Supporting Your Child’s Musical Growth
Helpful Goals to Explore in Music Education
Homeschooling gives you the unique freedom to shape your child’s learning in ways that suit your family’s rhythm and interests. When it comes to music, having a few key goals in mind can be useful as you support your child’s growth.
Many educators use guidelines like the National Core Arts Standards to outline skills kids typically build through music by age 10.
Here are some musical experiences and skills you might encourage your child to explore by around age 10.
Creating: Encouraging Your Child to Make Music
You can support your child in:
Experimenting with rhythms and melodies by singing or playing instruments
Combining musical ideas to create short songs or patterns
Expressing musical ideas visually through drawing or simple symbols
Encouraging play and creativity helps children develop a love for making music.
Performing: Supporting Singing and Playing
Helping your child build confidence in performing can include:
Singing songs with steady rhythm and pitch
Playing simple melodies or rhythms on an instrument
Exploring basic music reading when they’re ready
Adding expression by experimenting with volume and speed
Performing can be as casual as sharing music with family or friends, keeping it fun and low pressure.
Responding: Developing Listening Skills
You can nurture listening by:
Talking about how different music makes your child feel or what it reminds them of
Noticing changes in the music’s speed, pitch, or loudness
Identifying instruments by their unique sounds
Exploring patterns and repeated sections in songs
Listening together to a variety of music styles offers wonderful opportunities for discovery.
Connecting: Linking Music to Life and Learning
Music naturally connects to many areas of life. You might encourage your child to:
Explore music from different cultures or time periods
Use music to express feelings or tell stories
See connections between music and other subjects they enjoy, like math or history
These experiences can deepen their understanding and enjoyment of music.
Summary: Helpful Musical Experiences to Explore by Age 10
Creating: Make up rhythms and melodies; explore musical ideas
Performing: Sing, play instruments, and try simple music reading
Responding: Listen thoughtfully and talk about music
Connecting: Relate music to personal stories, history, world cultures, and other interests
Every child’s musical journey is unique—and that’s the beauty of homeschooling. We hope this post can be a source of inspiration you as you consider what your child might enjoy exploring next.
Taking it a Step Further
At Corinne’s Music Studio, we offer piano, voice, guitar, and ukulele lessons that encourage creativity and a love of music, all while thoughtfully incorporating National Music Standards.
If you’d like to learn more or schedule a free trial lesson, feel free to reach out!
