22: Getting Started Homeschooling a Preschooler: Best Ways to Include Music Education in Your Homeschool Preschool

Are you a new homeschooler just getting started with preschool in your homeschool? I would love to share with you today the best ways to include a music education in your homeschool preschool.

Homeschooling a preschooler is an exciting journey filled with countless opportunities to ignite your child's passion for learning. Among the many subjects to explore, music education stands out as a particularly enriching and enjoyable experience. Music can foster creativity, enhance cognitive development, and build foundational skills that will benefit your child for years to come.

In this episode, we'll discuss:

• The numerous benefits of music education for preschoolers, including cognitive development, emotional expression, motor skills, and cultural awareness.
• How to create a musical environment at home by integrating daily listening, singing together, and encouraging dance and movement.
• Introducing specific musical concepts like rhythm and beat, pitch and melody, dynamics and tempo in a playful and engaging way.
• Practical hands-on musical activities like instrument exploration, DIY homemade instruments, and fingerplays.
• Ways to integrate music into other subjects such as math, language arts, and science.
• Utilizing online resources like Kinderbach, Ten Songs All Preschoolers Should Know, and A Folk Song A Week to enhance your music education program.
• Tips for encouraging a lifelong love of music in your child.

Join me as we explore these strategies and resources to make music education a delightful and integral part of your homeschooling experience.

Find all links and resources mentioned in the episode here: https://musicinourhomeschool.com/music-education-in-your-homeschool-preschool

Tune in and start your musical journey today!

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Are you a new homeschooler just getting started with preschool in your homeschool? I would love to share with you today the best ways to include a music education in your homeschool preschool. 

Homeschooling a preschooler is an exciting journey filled with countless opportunities to ignite your child's passion for learning.

Among the many subjects to explore, music education stands out as a particularly enriching and enjoyable experience. Music can foster creativity, enhance cognitive development, and build foundational skills that will benefit your child for years to come. Here's a comprehensive guide to incorporating music education into your homeschool curriculum for your preschooler.

Why include music education for your preschooler? We've got to start there. Music education offers numerous benefits, particularly for young children. Number one is cognitive development. Learning music helps develop the brain areas involved in language [00:01:00] and reasoning. It improves memory, attention, and problem solving skills.

Emotional expression. Music allows children to express themselves creatively and emotionally. It can help them manage their emotions and develop empathy. 

Number three is motor skills. Playing instruments and dancing to music enhances fine and gross motor skills. 

And number four is cultural awareness. Music introduces children to various cultures and traditions, fostering a sense of global awareness and appreciation. 

So here's tip number one: Create a musical environment at home. A musical environment is key to nurturing your child's interest in music. Here are some practical steps to create a music-friendly home.

1. Include daily listening. Integrate music into your daily routine. Play different genres of music throughout the day. Classical in the morning, folk in the afternoon, [00:02:00] lullabies before bed. 

Number two, sing together. Singing with your child is one of the simplest and most effective ways to engage with them in music. And no, it doesn't matter if you sing well or not. Your child loves to hear your loving voice. Sing nursery rhymes, simple songs, and even make up your own tunes. . And if you don't know the songs to sing, I have a great course over at Learn.MusicinOurHomeschool.Com called 10 Songs All Preschoolers Should Know.

Number three is. Dance and movement. Encourage your child to move to the music. Sometimes handing them a scarf will encourage it even more because they love to see the scarf flying around. Dancing improves coordination and rhythm and you can have some spontaneous dance parties.

Tip number two. Introduce some specific musical concepts. While it might seem early to teach formal music theory, preschool is a perfect time [00:03:00] to introduce some basic musical concepts in a playful and engaging way. 

Number one is rhythm and beat: clap along to the beat of songs. Use simple rhythm instruments like rhythm sticks or hand drums, or even tap on household items. This helps children feel and understand the concept of rhythm and begin to develop a steady beat. 

Pitch and melody. Use simple songs to demonstrate high versus low pitches. You can use your voice or even instruments like a xylophone or a piano to show it visually. 

Dynamics and tempo. Teach the concepts of loud and soft, dynamics, and fast and slow, tempo, through interactive games. For example, play freeze dance where your child freezes when the music stops or changes. 

Tip number three, integrate some hands-on musical activities. Practical hands-on activities, make [00:04:00] music fun and memorable for preschoolers. 

Instrument exploration is my first idea for you. Provide a variety of child-friendly instruments such as tambourines, maracas, and even guiros. By the way, I do have a blog post that goes along with this podcast episode. If you'd like to see pictures of the things I'm talking about or links to everything, you can find a link to the blog post in the show notes or description for this podcast episode. Let your child explore and discover different sounds that all these different little instruments can make.

Do it yourself, homemade instruments. It's so fun to create simple instruments at home. Shakers can be made from plastic bottles and rice. Drums from pots and pans. Guitars from rubber bands and boxes. You can see some more specific ideas and tutorials at [00:05:00] MusicinOurHomeschool.com/HomemadeInstruments.

And fingerplays. If you've never heard of a fingerplay, it's a hand movement with a song, rhyme, or short story. They're very fun and help develop fine motor skills, among other things. 

Tip number four is to incorporate music into other subjects. Music education doesn't have to be isolated. You can integrate it into the other things you're learning with your children. 

 First of all, math and music. Use rhythm and patterns to teach basic math concepts. Counting beats, understanding sequences, and recognizing patterns in music can reinforce math skills. Help your preschooler see the patterns of black and white keys on the piano, for example.

Number two is language arts and music. Singing songs can enhance language development. Introduce songs that tell stories, play with rhymes, and explore different sounds and words. 

And then science and music. [00:06:00] Explore the science of sound through simple experiments. Discuss how sound travels and the difference between high and low sounds, and even how different materials produce different sounds. Try different objects inside containers to see how they sound different when you shake them. 

Tip number five is to utilize online resources. In today's digital age, there are numerous online resources to enhance your music education program. First, you will love Kinderbach. You can find it at MusicinOurHomeschool.com/KinderBach, K I N D E R B A C H. Like Bach, the composer. This is an amazing program created by music educator, Karri Gregor. It's specifically for ages two to seven. It teaches them the basics of piano and music theory with fun characters and easy to understand techniques. 

Number [00:07:00] two is Ten Songs All Preschoolers Should Know, that I mentioned earlier.

And number three is A Folk Song A Week. After you learn those ten songs all preschoolers should know, you can move on to 36 more songs in the A Folk Song A Week course. 

Tip number six is encourage a lifelong love of music. Your ultimate goal is to foster a lifelong love of music in your child. Show enthusiasm and joy when engaging in musical activities. Don't be embarrassed yourself when you sing. You want to show confidence and help them be confident in their voice too. 

Number two is to be patient. Every child is different. Some may show an immediate interest in music. Others may take time. Be patient. Keep exposing them to different musical experiences. And keep it fun. The activity should be lighthearted and enjoyable. The goal is to make music a positive and enjoyable part of your child's [00:08:00] life. 

I have a few more resources that you can check out at the blog post, some very specific books that are fun to read and links to instruments, simple rhythm instruments, and then also an online community. This can be a place where you can share ideas and resources and experiences related to music education. And my favorite one, of course, is inside our Music in our Homeschool Plus Premium Membership. 

So in conclusion, incorporating music education into your homeschool curriculum for your preschooler can be richly rewarding. It nurtures creativity, enhances cognitive and emotional development, and builds a foundation for lifelong learning. By creating a musical environment, introducing basic concepts, engaging in hands-on activities, integrating music with other subjects, utilizing online resources, and encouraging a love for music, you'll provide a well rounded and enjoyable [00:09:00] music education for your child.

Start your musical journey today and watch your preschooler's love for music blossom. Thanks for joining me today and until next time, keep the music alive.

Find all links and resources mentioned in the episode here: https://musicinourhomeschool.com/music-education-in-your-homeschool-preschool