Teach Your Children

Welcome back to school everyone!  This year has gotten off to a quick, but exciting and fun start.  I feel like this a year of change for everyone.  We, as teachers, are all changing how we run our daily routine due to changes in requirements at the state level.  Flexibility is really a must these days.  I’ve been working with Mr. Rodgers at Howard Elementary to try to make our programs a little more similar so that when our students reach middle school, they are more prepared to be in band or choir.  As if that weren’t enough, my husband and I found out shortly after school released last spring that we will be welcoming our first child sometime in February…which brings me to today’s topic.  I was thinking about all of the fun things that I will be able to teach our son about music, and I realized that there are a lot of really great resources out there for parents, who aren’t as comfortable with music as I am, to use with their children.  So, I decided that over the course of my next few blogs, however many it takes to satisfy my interest, I will be exploring online resources that you can use with, or without your children.  Some will be geared more toward adults, since I know that as adults we still enjoy learning, while others will be geared more toward kids.  I hope you enjoy the websites and the blogs.  Happy online learning!

1.       Pandora: I love this website and app for my iPhone!  It personalizes radio stations to your preferences.  I love starting my day off with my Toto station, listening to some ‘80s music.

2.       San Francisco Classical Voice http://www.sfcv.org/kids-family?gclid=CN-ImIPd1qsCFULBKgodXR3MOg :This website features a kids and family podcast, a list of books and listening selections for kids, and links to many of the websites listed in this blog.

3.       Carnegie Hall http://www.carnegiehall.org/ORC/Games-and-Listening-Guides/ :  This website offers an interactive guides through the history African American music, history of Carnegie Hall, Dvorak’s New World Symphony, and a walk through the orchestra.  I love the history of Carnegie Hall with the accompanying game.

4.       Classical Chops http://www.classicalchops.org/ : This website is geared more toward teenagers and has cool videos and information on classical musicians, composers, and conductors.

5.       Classics for Kids http://www.classicsforkids.com/ : This is a great website if you want to expose your child to classical music.  Classics for Kids is a radio show, and they’ve put their show onto this website so kids everywhere can learn about classical music.  I love that this site lets you choose a topic, listen to the show relating to that topic, listen to the music that goes with the topic, then quizzes you on it!

6.       Dallas Symphony Orchestra http://www.dsokids.com : I absolutely love this website.  It has some really fun games, such as Beethoven’s Baseball and Time Machine.  It also has a listening center that offers options such as listening to music by a certain composer, exploring how different instruments sound, and learning music theory through sound.  The website also has a section on making your own instruments at home.  For those of you whose children take instrument or vocal lessons privately, there is even a page to help them learn how to practice effectively.

Look for more websites in my next blog!

Crosby Stills Nash & Young