Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bach?

I’ve been all over the place deciding what composer to study this summer. It’s been really bad. But I did finally decide, and everything fell together really nicely after all.

I had originally thought we would be studying Mendelssohn because I had a free set of plans for Monet and Mendelssohn. Then one day it dawned on me that I didn’t have to study Mendelssohn just because we were studying Monet. It dawned on me because I’d just picked up another free set of plans to study Brahms, and Brahms sounded so much more appealing than Mendelssohn. So, Brahms it was.

Until I listened to one of my kids LeapPad books and realized that our artists up to this point (Handel and Vivaldi) have been in the Baroque period. I hadn’t given much teaching time to the music periods; we simply listened to the music and read biographies. But suddenly it seemed that I ought to teach the music period, and I ought to teach Bach since he was in our Baroque period of music.

So, after much indecision, Bach it is.

I have plenty of materials, which is one reason the decision has been so hard to make. But I have stumbled upon some really excellent music fun that I thought I’d pass along.

First, I found over 60 pages of music lapbooking bliss for FREE at Living Life Intentionally blog. Next, I ran across The Story of the Orchestra at our library (complete with CD) and wondered, “Where have you been all this time?” This book is absolutely fabulous. Very kid-friendly, very “non-music person” friendly. The first half of the book introduces composers by period and includes a note about which track to play on the CD; the second half of the book introduces the orchestra and specific instruments of the orchestra, with accompanying tracks on the CD. I’ve learned so much from this book! Lastly, I picked up Erica’s World’s Greatest Composers study for $5.50. I love her lapbooking materials; I love her notebooking pages; I love the layout of her study.

And yes, I am going to attempt some lapbooks this summer. It is summer after all.

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Published by Tracy
Our life is creative and full, challenging and blessed. I'm a pastor's wife and homeschool mom to my crew of three kids with ADHD/dyslexia. I'm passionate about helping women find joy and hope in treasuring Christ, loving their families well, and finding creative ways to disciple and teach in their homeschools. Visit growingNgrace.com to find grace for the messes and mistakes, and knowledge to pick up the pieces and make something special. Let’s grow together!