Image of a young girl with reddish hair in a black shirt playing a cello. Over the image are the words Redeeming the Arts Why Music and Art Education are Essential for Christian Homeschoolers
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Redeeming the Arts: Why Music and Art Education are Essential for Christian Homeschoolers

Redeeming the Arts: Why Music and Art Education are Essential for Christian Homeschoolers Is it possible for Christians to redeem the arts from our “woke” culture? Increasingly, it seems the arts – especially popular music, theater, movies, art movements – are filled with immoral and satanic references (or even blatant perversion and satanic rituals, which the culture celebrates.) So should we, as Christian homeschool parents, even bother with music and art education or involve our children in the arts? Yes! Music and art are powerful gifts from God that reflect His beauty and creativity, and they have the potential to…

Image of an orchestra seated playing violins, violas, cellos and other instruments with a male conductor in black pants and white suit jacket with his back towards the viewer. Over the image is a light orange rectangle with the words A Teen's Guide to Classical Music.
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A Teen’s Guide to Classical Music

A Teen’s Guide to Classical Music Being fans of classical music is not what we might immediately think of for most teenagers. Classical music has a reputation of being a genre of formality, structure and rules – picture proper concert halls or stuffy performances.  This may not be appealing to young people who are at the age of exploring, finding their own interests, and perhaps even rebelling. Teens will find their own music to express their current desires and growth, and it is usually the popular music of the time – rock, pop, disco, hip hop, rap, or country, for…

Image of a hand holding a cell phone with a red play button in the center and a white box over a red rectangle with the words Best YouTube Channels for Listening to and Learning Classical Music in a Fun Way
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Best YouTube Channels for Listening to and Learning Classical Music in a Fun Way

Are you worried that your child might not enjoy classical music? Classical music is rich and varied, and even the newest listener can find music from the broad classical genre they will enjoy. For children, starting with short listening pieces from various composers and eras is a great way to expose them to the classical music. Get my list here. YouTube also offers endless possibilities for learning about instruments, composers and watching and listening to great or creative performances of classical music. Here are the best YouTube channels for learning and listening to classical music in a fun way: Classical…

Image of a sheet of music with the words Hallelujah at a diagonal below the music. There are blue bars across the top and bottom of the image and at the top are the words 7 Reasons Why Your Family Should Investigate Messiah Oratorio
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Journey into Joy: 7 Reasons Why Your Family Should Investigate Handel’s Messiah

Could a centuries-old oratorio captivate the hearts of children? Handel’s Messiah most certainly can! In the world of classical music, George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah stands as a timeless masterpiece. Written in just 24 days in 1741, its first performance was in Dublin, Ireland in 1742 as a charity event, and later, it made its way to Covent Garden in London. It has become a standard work performed during the Christmas season. Beyond its beautiful melodies, there are compelling reasons to introduce children to this classical gem, from cultural enrichment to family connections. Here are 7 reasons why parents should…

Image of a brain made up of music notes with words above and below it in teal-colored boxes that say Boosting the Brain with Music Education
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Boosting the Brain with Music Education: The Importance of Including Music in Your Homeschool

“For anyone to grow up complete, music education is imperative.“Paul Harvey In our highly technological world, we are told to focus on STEM – science, technology, engineering and math. And to prove to the world that we are not making a mistake in homeschooling our children, we homeschool parents may be concerned about the academic side of our children’s education. So why would we want to add music and fine arts to our children’s education? This is exactly what David Kearns, now retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Xerox Corporation, asks and answers: “Why arts in education? Why education…

Image of Family playing with kitchenware as musical band at home with purple diagonal area and the words The Importance of Music in Child Development
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The Importance of Music in Child Development: 6 Areas of Development which Music Benefits

Can exposure to music help your child’s development? Yes! Music is a fun and easy and IMPORTANT tool for enhancing childhood development and building your child’s brain! To understand how music aids in child development, we need to know the order of normal child development and compare it to music development. Child development compared to music development The first sensory organ to function in the womb is the ear.  The heart of a child in the womb starts beating about 21 days after conception. At 40 days brain waves are measurable. At 2 months in the womb all body systems…

Image of red background with out of focus lights and stars. In a white rectangle across the image are the words "The Best Classical Christmas Music for Kids."
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The Best Classical Christmas Music for Kids

The Christmas season is the most wonderful time of the year. So goes the song. And when it comes to finding engaging classical music to study with your children, there are definitely some wonderful and familiar pieces from the Christmas season which will help your children to fall in love with classical music. The ideal place to start with classical music is with short listening pieces. Here is the best short classical Christmas music for kids. Most of them are pieces from longer works, which are all worthy of listening to in their entirety when you and your child are…

Image of a fan with an American flag print and confetti above it. A red rectangle at a diagonal is in the left hand corner with the words, "Patriotic summer music activities for kids."
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Patriotic Summer Music Activities for Kids

Patriotic Summer Music Activities for Kids Since we have several patriotic holidays over the summer, you can bring a little structure and fun to your days by doing patriotic summer music activities with your kids. Sing patriotic songs, learn a little history, add in crafts, and you will have a fun America-themed unit study for even just 15 minutes a day. Where to start: A great place to start is to learn some of the American songs of the past and their history, like The Star-Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, God Bless America, My Country ‘Tis of Thee, and Yankee…

Image of young girl with long brown hair and a red sweater leaning in as if listening with title above Teaching Children How to Listen.
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Teaching Children How to Listen

Listening is essential! In our highly visual world where both adults and children spend hours focusing our eyes on televisions, computers, video games, and electronic devices, we distinctly overlook how important it is to listen.  Listening is the cornerstone of development. A baby first orders its world through sound, since one is unable to see in the womb and since a baby’s sight is unfocused at birth.  Yet a baby is able to hear and distinguish his or her mother’s voice in the womb.  Next, in order to communicate and develop language skills, a child must learn to listen.  And…

Image of violins of different shades hanging in a row with words 10 Reasons to Study Music Appreciation
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10 Reasons to Study the Orchestra, Composers and Music Appreciation

Music appreciation means that everyone appreciates music in some form. But many parents are hesitant to have their children study formal music appreciation – that is, the orchestra, composers and classical music – because they think their child is not interested in this kind of music. Certainly, classical music offers more depth than your regular country or pop song, so it can take a little longer to understand and appreciate it. Also, many pieces – like symphonies –  are as long as 45 minutes, so attention span can be an issue. However, when children are exposed to all kinds of…

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