Today's Porch Team theme is "music."  That's a pretty broad topic!  Immediately brought to my mind are images of young men and women spending hours at the piano, taking lessons, practicing, performing in recitals.  But what are some other options for our young people who have not gone this route?  How else to incorporate "music" into the homeschool high school? 

This year, my sons and I have decided to spend the year doing two things: teaching ourselves guitar (we don't have time to travel anywhere for lessons, so until a Christian teacher can come to us, we will teach ourselves), and studying the lives and works of the great composers. 

Several years ago, my husband and I signed up for one of those "clubs" in which you are sent a CD every month (kind of like the children's book clubs).  We now have quite a collection of "Classic Composers" CD's, the CD holder being embedded with a little book about the composer, complete with multiple choice quizzes; what more could a homeschool mom ask for?!!  Each book gives a history of the life of the composer and his family, as well as a wonderful synopsis of the era in which he lived.  The political climate of the world at that time is also included, with major events around the world during the composer's lifetime given.  (We have learned, in our studies with Diana Waring's History Alive!, that music is very much influenced and "'stirred" by the winds of change in the world!)  Of course, bi-monthly trips to your local library can accomplish the same thing if you haven't the time or the funds to purchase such a collection. 

This is a fascinating way to tie your studies in history to your music course!  Wikipedia has a list of the composers organized by the era in which they lived and worked.  Another list can be found at Classical Net.com .  Whatever time period you are studying in history, spend one week learning about the arts of that period, or just focus on music.  Require a paper to be written about the great composers of the era, and then grade it twice--once for it's content (the history/music class grade), and once for it's composition, grammar, and style (the english/writing class grade).  Also log the time spent researching and writing the essay as part of the hours towards the Music class credit.  Your student(s) will not be so glum about writing this essay if they know they are getting "two (maybe three) for the price of one!"

My dear friend, Nan, homeschools her 4 teenage sons (two of whom graduated just this past summer).  The 4 young men enjoy singing together, and have a love of hymns.  But they also do some really fun things . . . on July 4th, as we sat together awaiting the start of the firworks display in our town, the guys treated us to a fast-paced rendition of "Rock Island"  from the classic musical, The Music Man.  Remarkable! 

For the next 2 months, these 4 fun, young men will be drawing my 2 high school sons into their "group" for a hymn that they will be sharing during our Reformation Day party (our 2nd annual, on October 31st, to remember and interpret the life and work of Martin Luther).  They'll be singing "Rise Up O Men Of God."  A fun and hopefully fruitful time singing together with friends for the blessing of the body of Christ . . . and you betcha', we're going to log every minute spent practicing towards their high school music credits!!!  (If you read my blog article about "clever credits," you'll remember!  If not, just go to the "Homeschooling Through High School" articles link, and scroll down until you find it.)

May God Bless you and your students as you incorporate music into your homeschool studies!  Please take a moment to let me know you've stopped by!

Lori

Lori Havens has been married to Kevin for 24 years.  They live in Illinois with their two sons, Bryan (17) and Nathan (15), and dog Sunny (9).  Lori enjoys writing, gardening, reading, and the outdoors.  She is the author of "Should I Be A Nurse? A Journey of Self-Exploration for Those Considering a Career in Nursing" and  "7 Essential Questions Every Future Nurse Must Ask."     You can find her blogging at both Homeschool Blogger and Homestead Blogger  .

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