Traveling with kids is an art that takes a lot of planning, along with flexibility. How about throwing homeschooling into the mix? That really takes something special, and more and more families are getting into roadschooling–that is, homeschooling on the road! Are you hoping to incorporate more music into your road school routine? Well, you’ve come to the right place! This blog will give you some tips and tricks to create the best music lessons while road schooling, and if you would like more, you can grab our free homeschool music curriculum guide here! Without further ado, here are 5 tips to finding fantastic music education for your kids while on the road!
My Travel Story
I can’t quite pinpoint when my wanderlust appeared, only that I have been dreaming of far away places since I was a child. In high school, I took French classes, and I absolutely loved learning about a new culture and a new language. I began to realize that the world was bigger than just my small town in Washington State. In fact, I loved taking French so much that when it came down to my orchestra class and an extra French class both being offered the same hour, I opted to take them both and do French mostly as an independent study. During college, I ended up taking 2 semesters of French, 2 semesters of linguistics classes, and a semester of Tagalog.
My first time traveling outside the United States was when I served as a Christian missionary for 18 months, and I was assigned to go to the Philippines. That was definitely a culture shock! But I can definitely say that I was never the same again. The time I spent there opened my eyes to so many things. They say that learning another language gives you a more expansive view of the world because language shapes the way we think. Anyone who knows the rest of my story knows that the rest of my life would never be the same after that; I even changed career paths when I got home.
After being in the Philippines, I just wanted two things out of life: I wanted to work on music and I wanted to see and learn about the world. But is it possible to do both?
You might be saying, of COURSE it was possible for YOU! You were a college student without any kids, spouse, or other obligations! And you would be right. ;)
However, I have seen a lot of possibilities out there. I have seen families with 6 kids take to their RV and roam across the U.S. I have seen young couples with toddlers travel abroad to Europe or Asia. If you want to know what has made them a success, you’re going to need to ask them, of course. But I hope this post can help you think of ways to create meaningful and educational musical experiences while you are seeing the world with your kids.
If you’re looking for some new ways to spice up your road school education, here are 5 ways to incorporate music lessons while road schooling:
1. Find Local Resources Wherever You Are
No matter where you are in the world, there is bound to be a local music scene. There will probably be events such as concerts, classes, shows, or other activities for kids of varying ages that can help them learn about the local culture as well as about music! Here are some examples of music activities that you can look for:
Local Concerts
Whether you have preschoolers or high schoolers, there is bound to be an age-friendly concert somewhere that you can take them to wherever you are. These can range from free small-town concerts to huge arts festivals, to expensive broadway or opera performances.
If you want to know more about what taking your kids to a live performance can do, you can check out this article.
Classes
Depending on how long you’re going to be in a place, music workshops or classes can be a great option! There are often classes that can be taken on a weekly basis, or just one-time workshops that introduce you or your child to the basics of a certain instrument, for example. These classes can be really fun and give opportunity for children to meet new friends and socialize with local kids wherever you are!
If you’re going to be somewhere for at least 6 months to a year, it might be worth considering enrolling your child in 1-1 private lessons if they have a special interest in a certain instrument, or if you would like them to gain that kind of skill. A private teacher has the unique advantage of being able to truly meet your child wherever they are in their musical journey, and cater their teaching to meet your child’s specific needs. If you plan to move frequently, there are lots of great online options for private teachers as well!
Folk Dancing
Perhaps one of the most underrepresented musical activities that are available to the public is folk dancing. No matter where you go in the world, there is a folk dance culture of some kind. From square dancing in North America, to Hawaiian Hula, to Indian harvest dances, to Irish step dancing, cultures all around the world find community and enjoyment in folk dance. And guess what, your family can too!
It might go without saying, but folk dancing can really add to your child’s musical learning. Not only is it helping them connect across cultures, but they are building their motor skills, sense of rhythm, and being exposed to different types of music.
Now, many folk dance clubs are generally geared toward adults, but if you have older kids, here are some great resources for where you can find them: National Folk Organization, Collin Hume, English Folk Dance and Song Society.
For younger children, there are definitely resources available to them as well! For, example, I am local to Portland, Oregon at the moment. Here, we have lots of places that offer different levels and kinds of dance classes for kids. These may be a great option if you are going to be somewhere for 6 months to a year. There are also many online and YouTube resources that may be useful as well.
Festivals
Arts festivals look different wherever you are, but they can be a great way to get out into the community and experience music and other arts in different ways. The more you put feelers out, the more interesting activities you might find. Maybe you’ll happen upon a battle of the bands event going on, or perhaps you’ll find a folk dance festival, an event put on by the local art museum, or even just a market where local artists are selling goods or have information about other classes.
Sometimes you can find music in the most unexpected places. For example, here in Portland, I attended a local Ubon festival with my husband. The Ubon festival is celebrated in Japan, and is very similar to Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which is celebrated in South America. While we were there, we got to see a taiko drum performance from the local taiko group here, and then we learned some Japanese folk dances, and danced in a circle with hundreds of other guests. Along the way, we got some great traditional Japanese food, and learned about some traditions of Ubon. You never know what you can find if you keep your eyes open!
Other Arts Activities
Music is, of course, what this post is all about, but you may have gathered by now that the arts are very interwoven and connected in many ways. In fact, in my classroom, I always include learning about artists, art styles, and even some art activities that the students participate in. This can help kids become well-rounded and learn about music as it relates to art as well.
So, maybe your child really wants to take an art class, or maybe you attend a local event at an art gallery, or maybe you even learn about styles throughout history at a local history museum. The possibilities are endless!
2. Bring Travel-Friendly Instruments
This one will depend on your travel plans, of course. If you’re traveling in an RV, for example, you can bring a lot more than if you are going somewhere by plane. Even if you are going on a plane, the types of instruments you can bring will depend on how much luggage you would like to bring with you. Some instruments, such as a recorder or a flute, can be packed into a carry-on. Some would need to be checked. Maybe it would be best not to bring a tuba while you travel around the world, but you do you! ;)
Here are some suggestions of instruments that might travel well, and how you can manage them.
Ukulele/ Guitar
These are the perfect road trip instruments! You can pack them with your things and pull them out whenever your family just wants to sing some campfire songs or folk tunes together. They are usually pretty low maintenance and straightforward for you or your child to learn as well.
If you’re traveling by plane, I would suggest bringing an ukulele. It is smaller and much easier to fit into a carry-on bag, whereas a guitar would need to be secured in a ha
Rhythm Sticks
Rhythm sticks or drum sticks would be the easiest to bring anywhere. They can easily slip into any purse or small bag. The down side to these is that they might be more limited because they are unpitched instruments. However, they can be really versatile and you could get creative in how you use them in your music time.
Recorders
Recorders are also very easy to travel with, durable, and easy for kids to learn! Maybe you want to keep them out of reach while you are driving or on a plane, though! ;)
Violin
A violin is my personal favorite on this list! It is a great instrument for a child who wants to take continuous lessons with a teacher while traveling, learn many genres of music, and have a very versatile musical experience.
The only word of caution is that a violin can be a bit tricky to travel with. If you are going by car, make sure your instrument is not left in the car overnight or during extreme heat, cold, or humidity, as the wood in these instruments can be very sensitive to weather changes. Similarly, if you are traveling by plane, you must take it as your carry-on because it will not fare well underneath the plane where it will get too cold.
Try Out Local Instruments
Depending on where you are traveling, you may be able to experience instruments that you have never encountered before. It might be a really fun experience for the entire family if you are able to attend a local workshop or class, or maybe purchase a smaller instrument to learn about. As an example of unique instruments, check out this video about local instruments in Asia!)
3. Use Online Resources
We live in an amazing time where we can access almost any information from almost anywhere! Take advantage of the resources that are available online!
Listen to Music
There is a plethora of music that is available to listen to online. Basically any kind of music you can think of! Listening to music can be a great way to pass travel time, as well as discover new things!
Music Lessons Online
We touched on this earlier, but there are many ways to learn music, dance, and art online. From free resources such as Youtube, to one-on-one weekly private lessons, there is definitely something for everyone there.
If you would like a free online resource for how to know what musical elements to teach for every age, along with tips and tricks delivered to your inbox from me, you can sign up here!
4. Sing Together
Singing together can be an incredibly fulfilling and underrated activity, in my opinion. Don’t worry about your singing voice, if you are willing to put your best foot forward and just sing like nobody’s watching, your kids will learn a lot just from that. If you really feel like your singing voice is lacking, why not learn to improve it alongside your kids? Trust me, everyone can learn and improve their skills–even you!
You could look up youtube videos about vocal technique, take lessons yourself, or even just practice to yourself in the shower, and then just go for it! If you want to learn more about how learning music together can benefit your family, check out this article!
Learn Local folk Songs
One of the huge benefits to road schooling is how your children are able to be deeply connected to so many parts of the world. One way to meaningfully deepen that connection is to learn folk songs that are important to the culture you are living in. This can also help you and your children learn the language as well! Maybe you can even make lasting friendships though asking local people to help you learn.
Make a Family Choir
Singing together as a family has so many benefits, many of which we have already covered. If you want to learn more about the benefits of creating a family choir, you can check out this post.
5. Learn About Music
Music History
You can learn about general Western music history, or you can learn about the local history and how music played a role there as well. If you travel in Asia or India, there is an entire music culture that we in the West aren’t usually taught in school.
Music Theory
Like history, we have Western music theory, and there are other ways of reading and writing music that is entirely different. There are a lot of possibilities and places to go with this option.
Relating it to Other Subjects
If you would like to read about how you can connect music to other subjects, you can read this blog post.
If you liked this post and would like to have ideas and resources emailed to you, you can sign up here and receive our free music at home curriculum guide.
Until next time, happy music making!
