A Simple Way to Incorporate Music ~ SQUILT Notebooking Pages

image courtesy Flickr

Welcome to Day 2 of The 10 Days of Teaching Music!

Today I want to give you a very simple way to help your children listen to great music.  


Do you know what SQUILT means?  Simply put SQUILT is Super Quiet UnInterrupted Listening Time. 

I can't take credit for this idea - I learned it from a music teacher I worked with long ago.  We incorporated this at the end of every general music class and it was such a great way to end our class and hear some very amazing impressions from the children.

SQUILT is a way to ensure your children have some quality music at least once (or more!) each week.   It is a way to build listening skills, a critical ear, and attention.   It gives your child a  repertoire of great music.  

First,  choose a short piece of music.  I like to choose pieces that don't have any words and are generally interesting and exciting to children (think Flight of the Bumblebee, In The Hall of the Mountain King, or The Carnival of the Animals!). There is a wonderful list (with links for listening) at Classics for Kids that is a great place to start.  If you have a good collection of music you can simply choose your own. 

Explain to your children that you are going to have SQUILT time.  This means they have to be super quiet during the entire piece.  Encourage them to listen for instruments, patterns, or form a picture in their mind. Allow your kids to just lay on the floor and relax to listen to the piece. They must be SUPER QUIET!    

After the piece is over, talk to your children about the music.  Help them fill in their SQUILT page.  The first few times they will need help; after a few times they will become more independent.  The more they listen, the better they will become!  

For example, here are my children's SQUILT Notebooking  Pages as we listened to Offenbach's "Can-Can" (from Orpheus in the Underworld).  You can listen to this piece here.  My son's sheet (on the left) is very simple.  He is a beginning listener.   I don't fuss over spelling, grammar, or mechanics.  I just praise him for listening!  


My daughter's sheet (on the right) is a little more advanced. She knows the families of the orchestra and has more musical terminology under her belt.  

For your littlest ones, two or three minutes of quiet listening is great. For your older children, they can listen to at least five minutes (if not more).  We have started keeping a SQUILT notebook, which includes their SQUILT form, and also a composer notebooking sheet for each piece.  My friend Jimmie, at The Notebooking Fairy, has a nice composer page for you to use!  You can get creative, too.  Why not have your children draw while listening?  Or, research the piece and write a little about it?  The possibilities are limitless!  

 { Download the SQUILT 
Notebooking Page here. }

See how simple it can be to listen to music with your children?  I hope SQUILT is useful to you!  



Tomorrow's post will feature a guest post and a great giveaway for your homeschool.  If you're interested in exploring history with music you won't want to miss it!




Did you get a chance to read the previous 10 Days of Teaching Music Posts?  


Day 1:  Why Music Is Important In Our Children's Lives

About the 10 Days series:

The 10 Days Series is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutually beneficial projects. Visit us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. And of course,  visit all the 10 Days posts from these homeschool moms of the iHomeschool Network. You'll be blessed with tips on how to handle bad days, cultivating curiosity, teaching with Legos, and much much more!

Comments

[Amy @ Hope Is the Word]

This is wonderful, Mary! The only thing we listen to semi-consistently is the hymn we're memorizing. I think the hardest part for me in something like this is the planning & organization--getting the music all loaded & organized in the iPod, etc. I also don't know much about "good" music, so thanks for the suggestions. More are appreciated. :-)

[Mary]

Thanks, Mary! This is great!!

[Phyllis]

This is very interesting. We have always done our music study in an entirely different way. We have always chosen a composer and listened to his music in the background a lot of the time as background to our other activities. I do like your approach very much. I am going to try this!

[Monica]

This is great!!! My girls love music and I really want to develop that love that they have. We'll often record orchestra performances off of PBS and they love watching them. I'll be downloading your notebooking page to use with them!!

[Christine]

This is awesome! Love this idea. :)

[Karen]

Just grabbed SQUILT. Thanks for the great resource Mary!

[Jimmie]

We've fallen off the wagon with composer study. Sad face. I love your free printable. That is already scheduled to be in the May Round up at The Notebooking Fairy. (I only wish I had thought of it first! Great printable idea.)

[Lisa M. (aka Lisabee)]

Grabbed SQUILT! What a wonderful idea! I think my son will love this very much. Looking forward to incorporating it when we start 1st grade in a couple weeks!

[Ami]

Thanks for the page! This is something I can DO! :) Ami
www.walkingbytheway.com

[Lindsay]

This sounds like fun! My son loves music but usually wants to dance. This could be a fun way to listen more closely to the music. I could then help him fill out his squilt form (he is almost 5). Thanks for the printable :-)

[Taneesha]

What a great idea! A gentle approach to music appreciation.Thanks

[Rebekah]

Thank you so much for this I have been wanting to incorporate music and the classics into my children's homeschool but wasn't sure what to do . This is such a simple practical way to help them listen to classical music.