7 ‘Must Know’ Ways To Use The Nutcracker Ballet To Introduce Kids To Music Appreciation
See below for a Free Printable Pack to go with the post.
One of my favourite things to do when Christmas is around is to get started on Christmas themed activities and have the kids learn music through these activities.
However, the Nutcracker Ballet is not something that I limit only to Christmas time.
I even like to watch the ballet in the middle of July if I feel like it, simply because I love it so much.
Mother Ginger is my favourite character and please don’t ask me why.
Ok, I’ll tell you.
There’s something about the way the kids coming out of her skirt that makes me love her.
Anyway, enough about me.
Today, I’m going to show you how you can use the Nutcracker Ballet to up level your kids’ knowledge of music.
Furthermore, I am also going to give you access to preview a unit of my online unit study the Nutcracker Ballet, along with a printable consisting of worksheets designed around the Nutcracker Ballet for kids ranging from 4 to 17.
So don’t forget to download the printables and watch the preview when you are done.
Got it?
Then let’s get started.
Listen and Learn
As always the first step is to create a playlist of all the songs from the ballet and listen to them.
You can play the music in the background during homeschool time.
It is also important that kids, whether they are pre-schoolers or teenagers should also learn the storyline of the ballet.
This helps them to better interpret and appreciate music.
Watch The Ballet
Nothing can compare to watching a live performance of the ballet, but as a starting point watching the Disney movie would be ok.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Yes, learning about Tchaikovsky, his many other compositions and his contribution to music is another fantastic way to get kids into music appreciation and composer studies.
Even younger pre-school aged kids can be taught about the composer in terms of his country of birth, his name and a few compositions.
Instrument Study
A variety of different instruments were used throughout the ballet and this would be a good opportunity to start learning about the instrument of the orchestra.
Younger kids can learn about each of the different instruments used in the movements, in terms of names and instrument family.
Older kids can take on a more in depth research of the instruments in terms of their origin, evolution, composers who wrote specifically for those instruments and much more.
Music From Different Cultures
The Nutcracker Ballet includes Russian and Arabian music.
Therefore, this ballet is a gateway into introducing your children to the music of the world.
With younger kids you can take this a step further and introduce them to Chinese music as well.
However, with older kids, you can have them carry out a more in-depth study of Russian folk music for instance.
An in-depth study of this nature would consist of creating playlists, learning about the origins of these music and modern versions, understanding the ritualistic aspects of the music (music played at celebrations, music played at sombre events like funerals etc). It would also be fun for them to learn the different folk music instruments and much more.
Live Performance
Yes, as I said before nothing can beat a live performance but you don’t have to limit yourself to only having your kids watch a live performance of the ballet.
How about watching a live band in action? Even though it is not directly related to the Nutcracker, kids did still learn about different instruments and this would be a good opportunity to see those instruments being performed.
Christmas is still some time away, and many ideas you can implement to get your kids into music appreciation, which one will you start with?
Karen Cadera
Founder/Creator
Mom, Teacher, Minimalist, Zero Waste Enthusiast, Multi Pod.
My daughter loved the games, but there were also worksheets and videos. The weekly lesson plans were complete, and I never questioned what I should be doing next.
This program reminded me (and allowed me to teach my son) how to read music. To me, that was the most important thing that we learned together. Of course, it was very rewarding for me to watch my son play the piano with both hands at the same time, while reading sheet music. His favorite parts of the course were actually playing the songs and doing the worksheets provided.
Download the FREE Nutcracker Ballet Worksheets
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