What’s the Inspiring Origin Story of “Music in Our Homeschool”? (E10)
As we reach our 9th anniversary, I thought it would be fun to tell you the origin story of Music in Our Homeschool!
It was the summer of 2014, and I had just decided to join a brand new co-op where all the students, in kindergarten through 12th grade would be studying the same history curriculum covering the 20th century. As I looked through the curriculum, I said to myself, “these kids need to learn about the music of the 20th century along with the other history.” And, that was the origin of “Music in Our Homeschool,” although I didn’t know it at the time!
The Co-op Curriculum
I started going through the curriculum guide week by week and started writing down which composer, style, or genre would fit for the week, which was going through the history chronologically. Then, I did some research for the lesson to teach the students about that particular composer or style of music. And, then I chose some music to actually listen to. Many of the songs or pieces had videos on YouTube of orchestras playing, singers, or bands.
I loved using these videos because the students would be much more involved while watching the musicians performing as opposed to just listening to the music. For the youngest students, I found coloring pages of an instrument or something else related to the lesson for them to color while listening. And, for the older students I gave them a composer sheet to write the composer’s name, dates, country, most famous compositions, and some other interesting facts. They also had critique sheets to fill out while listening to the music where they could write about the instrumentation, mood, tonality, and some other factors including whether they would actually like to learn to play or sing the piece themself.
Selling the Ebook Curriculum and Writing More
After the school year, I took all my lessons and created an ebook with them and started selling it through my homeschool website I Choose Joy, found at ichoosejoy.org, which I had actually been writing at since 2005.
The next year our co-op did ancient history which actually doesn’t have music music history to study. But, I did write the curriculum for the following two years to complete the music history set of curriculum.
Starting the Website and Online Course Site
By that point since the 20th Century Music Appreciation curriculum was selling so well on my website and Teachers Pay Teachers, I decided to start the Music in Our Homeschool website and the Learn.MusicinOurHomeschool.com online course site.
Transforming the ebook curriculum to the online course platform made the curriculum even more valuable and user-friendly because now it was just “click-and-go.” Any time a video was deleted, I could easily go in and replace it, making the course version always up-to-date!
Inspiration for More Courses
Then, I got inspired to write all kinds of other types for courses for all ages. I created a course for preschoolers called 10 Songs All Preschoolers Should Know that has fun songs as well as printables for coloring, cutting, and tracing.
Then, there were a number of courses for elementary ages such as
More Courses and a Membership
As the years went by, I’d continue to create new courses every few months, sometimes along with speaking engagements I did for various summits and workshops. Finally, by the fall of 2019 I had enough courses that I decided to create a membership called Music in Our Homeschool Plus so that the members could have access to almost all of them and be able to pick and choose which lessons to do from various ones to fit their own needs.
Teaching Live Lessons
One of my most favorite things to do for the Music in Our Homeschool Plus members is to teach a brand new live music appreciation lesson each month. These usually start with a composer and then I’ll teach about him or her and find a musical concept that’s related. There is always a printable pack of notebooking, coloring, and activity pages, as well as a Spotify playlist to go along with the live video, which is then recorded for members to watch in the future at their convenience.
KinderBach
In the summer of 2023, I made an agreement with Karri Gregor, the creator KinderBach, the amazing beginning piano and music theory program for preschoolers. She gave Music in Our Homeschool the exclusive right to sell the digital online course version! It’s be extremely successful, and I’m so exciting for this new generation of students to begin learning with KinderBach.
Future Plans for Music in Our Homeschool
Now, as I look to the future of Music in Our Homeschool, I have plans to make it even more accessible and user-friendly for homeschool families. When the membership launches again in May 2024 we will have 2 tiers! I’m adding a community group and art lessons as well. Stay tuned for more details about it coming soon.
What Are You Looking For?
But, I always want to continue asking you. What do you need from Music in Our Homeschool? How can we serve you better? Please leave a comment below and let me know. I hope you enjoyed learning about the origin of Music in Our Homeschool today!
See the YouTube Video “The Exciting Origin Story of Music in Our Homeschool: How We Got Started and Why We Keep Going” here:
Listen to the Podcast Episode here:
Listen here or subscribe and follow The Music in Our Homeschool Podcast through your favorite podcast app!
