Join Marjorie, Miriam and Jennifer as they reflect on routines, rituals and stress over the holiday season and share some of what has worked for their families.

(This session was pre-recorded last year in December 2019.)

NB: Possible Santa Claus Spoilers

You can also check out the video version this podcast on YouTube.

The Team
Marjorie Lang – https://juniperpines.com/
Miriam Hur – https://wildwoodbeginnings.weebly.com/
Jennifer Gehman – http://connectionsforlearning.ca/
Laurie Connor – https://www.connerorchards.com/

Join us part 2 of our chat with reading specialist Kim Stoddard from Born 2 Read about reading problems, dyslexia, and strategies that parents can use when they and their children are struggling.

Links for some of the items referenced in this episode:

Orton Gillingham SystemAll About ReadingLogic of EnglishBarton ReadingPride Reading Program

Is my Child Ready for Barton? Barton Student Screening Test

Foundations in Sounds – if a child cannot pass the screening test

Check out our other episodes here.

Join us this episode and the next as we chat with reading specialist Kim Stoddard from Born 2 Read about reading problems, dyslexia, and strategies that parents can use when they and their children are struggling.

Marjorie, jennifer and Miriam are joined today with Crystal Hosea, creator of Legends of the Staff of Musique, a comprehensive music curriculum inspired by the unique environment of home education, and incorporating movement and art ​alongside the voice.

• Introduction – Crystal explains how Legends of the Staff of Musique explores music in a holistic way through singing and movement.
• 3:50 – How do you bring singing to your children if you are not a confident singer yourself?
• 6:33  – If you feel you sing off-key all the time, should you still sing to your children or will you be teaching them to sing off-key?
• 8:30 – How do you incorporate singing into your day rather than having it just be a lesson time?
• 15:00 – What is the purpose of learning folksongs versus pop songs and what is, any is your personal preference?
  • Mama Lisa’s World Folksongs
• 24:45 – What if your child of whatever age is resistant to singing and think it’s lame or dumb?
  •  The Well Balanced Child
  • Jodi Messler and Living Music
• 38:30 – How is brain development affected by singing?
• 43:40 – Why did you incorporate art into your music curriculum, Legends of the Staff Musique
  •  ​Cantiamo Tutti for the early years (in support of the California Fire Foundation)
• 49:30 – Nature Minutes 

We hosted a Live a Q and A! Here are our responses.

• 2:00 How do you organize everything?
• 16:00 Is creative nonfiction the same as a living book?
• 21:00 Are audiobooks living books? What is a living book?
• 30:00 How do you balance teaching while still preserving “a quiet growing time”?
• 38:00 How do you use KISS grammar?
• 45:00 What can you do in the early years to create rhythm?
• 55:00 Nature minutes

On Part 2 of our discussion about singing and the Solfa, we continue our chat with RaeAnna Goss, singing teacher, homeschool graduate, homeschooling mother, and Charlotte Mason follower, who has created Solfa Sofa, an early years approach for introducing singing in a CM-friendly way. (Part 1 can be found here.)

We were also joined by Crystal Hosea of The Legends of the Staff of Musique, but we invited Crystal back for another episode about her own CM approach to combining story and music, which will air in a couple of weeks.

Recorded April 15, 2019

Show Notes:

• Heidi Buschbach0:26 Free Resource Ideas
  • Children of the Open Air
  • Sing Solfa
  • Solfa Sofa
• 3:00 Paid Resouce Ideas
  • John M. Feierabend and Conversational Solfege
  • The Kodály Center at Holy Names University
  • Organization of American Kodály Educators
• 5:02 Should you use a certain set of songs to teach?
• 6:35 Canadian Resources
  • Kodály Society of Canada
  • Music Play with Denise Gagné
• 7:15 Crystal Hosea of The Legends of the Staff of Musique
• 8:14 Dalcroze and Movement
• 9:01 Miriam’s experience with Children of the Open Air
• 10:13 An overview of Solfa as learned up to Form 3
• 10:45 What to do in the upper forms
• 11:24 Skills to learn in the lower forms
• 15:34 Ear Training (PNEU article: A Few Remarks on Teaching Music by W.H. Leslie)
• 17:36 Starting with an older student
  • Article referenced by Heidi Buschbach for older beginners
  • Outschool
• 19:42 Solfedge, Solfa and Solfedgio
• 20:46 Find the joy and protect your children’s voices
• 27:07 Fun resources
  • Music K-8 Magazine
  • Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
  • The Kodály Center at Holy Names University
  • Workshops with chapters of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association
• 29:46 Nature minutes
  • Coyote’s Guide To Connecting with Nature Book Discussion
  • Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms

On this 2-part episode, we were joined by RaeAnna Goss, singing teacher, homeschool graduate, homeschooling mother, and Charlotte Mason follower, who has created Solfa Sofa, an early years approach for introducing singing in a CM-friendly way.

We were also joined by Crystal Hosea of The Legends of the Staff of Musique, but we invited Crystal back for another episode about her own CM approach to combining story and music, which will air in a couple of weeks.

Other ideas and resources mentioned in the podcast:

• 0:00 Introductions
• 4:25 The Curwin approach, Tonic Solfa, and the Modulator
• 9:50 Difference between Curwen and Kodály, and why Raeanna supports Kodály
• 11:15 What is the Kodály approach?
• 14:30 What would a singing lesson look like in CM’s time?
  • 3 minutes of voice training
  • 5 minutes of modulator practice
  • 3 minutes of sight singing
  • 7 minutes of rhythm work
  • 4 minutes of ear training
  • 8 minutes to practice songs
• 17:58 John M. Feierabend and Conversational Solfege
  • “Children should be tuneful, beatful, and artful.”
• 20:28 An overview of the progression of singing through Forms 1 and 2
• 24:25 Resouces at Solfa Sofa that can help with early years
• 26:30 Forms 3 (part-songs and rounds), and higher (descants, classical repetoire)
• 28:55 Losing joy in singing and moving more into theory and other music approaches (PNEU article: A Few Remarks on Teaching Music by W.H. Leslie)
• 33:14 Perfect Pitch and Moveable Doe
• 35:05 Shortening Form 1 lessons and help them find their singing voice

Marjorie and Jennifer share with Miriam an overview of Miss Mason’s approach to writing and then tell their personal stories of struggle in the difficult area of composition.

Marjorie and Jennifer reflect back on what a CM education looked like for their high school students.