One of the areas that is often cut in public schools are the arts. When schools see the need to focus on the three R’s, electives like art and music are removed from children’s schedules. But art and music are so important for children. As homeschooling parents, we can allow our children to follow their dreams in both art and music. And if they don’t want to learn how to draw or play a musical instrument? There are other ways we can bring art and music into our homeschool day.
Why Are Art and Music Education Important?
There have been numerous studies demonstrating that studying art and music in education is important. Children improve their grades and skills in mathematics, language arts, and other areas. They develop critical thinking skills, practice decision-making and risk-taking, and allow their creativity to flourish. Bringing art and music into your homeschool is very important.
Through the process of creating art, children will work on fine motor skills and problem-solving skills. They learn how to hold pencils and paintbrushes properly. They decide how to sculpt a piece of clay so it looks like a lion or a lamb. As they snap multiple photographs of the same subject matter, they look for possible variations and test them out. Does the vase look better as the focal point of the photograph or in the background?
Music is an important subject to include in your homeschool for a variety of reasons. “Music teaches discipline, coordination, recognition of patterns, and other cognitive skills,” Emily-Jane Hills Orford shared in Music Grows Your Brain. Listening to music stimulates different areas of your brain. It can help you remember lessons and tasks better. Participating in music instruction can also help with time management and problem solving.
How Can You Bring Art into Your Homeschool?
Let’s take a look at some of the ways in which you can bring art into your homeschool. From courses you teach using video instruction to lessons you lead from SchoolhouseTeachers.com, there are many options for homeschooling families.
One option that covers art instruction for kindergarten through high school is ARTistic Pursuits. They provide both art instruction and art history in easy-to-follow video lessons and textbooks that multiple children can use year-after-year. Your children can start with Volume 1: Building a Visual Vocabulary in early elementary and work their way through Art Core 5: Drawing with Water-Soluble and Graphite Pencils when they reach high school.
For middle school and high school students who wish to improve their artistic schools, Art Tips with Jan Bower at SchoolhouseTeachers.com is an excellent course choice. It is meant to be used alongside Drawing with Realism, offering simple and practical advice in twenty-eight short video clips. And if digital design is more appealing to your middle school or high school student, then Digital Art and Product Designs for Small Business will teach them about accessing photos legally, editing images, branding, and marketing. All three of these courses would be wonderful in bringing art into your homeschool.
How Can You Bring Music into Your Homeschool?
Music can be included in your homeschool in a number of ways. From music courses where your children learn piano, violin, guitar, or the drums, or music appreciation courses, there are a number of great options for homeschoolers. Even just introducing them to a variety of musical styles and composers is a great way to include it.
In eighteen lessons, you can introduce your kindergartner to different musical instruments, rhythm, musical compositions, and more in Appreciating the Gift of Music. Dig deeper into music with Fun with Music and learn note names, music intervals and key signatures, symbols, and other terms with your children when they reach third grade. And as your children grow, they can study music theory at SchoolhouseTeachers.com too.
And don’t forget that music can help your children in other subjects. Listening to classical music while drawing or reading helps improve concentration and memory. If your children are auditory learners, they might benefit from Cross Seven Ventures LLC, which is a musical memory program that includes science, Latin, language arts, and more set to music.
What About Art and Music for Children Who Don’t Enjoy These Subjects?
Art isn’t just learning to paint, draw, or sculpt. It doesn’t just have to be about trips to museums or viewing pieces from the Renaissance. Homeschooling parents can include art in other ways too. From learning carpentry, soap carving, metal work, or glass work, our children can be involved in art in different ways. These hands-on activities can help children who don’t like pen and pencil art.
And music? Music lessons can go beyond learning to play an instrument. Music is found all around our children. In the video games they play, the movie and television shows they watch, and in nature. Find an area they love and make the musical connection through that love.
“The human brain is an organ that develops and improves through music,” shared Daniela Silva in Can Music Improve Learning? The Importance of Nurturing Musical Experiences in Childhood. Knowing that as we listen to and study the arts and music we help grow a number of skills including memory retention, how will you bring art and music into your homeschool?
Calling all artists and photographers!
The SchoolhouseTeachers.com 2024 Virtual Art and Photography Fair kicks off on September 9! Whether you’re mastering the basics in our Learning About Art course or capturing breathtaking landscapes inspired by our Photography course, this is your moment to shine. Submit your work, celebrate creativity, and maybe even inspire others. Find all the details in the Member Dashboard. Let’s create something amazing together!
HomeschoolingFinds.com Author
This article has been written by Kristen Heider. She is the Business Building Team Manager and the Social Media Manager of The Old Schoolhouse®. She shares more about her family’s homeschooling journey at A Mom’s Quest Teach.