{"id":203,"date":"2020-05-27T18:25:39","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T18:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/homeschool.vandagriff.org\/?p=203"},"modified":"2020-06-17T21:40:52","modified_gmt":"2020-06-17T21:40:52","slug":"singing-hymns-folk-songs-foreign-language-songs-etc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeschool.vandagriff.org\/?p=203","title":{"rendered":"Singing (Hymns, Folk songs, Foreign Language Songs, etc.)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Songs can be some of the best tools for helping your homeschool day go more smoothly. Do your children struggle with transitions? Let a song be your cue to switch gears. Do your children need frequent wiggle breaks? Have an impromptu dance party. Do you need to get your children settled and focused again? Try a hymn. Music is a powerful tool. Here are some thoughts, tips, and resources you can use to get more music into your homeschool.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sing a hymn each day.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

My family starts off each day with a hymn. We sing the same hymn every day for a month. My children are small and don\u2019t read yet, so it takes about a month for them to learn the hymn by heart. If you have older children in your family, you could sing your new hymn 2-3 times a week and fill in the other days with old favorites. Or you could sing your way through the whole hymnbook! Bedtime is a great time for a hymn. Some families sing before they say the prayer for dinner. Ask the Lord when a good time is for your family. You may be surprised by the answer.<\/span><\/p>\n

The LDS church\u2019s <\/span>sacred music app<\/span><\/a> is a great tool for family hymn singing. Some families like to create a playlist of the Tabernacle Choir singing the family\u2019s chosen hymns. If you\u2019d like help choosing which hymns to learn, a 12-year rotation of Latter-day Saint hymns is available at <\/span>By Study and Faith<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>AmblesideOnline<\/span><\/a> also has a more general 12-year hymn rotation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sing folk songs that you love. <\/b><\/h3>\n

Are there songs from your childhood that you can still sing? Start with those. It doesn\u2019t matter if a song fits the perfect definition of a \u201cfolk song.\u201d If it\u2019s part of your history, it\u2019s worth making part of your children\u2019s lives. Folk songs are songs of the people. Traditionally, they only got passed down if there was something about them that was worth passing down. They are typically easy to sing, easy to learn, fun, and\/or have catchy tunes. We like to listen to a folk song playlist in the car. If the kids are getting a little crazy during school time, we turn on a folk song and take a little break to sing and dance. I play the banjo very badly, but the kids don\u2019t care that my rendition of \u201cBuffalo Gals\u201d is barely recognizable. And you don\u2019t have to play an instrument badly (or well, for that matter) to sing folk songs. There are many <\/span>YouTube playlists<\/span><\/a> already created for the AmblesideOnline folk song selections. If you\u2019d like to create your own list, c<\/span>lick here<\/span><\/a> for over 100 folk songs that are part of the American folk song tradition. Chances are that you already know many of them!<\/span><\/p>\n

Sing even if you think you can\u2019t.<\/b><\/h3>\n

Far too many people think that they can\u2019t sing. It\u2019s not that they can\u2019t sing–it\u2019s that they haven\u2019t trained their voice and their ear to work together yet. <\/span>This can be taught at any age. If you want to learn to sing, you can!<\/span><\/p>\n

Children learn to sing–or \u201cmatch pitch\u201d–at different rates. If a child is singing regularly at home and at church, most children will be able to sing \u201con key\u201d by about age six. I observed this in my own children. My son couldn\u2019t carry a tune until he was about six and a half, while my daughter was able to sing a pitch-perfect \u201cTwinkle, Twinkle Little Star\u201d by age two. Please don\u2019t ever tell your children that they can\u2019t sing. They can! They just may not have figured out how to do it yet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Charlotte Mason used a method called Tonic Sol-fa in her curriculum. The pioneers and early Utah settlers actually used the same system. Music teachers today use a more up-to-date version of Sol-fa. It is most commonly called \u201csolfege\u201d and is often taught by music teachers who use the Kodaly method. <\/span>Sing Solfa<\/span><\/a> is a free, Charlotte-Mason-inspired website that offers video lessons that teach children (and adults) how to sing using the Kodaly method. Each lesson is about 10 minutes long. If you do two lessons a week, your family will have a great foundation in training your voices and ears to work together. (Full disclosure, Sing Solfa is one of my websites.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sing in your foreign language.<\/b><\/h3>\n

Sing Solfa also has some <\/span>foreign language song resources<\/span><\/a> that you may find useful. Foreign language songs can be used like folk songs–as breaks, for fun, or in the car. My children particularly like to learn songs they already know in English in their foreign language. The<\/span> \u201cTeach Me\u201d<\/span><\/a> series has been a hit at my house.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just one song is enough. <\/b><\/h3>\n

If you don\u2019t already sing regularly at home, then just pick one song. Play it on your phone for your kids. Show them that you like it. If you are already doing some singing, is there a way you could make your singing more intentional? Singing loses a lot of its magic when it becomes a burden–so there\u2019s no need to force it. One song is enough to start with. Really.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recommended Albums:<\/h4>\n

<\/a>\"\" <\/a>\"\" <\/a>\"\" <\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Songs can be some of the best tools for helping your homeschool day go more smoothly. Do your children struggle with transitions? Let a song be your cue to switch gears. Do your children need frequent wiggle breaks? Have an impromptu dance party. Do you need to get your children settled and focused again? Try…<\/p>\n

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