How to Make the Most of SQUILT With Your Children
Whether you want to teach music appreciation yourself, or desire to have ME teach it for you, this post will be of assistance. Everything about SQUILT is designed to work together - but can stand alone. You can do a little or a lot.
That is the beauty of this program - a program that children all over the world use to increase their appreciation of music. How fun is that??
Super Quiet UnInterrupted Listening Time is a simple, effective method for learning about beautiful music.
SQUILT to the rescue!
Learning The "Grammar" of Music
One big goal in SQUILT is to listen to a piece of music and then be able to articulate what is heard - using the proper music vocabulary - the proper "grammar" of music.
Keeping that vocabulary in front of children is important. The Elements of Music Posters highlight rhythm, tempo, instrumentation, dynamics, and mood. Whether you choose to print these posters and put them in a student binder, or display them in a place of prominence in your school area, it is so helpful to have them for your child's reference.
If you are using a do-it-yourself volume your children will be filling out a SQUILT sheet for each lesson. This sheet requires them to listen for the elements of music. Once your children have done this a few times, you will be AMAZED at how they will adopt this grammar into their discussions about music.
Instruments of the Orchestra
Another set of information for SQUILT students is instruments of the orchestra. Often this is something parents take for granted - that their children simply know the sight and sound of the basic instruments.
This is not always so.
Children need practice listening to and identifying instruments by sight. They also need to SEE the spellings of the instruments.
On the display board I created for our home I have printed our Meet the Instruments cards. Not only do these cards give the names and pictures of instruments, they come with a resource page that contains videos of each instrument being played.
Once again, having this available for easy reference helps children use the instrument names as they talk about what they hear in a piece of music. 
Daily Listening
The most simple way to use SQUILT in your homeschool is to take advantage of our listening calendar.
This is a little bit of listening each day - based on a monthly theme. For example, September 2022 has the theme of "Back to School Instrument Review". The listening calendar has one week dedicated to each of the four families of instruments.
Through daily listening to beautiful music, children are learning the sight and sound of orchestra instruments. With just a 5-10 minute investment each day, children should have an excellent understanding of the orchestra in just one month.
You can see on my display board that I have printed the listening calendar - which contains a QR code you can scan to access the YouTube playlist. I put the calendar in a plastic sleeve so your can mark off the days as you listen.
EASY!
Let Someone Else Teach in SQUILT LIVE!
Recently, a SQUILT LIVE! parent posted a video and I spied a SQUILT display board in the background. (click below to watch this precious video!)
In this particular lesson we were learning about basic rhythms - using a piece for string instruments by Leroy Anderson. We spoke about the instrumentation, rhythm, mood, tempo and dynamics - so these boys could refer to the Elements of Music Posters!
PERFECT!
SQUILT LIVE! members enjoy the most comprehensive music appreciation experience offered by SQUILT Music. They receive:
- Two live lessons each month (always recorded)
- A curated listening calendar
- Supplemental resource list - we love to read books!
- FREE Meet the Instruments Matching cards
- FREE SQUILT Goes the Movies PDF volume
Our PLUS members receive all of the above, but also have access to every single archived lesson (over 130!), calendar, and special events. They also are members of an online forum where they can exchange ideas. It's an incredible value!
Students get to interact with me and we have SUCH FUN in our lessons. I am consistently impressed with their level of thoughtfulness, understanding, and appreciation.
Find out more about SQUILT LIVE! by clicking here.
Whatever path you choose in SQUILT, I think you will find it simple, rewarding, and enjoyable! And, give yourself a pat on the back for knowing that beautiful music is IMPORTANT - and that you are giving this gift to your entire family!
I made a short video for you about everything in this post -- so you can see for yourself what we offer. I just turned on my camera as I was sitting in my office - much like it would be when I teach a live lesson to the kids!
Any questions? Leave me a comment below and I'm happy to help!