikgarten classes and do Charlotte Mason style composer study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 Kindermusik from birth-7 DS10 Double Bass, Piano DS13 Percussion, Piano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 DD did Kinderbach first, then moved on to regular piano lessons. She also liked Discoveries in Music, although it's rather expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 DW is a middle school bad director, so DD plays french horn for DW's concerts, and fifth bass drum in the school's percussion ensemble. Tried Suzuki violin early on -- not the right fit. Tried piano -- not the right fit, although we still use it all the time for choir and horn practice. We bought a good upright used from a college music program that gets rid of practice room painos on a regular basis. This year, DD auditioned into the Advanced choir of the NJ Youth Chorus, having gone through their apprentice and intermediate programs over 5 years. This is pretty much the center of our music study now, since NJYC Advanced does crazy-hard literature and has heavy gigs with orchestras and such. I just consider practice as a scheduled subject of the day, so we get in about 45 min, depending on how many pieces are in the folder at the time. Not so much luck with theory programs. Music Ace got a bit boring, but I think there's untapped potential there. I think theory may be more of an organic thing, working with DW and DD's conductor as needed. I played though college, but I'm pretty useless if you throw too many squiggles into the key signature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrips Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 My kids started the recorder this last year.it's taught them the notes and how to read music, and they really have fun with all the songs they learn. They take it through a local rec center on homeschool day once a week. And they practice a lot on their own now since it's fun. They are doing a Christmas concert at the local tree lighting in December. Their habits are setting a good precedence for the next instrument they pick up, if they want. We also enjoy Beethoven's Wig, the classical kid series, and various other cLassical CDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dramorellis Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 My 7 year old takes a once a week piano class and other wise we just have music on, mostly classical and instrumental, in the morning every day. Hmm should I be doing more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 My FIL is a music teacher and owns a music shop. Now, he lives very far from us, but has offered skype help with our dd's accordion (she doesn't have much time now that she's in brick and mortar though). He also helps us acquire certain instruments for my younger children's music program (I use "Making Music, Praying Twice"). Beyond that, simply exposure; my husband is proficient on the piano, the guitar, the accordion, and the drums - we have all of those instruments in the home and the children have open access to most of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Older dd is 6. We do piano together daily. I direct what needs to be practiced and when she is ready to move to move on to a new song. We have done this for two years. We use a LOT of games. Our book is My First Piano Adventures. Book B profiled Beethoven and Mozart. Book C adds Haydn, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky. When a new Composer is introduced, we --play appropriate songs from Beethoven's Wig --listen to "An Introduction to the Classics" in the car --read "Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers" --read any other kids' books on the specific composer from the library --------------------------------------------------------------- Anyone may PM me who wants my list of piano games. The only downside is that the file is quite big, and it comes with a couple of Powerpoint documents; I would need a regular email address for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 My kids started the recorder this last year.it's taught them the notes and how to read music, and they really have fun with all the songs they learn. We also enjoy Beethoven's Wig, the classical kid series, and various other cLassical CDs. Recorder Karate is a great book. DD did that one summer. We still listen to Beethoven's Wig! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatHomeschoolDad Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 My 7 year old takes a once a week piano class and other wise we just have music on, mostly classical and instrumental, in the morning every day. Hmm should I be doing more? Trust your gut. At 7, if you push too hard, he may grow to hate it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 We're doing something called Colorsoundation. Love it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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