Art classes and music classes have always seemed to be an elusive element in our school days. It tends to be like the family time that is always scheduled over or the personal time that get swallowed up into needful household chores. And as good advisers will tell you, put these things on the calendar and make them as much of a priority as going to the dentist! So this year I scheduled in art and music. It's just one hour in every week but it doesn't (and won't) get over run by other subjects that have for one reason or another lagged behind. We have gone three straight weeks now saying, "no grammar you must go away now" or "enough math, we will deal with rounded decimals and mixed fractions later"! I have been very pleased with the results.
Yesterday was music class. I decided that all the kiddos need to brush up on their music appreciation so we are studying the orchestra. We are beginning with The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and then will go on to use The Story of the Orchestra. Both are superb books, accompanied with a CD recording which just wouldn't be the same if not heard - obviously.
When I was in grade school we regularly visited the symphony orchestra. I remember so vividly the plush velvet seat and the glittering chandeliers. Standing in that enormous hall, dressed in my favorite dress and wearing patent leather shoes it was quite a magical place. But nothing was as beautiful as the sounds. I often remember going with my grandparents and watching as they closed their eyes when the music played. The first time I tried that the orchestra went to a whole new level of sensory emotion, one to which a simple recording on a ipod could not nearly embody it's great fullness. That's why I hope to take my children, all dressed in there best of looks, to the symphony orchestra after this music class has commenced. And then, and only then, will true music appreciation be caught rather than only taught.
In the meantime, I delight in what has already turned out to be a very good thing. Here is my homegrown orchestra - George the Conductor, Peter the Flutist, Annika the Percussionist, and Nicholas {well in true form, my photographer}. Oh, and the orchestra itself all played by our dearly loved friends of the stuffed variety.
