There is nothing that I love more than to blend two subjects together. 

I have found that when kids learn music through other subjects, like history, geography or science, the learning becomes more natural and also really fun for them, thus, increasing their curiosity as well as attention span. 

In this post, I will be explaining how you can introduce music to your kids through the study of planets. 

Yes, you can do this irrespective of their age and here I will make suggestions and recommendations of activities, which will be suitable for kids of different age groups like pre-schoolers, primary school aged kids, tween and teens. 

I have also created a printable with worksheets for different age groups, which you can download. 

Ready to get started?

Listen 

Have you heard of Gustav Holst? 

He composed an orchestration named the Planets with eight movements, one for each planet. 

Find the orchestration online and listen to it many times. 

You can have this playing in the background in your homeschool, you can even discuss the differences in tune and the emotions it invokes and much more. 

Even with younger kids you can start up a discussion asking them which one of the movements they like the most and why? Which one sounds the scariest or saddest and so on. 

With older kids you can discuss the dynamics and how it affects the mood of the piece. 

Composer Study

While older kids can carry out a research study of Gustav Holst, with younger kids, you can just introduce the composer in terms of his country of birth, year of birth, his other compositions etc. 

Use the printable I have made available to engage the little ones. 

Research

Did you know that many other composers like Vivaldi and Beethoven for instance were also inspired by the planets and other heavenly bodies in our solar system? 

Have you heard the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven or Vivaldi’s Four Seasons? 

Ask older kids to research and find other compositions that were inspired by our solar system and create a playlist. 

Once they’ve created the playlist, even younger kids can benefit from it, because they will automatically learn these pieces and be able to recognize it. 

Take An Online Course

My course the Solar System Symphony is a 12 Unit Online course, that focuses on the Sun, Moon, all eight planets, plus Pluto, and asteroids and more. 

In the course, I not only introduce your kids to the music that was inspired by our solar system but also the planets themselves and the course is for kids between ages 4 – 17. 

Why not take a course like this? And have at least a semester worth of music appreciation material for your kids?

You can own the course for life, use it with as many kids and for as long as you want? 

Check out the preview unit and use the 50% off coupon to get this course at the sale price. 

Compare and Contrast

Another great activity for older kids is to compare and contrast two movements or two compositions about the planets or the solar system with one another. 

Again, please look at the printable I have made available expressly for this purpose, with younger kids you can just discuss two movements and contrast them orally. 

Critically Analyse

Older kids can take the comparison a step further by selecting just one movement or one composition to critically analyse in depth. They can discuss the instruments used, the dynamics of the piece, how the dynamics and instruments used came together to portray the planet, how it made them feel, did they like it or not, if given the opportunity what would they change and why? 

Planets And The Movements

Another great activity for older kids would be to learn about the planet in depth, and how it is portrayed in Greek mythology (see you’ve now blended a whole new subject). 

Next, go back to the previous activity and critically analyse the movement and compare it to the scientific profile of the planet and then again compare it to the Greek mythological profile of the planet. 

Doesn’t that just sound like fun?

Can you think of more ideas on how you can combine the study of science and music? 

Please comment below. 

Do you know that it doesn’t have to be difficult to DIY a composer study unit in your homeschool?

Really it doesn’t. 

I know, I know. You just don’t have the time to look through tons of YouTube videos, nor to spend hours finding clipart and creating printables. 

Yes, I understand, and that is why I’m giving you all the tools that you will need. 

So just stay with me and read through this post. 

Once you are done reading, download the printables I have made available and decide if you can do it or not. 

Ready?

Then, let’s get started. 

Decide On The Age Group

Yes, this is the first step.

Simply decide on the age group. 

This is important because the next step will depend on the age of your children. 

If you have many kids of varying ages, then you will have to group them as best as you can. 

For instance you can have a 6 – 9 age group and 13 – 15 age group. 

Decide On Activities

Now, in this step you have to decide on the type of activities. 

Activities will vary according to the age of the kids. 

For younger kids, there will be more story telling and colouring activities, for older kids there can be more research oriented activities. 

Activities can be grouped into 

Listening – Good for all ages

Hands On – Colouring, writing etc

Hands Off – Activities like going to the museum or cultural centre to learn about the composer and the music. 

Pick A Composer

Now, it is time to pick a composer. 

If you are finding it hard to make this decision, then the best way to set about doing it, is to decide on a musical genre (jazz, pop, rock) or an era in music (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Contemporary) and then narrow the search down from there. 

Find Printables

Now that you’ve decided on the age group and the composer, it is time to look for printables. 

You can either purchase printables on a site like Teachers Pay Teachers or you can simply use the printables I have made available with this post, right now. 

Create A Playlist

This is easy isn’t it?

Put your Amazon, Apple or Spotify subscription to good use and create a playlist of songs by the composer of choice. 

Play the music in the background throughout the next whole week or month in your homeschool. 

Isn’t that easy? 

Blend, Blend, Blend

Finally, you blend, blend, blend. 

Yes, blend in music with other subjects. 

For instance, is your composer of choice Antonio Vivaldi? Well then, why not learn about Italy (Vivaldi was Italian) for geography and learn about the Baroque era (Vivaldi lived during the Baroque era) for history? 

Now you get it don’t you? 

Simple isn’t it? 

Don’t forget to download the printable I have made available. 

Please come back and tell me how you implemented these ideas in your homeschool. 

Do you know that watching movie musicals in the homeschool is one of the best ways to introduce your kids to music appreciation? 

In this post, I’m going to give you pointers on the different age appropriate activities you can do in the homeschool to up level your kids’ knowledge after watching movie musicals. 

Don’t forget to download the worksheets I have made available with this post. 

If you want to know, how to add movie musicals to your homeschool library, you can read my post 7 ‘Genius’ Ways To Add Musicals To Your Home Library. 

My post, How To Have A Musical Movie Night, will help you make watching movie musicals a fun and enjoyable experience in your homeschool. 

3 – 5 Years (Pre-School Years)

• Ask your little one to name his favourite song from the musical.
• Discuss dynamics of the song, such as – was it loud or soft? Was it high pitched or low pitched? Was it fast or slow etc?

Want more ideas to engage your little one? Then read my post, 5 ‘Easy Peasy’ Ways To Up-level Your Pre-Schoolers Knowledge Of Music With Movie Musicals.

6 – 9 Years (Primary School Years)

• Ask your elementary schooler, to name her favourite and least favourite song from the movie
• Ask her to explain the reason behind her choices. 

If you would like more ideas on how to up level your primary schooler’s knowledge of music appreciation, then please read my post, 5 ‘Super Fun’ Ways To Teach Music With Movie Musicals For 6 – 9 Year Olds. 

10 – 13 Years (Middle School Years)

• Have your tweens list out all the songs in the movie, along with the composers and the instruments used. 
• Compare and contrast two songs from the list in terms of the compositions’ dynamics, instruments used, mood, etc. 

Read my post, 4 ‘In-genius’ Ways To Teach Tweens Music With Movie Musicals, for even more ideas on how you can use movie musicals to engage your tween in music appreciation in the homeschool. 

14+ Years (High School Years)

• Ask your teenager to name her least favourite song and explain the reason for the choice.
• Ask her to describe the song in detail, in terms of instruments used, dynamics etc, and state what changes she would make to the song and why.

Would you like to engage your teenager further with these activities? Then, read my post, 5 ‘Super Easy’ Ways For Teens To Learn Music With Movie Musicals. 

Do you think that watching movie musicals will be a fun and engaging way to get your kids into music? Then, don’t wait any longer, get started right now. 

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?