Morning Time Comes Alive with the Sound of Music
The Sound of Music was one of my all time favorite movies. Maria was an amazing homeschool mom, and she didn't even know it yet! Her lessons were filled with joy, wonder, and most of all MUSIC! Now I'm not saying that you need to go singing all over your city, but there was a beautiful thing that happened when the von Trapp family started singing together. They united in beauty.
Before, the children's collective purpose was to rid their home of every governess that arrived. They were pretty successful! When Maria arrived, she didn't respond as their previous victims did. Instead, she replaced their lowly affections and gave them something beautiful to enjoy. The sound of music has that kind of power in a soul to awake affections like nothing else. That's why day 8 of my 10 Days of Morning Time Resources is filled with music. Watch your morning time come alive when you introduce a bit of music.
Call to Order with the Sound of Music
Music sets the tone for your day. A quick and easy way to add the sound of music to your morning time is by playing music to signal when everyone needs to come in to start. You could play classical music, your kids' favorite tunes, or worship music.
Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs
In the context of explaining how to walk in love, Paul says in Ephesians 5:19-21 to
be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Another great way to add music to your morning time is to sing together. Whether it is a hymn, or your favorite praise and worship song, starting out with music will soften hearts, open minds, and settle bodies. It's a great way to walk in love together.
Simply Charlotte Mason also produces a great resources for hymn studies called Singing the Great Hymns. It's a great resource as it includes 70 hymns as well as an accompaniment CD to sing along with. The hymns are so rich with beautiful language and theology, your family will love soaking in their truths.
SQUILT
Super Quiet UnInterrupted Listening Time is an awesome resource put together by a former music teacher. The lessons introduce famous musicians and the musical era in which they flourished. Since it is a digital product, the lessons are filled with links to online resources and videos, so you'll never lose or scratch the audio companion!
We love these lessons because they are simple, interactive, and very informative. It's a quick and easy way to add a little music appreciation to your morning time. If you're a Classical Conversations mom, I've outlined how her lessons coordinate with each foundations cycle. It's pretty awesome how they line up, and you could go through the SQUILT lessons to add more to your studies during the orchestra section of Foundations.
Professor Carol
Morning time does not have to end as your kids get older. If anything, it just keeps getting better and better. All you get to do is bring meatier material to the table to feast on together.
Professor Carol Reynolds says music is connected to everything – literature, geography, science and technology, economics, politics, religion – and the study of music can help you learn all of these other disciplines.
She is a passionate instructor, and her music and art studies have taken her all over the world where she has filmed her amazing online courses. The beauty of it is that at Professor Carol’s Circle of Scholars you can take courses for high school credit in Music History, American Art and Music, and Russian Culture all on a single subscription for $15 per month.
With that monthly subscription, you can access any of her courses and cancel any time. Maybe you're not ready for high school credit, but you'd like to enjoy learning about American Art and Music, you can sign up for a couple of months and then take a break. Join back any time to continue in your musical pursuits. My husband and I have been working through her Discovering Music course, and it has been such a blessing.
The sound of music awakens the soul like nothing else. I love the picture in C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew when Aslan sings everything into being as he creates Narnia. There is power in music. Even if you're not a musician yourself, bringing music to your morning time will bring a blessing of life to your family.
How do you incorporate music into your morning time?
Get more great Morning Time inspiration from Pam at edSnapshots:
Discover more great resources by reading the full 10 day series:
Day 1: Why Morning Time
Day 2: Bible Study Resources for Your Morning Time
Day 3: Building Character and Virtue During Your Morning Time
Day 4: 5 Simple Resources for Including Science in Your Morning Time
Day 5: 5 Helpful History Resources for Your Morning Time
Day 6: Making the Most of Your Morning Time with Literature
Day 7: 5 Fantastic Art Resources to Bring Beauty to Your Morning Time
Day 8: Morning Time Comes Alive with the Sound of Music
Day 9: Making a Morning Time Plan and Sticking With It
Day 10: Morning Time Storage Solutions
Betsy Strauss is an unexpected homeschooler, mother of three, who is in a relationship with a sweet man for life. She loves reading books, drinking coffee, and learning anything with her kids.
These are some great suggestions! I also have some music courses at http://learn.musicinourhomeschool.com that would be perfect for morning time!
–Gena
I haven’t used it all that effectively, but this is inspiring. Thank you.
My kids love that musical. Hadn’t thought about how the music affects the whole day.
I often do music at bedtime but I never though of it for morning time as well. Music really does reach my kids most of the time. What a great idea.
Music is SO powerful! Love the idea of starting the day with music and these are great resources!