The Top 5 Benefits of "State Songs of the 50 U.S. States" Online Course

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Last year we began studying the states of the USA in our homeschool during our history/geography time. One of the questions that the kids had on their fact sheets for each state was “State Song.” I started searching for Youtube videos for each state’s song, and it wasn’t as quick as I thought it would be to get a good one. It got me thinking, as anything musical usually does, that “State Songs of the 50 U.S. States” would be a perfect topic for an online course through Learn.MusicinOurHomeschool!

I’ve been working on it for a few months, and it officially launches today! Read on for The Top 5 Benefits of “State Songs of the 50 U.S. States” Online Course.

Allows You to Combine Subjects

If you’re an experienced teacher, homeschool mom, or even just a parent in general, you know that combining subjects to teach “more” in less time is a huge benefit. One of the best things about the “State Songs of the 50 U.S. States” online course is that you can teach music, history, and geography at the same time!

It’s Interactive

The “State Songs of the 50 U.S. States” online course gets the kids active in learning. They are writing on their notebooking pages, reading information about the states and songs, watching and listening to videos, and even singing along–my favorite part! Most of the songs have the lyrics and free PDF sheet music provided. (The only sheet music not included are those still under copyright and required to be purchased from a verified seller.)

It’s Click-and-Go

Like all the courses at Learn.MusicinOurHomeschool, “State Songs of the 50 U.S. States” online course is meant to be as easy as possible for the homeschool mom or teacher to use. As long as you have an internet connection, you can use the course with any device. Read through the information with your kids, and play the videos!

Meets “State Standards” of Curriculum Requirements for Certain States

Many states in the United States require students to learn about their particular state. I know back when I was young, we studied about Texas in 4th grade and in 7th grade. You’ll love using “State Songs of the 50 U.S. States” for this purpose! Take a look at the free preview lesson, and you’ll see that I included facts and state symbols for each state. I’ve also linked to several wonderful state curriculum guides if you need even more information or guidance.

It’s Fun!

Especially in the early years, I think most learning should be fun. It’s great if learning is colorful and exciting. The videos included in the “State Songs of the 50 U.S. States” online course do that here! My favorite videos show photos of the beautiful landscapes, animals, and landmarks of various states around the USA. My kids thoroughly enjoyed our lessons about Alaska and Hawaii on Friday!

What’s Included in “State Songs of the 50 U.S. States” online course

The online course includes

50 lessons, one for each of the 50 U.S. states
a notebooking page to use for each lesson
facts about each state and state song
videos about each state with the state symbols
videos of each state song
lyrics and PDF sheet music for the state songs not under copyright
videos of other songs that are special to each state, but aren’t “official” state songs
video of the “state instrument” if a state has one
links to optional State Study curricula
bibliography with other websites to check out

Update during Launch Week of the State Songs course:

I had a feeling that my newest online course from Learn.MusicinOurHomeschool would be popular, and it has been! Here are some of the actual comments that I’ve gotten this week:

“Wahoo! I am excited to get started on the 50 States’ Course tomorrow! We love American history in our home and are gonna have a ball with this class! Thank you, Gena Mayo!!!”

“We love the PA Polka! My 11 1/2 year old son and I got up right away and started dancing to the music! (You should see our polka dance! Ha! Ha!)”

“We are studying Florida History this year. This was a nice addition.”

“Love this simple and easy notebooking page.”

But, there have been a couple of people who have told me they didn’t like the State Songs of the 50 U.S. States course. It got me thinking of reasons that some people shouldn’t buy it.

Here are 5 Reasons NOT to Buy the State Songs of the 50 U.S. States online course

1. You don’t want music as part of your homeschool curriculum.

As a musician and music teacher, I find this so sad since music education not only helps you grow musically but in so many areas of life as well, but I know it’s certainly an option some homeschoolers choose.

2. You are just looking for instrument lessons.

The online music courses at Learn.MusicinOurHomeschool.com (so far) are in music appreciation and music history. I do have one course (Great Hymns of the Faith) that will teach you to sing in 4-part harmony, but none of my courses teach you how to play an instrument. My goal is to make music educational easy for the homeschool mom to include in her home.

3. You aren’t American and don’t care about U.S. state songs.

This is the perfect reason not to purchase the course! However, there are those around the world who would love to learn the local songs of each of the American states as they study U.S. geography and history. Another course I have in the works is about World Music, and it will include great songs from countries all over the world. State Songs of the 50 U.S. States features some of the great songs of America!

4. You just have older kids.

The focus age for the State Songs course is elementary. My kids in grades 1st, 3rd, and 5th loved the lessons I did with them last week. My 6th grader didn’t so much. However, there is a benefit for using State Songs of the 50 U.S. States with middle schoolers and high schoolers in that it can be a supplement to their geography and history studies. If they are going through an American history curriculum, they can spend a few minutes watching the videos of each state from the course as they study it to help them get a feel for the uniqueness of that state.

5. You don’t want to use online learning in your homeschool.

Some of us are old school. I get it! You love the smell of books and the feel of pencils and paper. When I started homeschooling 13 years ago, I was more that way myself. But, as the internet and other technologies have continued to advance, I’ve seen SO many benefits to including different types of technology in our homeschool. The awesome videos included in State Songs of the 50 U.S. States give you a feel and understanding for each state that the only other way you could “get” it would be to actually visit there!

Do you have another reason you don’t think State Songs of the 50 U.S. States is for you? Comment below and let me know!