Should we pursue art and music in our homeschool? How important is it? Take a look at this:
But now, O LORD, thou are our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. Isaiah 64:8
Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud voice. Psalm 33:2-3
God is an artist and God loves music. The Scripture is full of this revelation. If we want our children to be like Him, we should not discount these two avenues. And, we should never underestimate the power of music and art in a child’s life. It just might be their future.
Only God knew that one of our children would end up as an art major. In fact, I did not realize how important art would be in his future. But, by God’s direction, we became involved in a few art classes along the way, went to museums, entered contests, and met artists of many kinds. All of these things were involved in the shaping of my son’s gifting from God even though I was oblivious. Art in film and special effects is now his profession. Not all of the kids became artists, but one of them God wanted for His creative representative, and yet they all grew in art knowledge and appreciation.
Remember, our Great God is an artist. He shaped each child, and He has good works for each one to do. Let’s get them creating art and copying the Master Artist Himself and bring Him glory in all we do. Let us worship Him in song and teach our children to do the same.
Only God knew that we were raising two other sons who would be worship leaders. We just prepared our children in music for whatever God had planned. We may not have known the future, but as we allowed God to guide our homeschool path, He brought forth what He knew all along. He knows your children and the giftings He has given them. Trust Him to direct you as you walk this path of obedience. Sometimes you don’t know which activities will ignite the flame of their future. And, they just might start off as required courses, and then you see the flame start to flicker. Too often, we squelch that natural bent to get the “important academics” done. In some cases, art and music are the important academics. (Often colleges give scholarships for just these areas!)
God thinks music is very important, too, and you will see that it holds a place of prominence throughout the Scriptures. It is an aid in worship and an expression of the thoughts and the heart. It is used to soothe the soul, to lead an army into battle, and then lead in the dance of victory as well. There were singers and musicians, and music makers in the temples and tabernacles, and at the city gates. From Genesis to Revelation, music was revealed as an important aspect of human life, just as it is today.
As you search for what is best for your children, ask the God Who loves music and art to give you His wisdom for each one.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
~Deborah
dwuehler@theoldschoolhouse.com
P.S. Here are a couple of articles from our back issues about art and music:
Art Education: More Important than One May Think
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and create your own songs. No prior experience necessary.
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ARTventure summer camp offers fun, fine art instruction at the
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Raising Real Men
Are homeschoolers dropping art and music? Yeah, sometimes they are–and they need to. When everything is falling apart, you’re moving or sick or a child’s sick or your family is in some kind of crisis, go ahead and drop all the extras with our blessing. Sometimes you’ve got to survive.
Don’t drown in guilt when you do, though. Sometimes God’s agenda for our children is different than our own. If they learn what they need to in the school of character God has you in right now then they’ll pick up what they need in the fine arts later.
It might be easier than you think to bring in the arts, though. People often ask us how our older children became so knowledgeable about classical music. It’s almost entirely due to a tape collection (yes, we’re that old) we bought years ago and listened to in the car. Each one told the story of the composer’s life on one side with his music in the background and had longer works by that composer on the reverse. Just listened in the car. Anybody can do that.
We try to visit art museums when we can. Many of them are free for field trips if you call in advance. We bought our artistic child a video curriculum and encourage her artistic grandmother to help her, too. Teaching an appreciation and love for the arts doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. It doesn’t have to be hard or require a lot of special stuff or even be every week, much less every day.
We’ve grieved some that we haven’t been able to afford the private lessons we’d like to for our children, but we’ve taken advantage of whatever we’ve been able to–homeschool band, software, online videos, and help from friends and family. And you know what? They’ve done fine. Yours will, too.
The arts have always been considered part of a good education and they add so much beauty to our lives. They don’t need to add to our burdens, though. Add in what you can, when you can, and be sure you pass on your own pleasure in the arts and it’ll be okay. Really!
Yours in the battle,
Hal & Melanie
info@raisingrealmen.com
Our latest addition to the arts is our new Radio Theatre version of A Cry From Egypt! With over 50 actors of all ages, this exciting drama with original score will make the time of the Exodus in ancient Egypt come alive for your whole family! Click here to find out more!
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The Familyman
I just got back from a great convention in Harrisburg, PA. I’m telling you, if you don’t attend your local homeschool convention, you’re missing out. There’s just so much to see, hear, and be encouraged by. Truth is you have a role to play as well. One mom wrote me and told me how encouraged she was by talking to a woman named Carol. That could have been you. Maybe there’s a mom out there who needs to hear your words of realness and encouragement.
I’ll be in Florida for their great convention on Memorial Day weekend. If you’re in the area stop by and say “Hi” First person to come up to me with a Florida “souvenir” gets a free cartoon book of her choice.
Now on to the topic at hand: are homeschoolers dropping music and art? To tell you the truth, I don’t have a clue. I can tell you that WE never even picked them UP!! Oh, sure we were sold the art masters for preschoolers. We did what they told us to do, but it didn’t have the results that we were promised. That said, I have a son whose livelihood will be made as an artist. He just got his first real job as an animator with the movie project
The Ottoman
.
You know how we fostered that? We let him draw a lot. In fact, we schooled to his BENT. That’s the beauty of homeschooling. Normal school doesn’t allow that.
As far as music we haven’t done much … a few lessons, and we play music all the time. We don’t test them on meter, genres, or anything about it. We just let them enjoy it. I’m pretty sure we won’t have any musicians in the family, but I know they all love music. I’m afraid that some of us force the academics of music so hard we destroy the love of music itself.
So if you want to drop (or never pick up) music, art, or any other extra-curricular activity … do it. If you and your children like music or art and feel overwhelmed, then drop it or SOMETHING else. You can’t do it all for goodness sake.
Be real,
Todd
P.S. Our son, Sam, loved Mark Kistler’s drawing books and learned a ton by working through them on his own.
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Where can your entire family enjoy four art courses and six music courses for just $12.95 a month? SchoolhouseTeachers.com! Take a look at all the art and music options we offer and view samples of many of the courses.
Art
Art Techniques–Brenda Ellis of ARTistic Pursuits teaches weekly lessons focusing on the use of various artistic mediums such as chalk pastels, watercolors, and more to create pictures of everything from wildlife to your favorite lunch!
Drawing with Realism–This video-based art class by Jan Bower of Drawing Success teaches your student key skills needed to draw a variety of textured objects with a high degree of realism.
Everyday Easels–More than 75 unit studies encourage art appreciation through core subjects such as math, English, history, the Bible, and more.
Studio Art for Teens–Sharon Jeffus of Visual Manna teaches artistic skills through the study and imitation of the masters and showcases the work of her teen artists who are pursuing art as a ministry.
Music
Guitar–Jerry Jennings, recording artist, performer, teacher, and author, delivers twenty-eight weekly lessons using video and written material to help students with an interest in playing the guitar develop a strong foundation of skills on which to build.
If It Isn’t Baroque . . . The History of Western Music–This twelve-week course explores the history of Western music from ancient times through the modern day. The topics include the origins of music, musical styles from history, key composers, developments in musical history, and more.
Music Theory I & II–Each sixteen-week course teaches key terminology and concepts in music theory and illustrates these concepts with classical pieces.
Music/Voice–Joy Sikorski, founder of both SingBabySing and Singing Mastermind, equips your entire family to free their voices and replace fear with confidence through monthly lessons.
Violin for Beginners–Nancy Blue will have you and your children learning to play the violin before you know it! Nancy’s thirty-three weekly lessons teach beginning violin skills through video instruction and primarily use the Suzuki method.
Try SchoolhouseTeachers.com for thirty days for only $1. Keep it and pay just $12.95 a month and lock in that rate for as long as you keep your membership, no matter how many new classes and features we add.
One membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com serves your entire family, regardless of how many children you are homeschooling or their ages. There are no per-child fees, and courses are not live so you can start them any time.
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