Learning Hymns and Songs

When set to music, scripture, oral history, poems, popular sayings and even medical advice ("Ring Around the Rosy") can easily be learned by heart by a child.  It is truly amazing how easily and quickly we and our children can memorize a song and know it forevermore.  After all, who hasn't had the experience of standing in a store and hearing a song from 15 years ago and remembering it word for word?

Songs have been used since the beginning of civilization: to praise God, to train children, to generate patriotic sentiment, to learn scripture and so on.  Without realizing it, you have been studying songs with your child since you sang her a first lullaby.  

Suggestions for Learning Hymns and Songs

• We sing songs early in the day, just after Bible study. It would also be a good break to sing (and stretch) between sit down subjects such as reading or math.  You could also sing a song together just before bedtime. We may also listen to the song (and previous songs) in the car, during cleanup, before dinner, etc.
• If there is a living historical biography available, such as that of a hymn writer like Fanny Crosby or folk song writer like Stephen Foster, read and narrate the biography over the course of a few weeks. In your schedule, this could be a historical biography or free read.
• Sometimes we discuss the background of the song or the message of the song.  This is particularly fun when listening to a song like Yankee Doodle or Ring Around the Rosy.  Sometimes I forget that songs, particularly folk and patriotic songs, were written specifically to convey messages to patriots or to enemies, or to remind people of events in history.  These songs provide amply opportunity to tie in with our history lessons.  If the song is from scripture, we may take a few minutes and look up the verses.
• We utilize YouTube or other online video services to watch the way different artists or groups interpret a song. This is particularly fun with folk songs.

That's it!  Song study is such a pleasurable part of our school.  We love those days when we hear a hymn at church, and we already know the words, or when we are reading an older book and it refers to a folk song that we have learned.  I hope you have many fruitful years of song study!

My Spotify playlists include the song lists: Hymns, Traditional Children's Songs, Folk Songs and Patriotic Songs. You can access and listen to these playlists by typing this URL in your browser: http://open.spotify.com/user/jennstec