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Making Music: Music Appreciation for Grades 3-5

Grade 3-5 · Christian · NGSS/CCSS-aligned

You'll run one small music activity a week from a script: clapping games, kitchen instruments, listening hunts. Your child tells Clara about it in a five-minute check-in. By the end they hear more in any song than most adults do.

What your child will learn

The whole year, in plain English. Tap any unit to see every skill inside, nothing is hidden.

Learning to Listenpeek inside ▸

Beat, tempo, dynamics, melody, timbre, harmony, form and rhythm, each learned by singing, clapping and mapping real pieces, ending in a hosted listening concert.

  1. The beat under everything

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about finding and keeping the beat in any song.

  2. Fast, slow, and why it matters

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about tempo and how speed changes a song's feeling.

  3. Loud and soft are tools

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about dynamics: how loud and soft tell a story.

  4. Melody: the part you hum

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about melody and how tunes step and leap.

  5. Timbre: why a trumpet isn't a flute

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about timbre: telling instruments apart by their sound-color.

  6. Form: music has floor plans

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about form: the repeating floor plan inside songs.

  7. Harmony: notes that hold hands

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about harmony: two or more notes working together.

  8. Rhythm patterns you can own

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about rhythm patterns riding on top of the beat.

  9. Listening concert: unit review

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about presenting one piece using the listening words.

Instruments, Ensembles and the Whole Worldpeek inside ▸

How strings, winds, brass, percussion and voices actually work (built from rubber bands and bottles), who does what in an ensemble, music traditions from at least four continents, and a curated capstone playlist.

  1. The string family

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about how string instruments make and change their notes.

  2. Winds and brass: air does the work

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about how wind and brass instruments turn air into notes.

  3. Percussion: the oldest family

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about percussion instruments and their many timbres.

  4. Voices: the instrument everyone owns

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about voice types from high to low.

  5. Ensembles: bands, orchestras, and who sits where

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about who does which job in an ensemble.

  6. Music around the world I: patterns and drums

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about drum and pattern traditions from three continents.

  7. Music around the world II: melodies and voices

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about melody traditions from around the world.

  8. How music gets written down (and not)

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about how music gets remembered, written and unwritten.

  9. Capstone: my playlist, defended

    Do the activity, then show Clara you can talk about defending five playlist picks with real music vocabulary.

From the parent guide

You'll run one small music activity a week from a script: clapping games, kitchen instruments, listening hunts. Your child tells Clara about it in a five-minute check-in. By the end they hear more in any song than most adults do.

Unit 1 · what to expect

Beat, tempo, dynamics, melody, timbre, harmony, form and rhythm, each learned by singing, clapping and mapping real pieces, ending in a hosted listening concert.

The full guide covers all 2 units: where kids get stuck, what to say, and how to tell it's working. Included with the course.

Ready when you are

Free for 30 days · then $29/mo or $290/yr for the whole family · Cancel anytime, no questions asked.

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Making Music: Music Appreciation for Grades 3-5, Grade 3-5 Homeschool Curriculum