Music Appreciation in the Homeschool

Clear and Simple Homeschool Music Curriculum

Finding a homescool music appreciation curriculum that’s easy to use and really teaches a child how to listen to music makes a homeschool mom’s life much easier.  Plus, it has great information about music dynamics, and composition so you know your child is well-equipped with knowledge or musical arts.

I love listening to classical music. I have since high school. That was not the norm for the small rural community that I grew up in and I don’t believe I was ever really given the opportunity to learn the finer points of the genre.

Little Man also loves listening to classical music. In fact, I’ve yet to find a genre that he doesn’t like. So when I found out that Mary Prather from Homegrown Learners was writing a music appreciation book for the elementary student I was excited. I think the earlier we can instill a love and understanding for music into our children the better. 

I received a copy of this product in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links which means I receive a small commission for purchases made to external sites. 

Homeschool Music Appreciation that’s Simple to Use

Mary’s curriculum, SQUILT: Music Appreciation Made Simple, even from the first time I glanced through it was so appealing. She has made not only the learning of music simple, but the instructions for the teacher simple as well.

SQUILT, which stands for Super Quiet Un-interrupted Listening Time, is designed to teach the child how to really listen to the music. She gives step by step instructions on how to approach the music by first listening and using their imagination. They begin to feel how the music affects them.

This curriculum has 10 Lessons. Each lesson can be stretched to cover an entire week. The curriculum comes with notebooking pages and as the student progresses through the material they will be recording in their notebook what they are learning.

These notebooking pages not only guides them to remember facts about a piece of music or composer, they also can sketch, draw, doodle or even write about their impressions of the piece. Doing this allows the student the chance to make the work their own, which leads them to remember the details more clearly.

This curriculum comes in pdf format which makes it simple to find every piece of music you will need for your child to progress through the lessons. Mary has included links to specific web pages where the music can be found. She also makes it very clear from the beginning how many and which pages you will need to print for your child’s notebooking journal.

Volume 1, covers the Baroque period. Mary gives your student detailed information about that period as well as the composers of the era. She includes a listing of the instruments used in the baroque period and a link which will help your student to learn even more about the era.

As your child travels on this musical journey, Mary walks them through a learning adventure which allows them to begin to understand rhythm, mood, and the dynamics of a piece of music, all the while using their imagination to make the piece come to life in their own minds. 

You can see that this author, Mary Prather, is passionate about music. With an undergrad degree in Music Education and a Masters in Education, she also is a homeschool mom, she wrote this curriculum from the perspective of a homeschooling parent. She took into consideration the needs of moms who have little to no musical background and gave them a simple tool to teach and inspire their children with.

Here’s the SQUILT Music Appreciation Facts

• There are several options to choose from, each focusing on something different.
  • Volume 1 – Baroque – $16
  • Volume 2 – Classical – $16
  • Volume 3 – Romantic $16
  • Volume 4 – Modern – $16
  • Musical Era – Bundle – $56
  • Spotlight – Bach – $12
  • Spotlight – Dvorack – $12
  • Spotlight – Handel – $12
  • Spotlight – Mozart- $12 
  • Meet the Instruments – Exploring the Orchestra – $12
  • Carols Vol. 1 & Vol.  2 – $12 ea. 
  • The Nutcracker Unit Study – $10
• Prices are super affordable!
• Order any of the SQUILT: Music Appreciation Made Simple for an immediate download link. Start using it in your school right away.

Because stretching the homeschool dollar often keeps families from exploring the arts this resource is a must for every homeschooling parent because of it’s ease of use, excellence of structure and function, and especially because of it’s affordability.

Have you given SQUILT a try? Tell me about your experience.

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