Art and Music Lesson Plans For Your Homeschool: Our Comprehensive Guide
This comprehensive guide to art and music lesson plans for your homeschool has everything you need to add beauty and creativity to your family’s learning.
When I was in elementary school, each grade had art and music a few times a week.
Nowadays, we frequently hear news about schools cutting art and music programs.Unfortunately, the educational norm is to now see art and music as “nice extras.”
As a homeschool family, art and music became huge parts of our lives. We wove them into other subjects, and my children did a lot of art and made a lot of music in their free time.
In fact, I don’t know how we would have homeschooled without art and music!
So when you plan your homeschool year, consider how you view art and music learning. Are they nice extras for your family or are they integral? Either way, it certainly helps to have a plan for music and art.
Choosing Art Curriculum and Music Curriculum
There are a LOT of ways to approach art and music learning in your homeschool.
The main question to ask yourself as you consider art and music programs is what is my skill and comfort level with these subjects?
As the homeschool teacher, do you need a little help, or a lot of help when it comes to teaching art and music? (Either is OK!)
Many families choose to “outsource,” music, meaning finding a piano or violin teacher, for instance.
For art, video lessons are a great option for parents who don’t have a lot of art background. In the best cases, you may be able to follow along as an experienced artist shares techniques and tips, and make art right alongside your kids.
And then there are art history and music history. Many students don’t encounter these subjects until college. But if your family has interests in this area, there are some fun curriculum options even for young children.
It can also be an effective approach to combine art and music with other subjects, like history or language arts. Some homeschool curricula have music and art baked right into their program.
Or, families who want to integrate music and art with other learning approach like a unit study approach.
As you consider how to homeschool music and art, ask yourself:
- How high of a priority do I want to put on music and art?
- Are any of my kids especially drawn to art or music?
- What is my skill/comfort level when it comes to these subjects?
- If any of my kids are really drawn to music, would it make sense to find a piano/violin/guitar, etc. teacher?
- Do we want to study art history and/or music history?
- Am I up for setting up hands-on art projects?
- How tolerant am I of art project messes?
- Would it be helpful to use a music program with video or online interactive resources?
- Do my kids enjoy making art on their own? Does art need to be a formal subject for us, or can I just give my kids access to art supplies?
- Do I want to teach all of my kids art or music together? Or are my kids at vastly different skill/interest levels when it comes to art and music?
- Would it be helpful to use a packaged art program that includes supplies?
- Do I want to tie art or music to other homeschool subjects, like history?
- Am I in a busy season when art projects seem really overwhelming?
- Do I have local resources available? Art classes at an art museum or pottery studio, for instance? Or local concerts or performances we could attend?
- Are any of my children hoping to further their art or music study after we finish homeschooling? Are they looking to pursue careers in music or art?
- What is my budget for art and music?
Keep in mind that homeschool music and art can look a lot of different ways, from private lessons, to group classes, to focusing on each of your children’s individual needs and goals. Also, because art and music are subjects where it can help to have some extra support, a lot of co-ops choose to offer art and music classes.
Explore all of your options and know that art and music are really subjects where you can embrace the freedom that comes with homeschooling.
Lesson Planning Options for Art and Music
Because art and music are often seen as “electives,” there is a lot of flexibility when it comes to art and music homeschool lesson planning.
Again – it can be valuable to consider how highly your family prioritizes art and music when you plan your homeschool year.
This will help you determine if you want to plan for art and music every day, a few times a week, or even study one or the other at a time, or take time off from these subjects.
In a really busy season, like after the birth of a new baby, it just may not be the time to do a ton of involved art projects!
You’ll also want to decide if music and art are subjects that you can teach multiple kids at the same time. This might be a natural fit if you take an integrated homeschooling approach or a unit study approach.
Luckily, Homeschool Planet’s online homeschool planner makes scheduling art and music easy. Because you can build individual profiles for each of your children, you can plan art and music based on each child’s interest level.
Maybe you want to be able to set aside an hour a day for one child to practice music or art. Or maybe since art can be a bit involved, you want to plan a family art day once a week or once a month.
Homeschool Planet’s unique all-in-one planner allows parents to schedule art and music however it makes sense for your family. You can easily plan for art and music time, as well as plan other lessons and classes, and even incorporate work schedules, appointments, chores and more. Plus, through Homeschool Planet’s Lesson Plan and Curriculum Marketplace parents can automatically integrate music or art lesson plans from many popular curriculum options into student profiles. This feature means it takes just a few clicks to plan art and music for the whole year!
Music and Art Lesson Plans For Your Homeschool Planet Planner
Take a look at Homeschool Planet’s integrated Art and Music lesson plans:
- The Vocal Gym
- Art with a Purpose
- ARTistic Pursuits
- Drawing with Children
- eMedia Music
- Homeschool Piano
- How Great Thou ART
- LIFEPAC Art
- Master Books: Living Art Lessons
- Music in Our Homeschool
- Rod and Staff Music
- Tapestry of Grace: Fine Arts & Activities
- Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers
Lesson Planning With Homeschool Planet
Homeschooling music and art can be fun, rewarding, (a little messy sometimes!), and definitely memorable.
So however you choose to approach music and art, know that Homeschool Planet’s online homeschool planning system will help you meet your goals.
Plus, you can try it for free for 30 days and get an added bonus – you can also choose one free lesson plan from Homeschool Planet’s Lesson Plan and Curriculum Marketplace.
So head here now to try Homeschool Planet’s online homeschool planner for free, grab your free lesson plan, and get ready to get creative with your kiddos.