A Little Advent - Christmas Resource Round Up

Advent starts Sunday!  We sure are getting excited around here!  We even had trial runs of O Come, O Come Emmanuel!  and People Look East! at breakfast this morning!  Friday and Saturday we'll be pulling out the Advent wreath and Jesse Tree and dusting off some of the holiday books!  

I'm not planning on writing much that's Advent-y or Christmas-y this year.  But I did enjoy looking back through some of my past holiday posts and thought I'd stick some of them together here for you.  

Advent and Christmastime Picture Book List

I can't wait to get out holiday book basket out!  In this old post, I starred our

favorites.  What are you favorite picture books to share with kids during

Advent and Christmas?

For non-Christmas book ideas, check out my book lists page for lots of other great gift ideas!


Advent and Christmas Classical Music Recommendations

Music that we love that's not Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer or Barenaked Ladies 
singing We Three Kinds (which I'm pretty sure is one of the all time absolute worst 
recordings of a Christmas song.  Of all time.  Ever.  All time.) 

Advent for Adults
My favorite books for my own personal spiritual reading during Advent.
(cause it's not just about kids, you know.)


10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Kids that Are Not Stuff

I love this list, if I do say so myself!  It's refreshing to bless our kids, and to be blessed by others with thoughtful gifts that don't add to our clutter.  

(Cause, boy, do we have enough clutter!)

The Toys They Actually Use and Love (and I Don't Mind Storing)

But if you ARE in the market for some good old fashioned Christmas toys, here are some

that the kids and I heartily recommend!  

Want to help your kids made homemade gifts for family and friends??  Check out our Kids Made Gift series from last year and the Kids Craft Ideas page too!

And don't forget!  There are still many items available in the Ordinary Lovely Etsy Shop for your shopping convenience!

Classical Christmas Music Recommendations and Giveaway Winners Announced!

Advent is more than half over...  I'm not quite done with our shopping and I still have some projects I'm working on.  But I'm getting there.  We finally got our Advent/Christmas music out of the attic and to have it on in the background has helped me stay motivated!

Here's a quick look at some of the classical and choral  Christmas music we've been loving lately and then, at the very bottom... the Happy Handmade Christmas Giveaway winners are announced!   

Christmas with King's Singers

(Starts with a beautiful version Veni,Veni, Emmanuel)

Joy to the World / Music of Christmas, Empire Brass

What If Mozart Wrote "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

(fun and funny to hear holiday favorites played in the style of Mozart's string quartets!)

Advent at Ephesus, Benedictines of Mary

Catholic Christmas Classics, Cathedral Singers

Christmas With the Tallis Scholars

(This one is especially beautiful if you like to play music for kiddos at bed time.  The boys love to listen to this falling asleep :)  )


John Rutter: Music for Christmas 

Well, seeing that everything Rutter writes is beautiful, this CD is... beautiful!


  Classical Kids Christmas 

  We really love this unique CD.  I mean have you ever  heard any other Christmas CD that weaves the Huron Carol into a holiday story for children??  (don't you just love the Huron Carol?!?!  In excelsis gloria!)

*   *   *   *   *   *

And now... for the moment you've all some of you have been waiting for!  The giveaway winners!  I have to admit I was simultaneously so happy to choose the names and really disappointed that I can't send something to everyone who entered.  I think I see more giveaways in my future... ;)  (is it less painful each time??)  

The winners randomly selected from a shatter resistant Corelle bowl (white with red stripes) are...

of the crocheted nesting and stacking bowls, Katie!

of the child's kitchen apron, Christine!

of the Holy Family peg dolls, Kelly!  (kgill26)

of the gray crocheted beret, Ann-Marie!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered and congratulations Katie, Christine, Kelly, and Ann-Marie!  Ladies, please send me your addresses so I can send you my thank yous :) (my email address is theresa[dot]blackstone[at]gmail[dot]com)

Have a happy Tuesday!

Happiness. Lately. (vol 4)

Happiness.  Lately.  September.  My monthly collection of "Happiness" - appreciating God's goodness in the little things and seeing his grandeur in the simplicity of my life and "Lately" - what I've been into and up to.

Happiness is...

the backyard mouse house Papa and Grandma gifted us...

remembering that if they're dirty, it means they must be having fun (I learned this from my mom!)...

the tiny tomatoes we're still getting on our one plant - just enough for a few in my salad each day...

some of the pretty carrots we harvested...

celebrating the first day of fall... with homemade pumpkin bread for breakfast and not-so-homemade boxed pumpkin dessert for after dinner (and reading some of our favorite fall-themed books, of course!)

the first of the lovely leaves...

and some of my favorite guys on an evening walk...

our first pot of chili this season...

a gloriously, warm hot fall day at the creek with friends...

music time with Papa...

Lately...

I raced through Masterpiece Mystery: Endeavour Season 2 from the library.  And then Russ was out of town for four days and I watched a lot of Foyle's War, which he is not sad to miss ;)  I may have mentioned once or twice how much I enjoy British television...  just once or twice :)

We've been enjoying and singing the ridiculous lyrics of Beethoven's Wig: Sing Along Symphonies:  A friend recommended this cd to me a while ago, but we've just gotten around to listening to it in the last few weeks.  It's funny for kids and adults alike :)   (I even just requested the second the third volumes from the library!)
 

I've been not reading... who has time for that?

I got to take the kids to a homeschool-ers only morning at a Sky Zone.  It was our first time there.  Wow!  I didn't get any really good pictures conveying how awesome it was.  Just this...

I've been back to crocheting... a little bit.  Hats, mostly.  Sometimes they fit and sometimes they don't...

I've also done some more peg dolls painting!  I had tried my hand at it for the first time at Christmas and made a Nativity set and some saint dolls.  I had meant to make two additional saints for my boys, but never finished them.  I finished them this month in time for the corresponding feast days:  St. Vincent de Paul (Sept 27) for my Aaron Vincent, and St. Jerome (Sept 30) for my Dominic Jerome.

a little frustrated about the hairs from the paint brush came off onto the doll when I was varnishing it...  have. to. let. it. go.

I tried to involve all the kids in making special cookies for Russ one day, but this is what happens when you try to bake in a kitchen with a lot of kids and no table: Chocolate Chip made-on-the-floor Cookies... 

And that's about it.  It's been a busy and lovely month, and I can hardly believe it's over.  I sort of feel like it's still August......

**  Feel like joining me in reflecting on the past month and sharing some of the moments that made you happy and the things you've been up to?  Link up your August list of Happiness. Lately.  I'd love to have you join me! **  Don't have a blog?  Let's chat in the comments!

Kids and Classical Music :: Part IV :: Some Final Thoughts

This is the final part of a mini-series on Kids and Classical Music.  You can click here to check out Part I, Part II, and Part III!

This post is just so I can throw together all of my general ideas on getting kiddos interested in classical music... and then this series will have run its course! 

General ideas on getting kiddos interested:

Exposure, exposure, exposure!  Pandora.com.  It's free!  If you don't have any classical cd's about and really aren't sure where to start, start with Pandora.  Create a new station by typing in "Johann Sebastian Bach" or "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart."  Spend an hour or two near your computer and "Thumb's Up" whatever sounds nice to you, and you're on your way to a free, always available source of classical music.  Let it play while the kids are playing with Play-doh, building Legos, or coloring in their Dover coloring books :) 

* * *

Use compilations that have been already been made for you. As I've mentioned before, I'm not above listening to classical compilations, especially as background music.  You don't have to go nuts making 80's-style mix tapes of good music!  Take advantage of your local library and look for discs like these:

The Most Relaxing Classical Music in the Universe 

The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music

Top 100 Classical Music  

For the most part, compilations like these have well-loved favorites and standards that are enjoyable for the general public.  

* * *

Chat about it.  Kids are used to hearing music accompany a story, especially in movies, so it won't be a stretch for them to imagine a story while listening to an exciting piece of music. Simply saying, "Wow!  I wonder what the story is here?" while the drums are crashing or the strings are racing may spark a fairly creative conversation!  Or make an open-ended remark about what it means when the music gets louder or faster.  I remember being in the car one day when an ominous-sounding piece came on the radio.  It wasn't familiar to me, so it was kind of fun when Ruth asked from behind me, "What's happening in this scary music?"  We could make up whatever story we wanted!

* * *

Watch it.  Hello, YouTube??  (just remember to preview stuff before sitting your kiddos down in front of it...)  If you can, choose orchestral performances where the musicians look like they're having fun!  That always help keep the attention of littles.  Also, if you can, choose performances with close-up camera shots of the conductor and musicians - kids looking at an orchestra for the first time, from afar, might have no idea what's really going on up there.  I also like to find YouTube performances in which the musicians are children.  

* * *

Read about it.  Two of our favorite music-related picture books are The Philharmonic Gets Dressed, by Karla Kuskin and Zin, Zin, Zin!  A Violin!, by Lloyd Moss.

* * *

Tie it in...

to your history lessons, literature lessons, Liturgical Year, etc... 

It's the first day of Winter? (Dec 21, this year!) Break out Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

You've read the story of Sleeping Beauty?  Listen to the Sleeping Beauty ballet by Tchaikovsky.

Check out Holst's The Planets in conjunction with your study of the solar system.

Patriotic holidays fall flat without John Philip Sousa and anything western demands a listen to Aaron Copland's Hoe Down from the ballet Rodeo.  

For the Liturgical year, Handel's Messiah is the obvious place to start for Christmas and Easter.  For Marian holidays, look for Bach's Magnificat.

you get the idea!  

* * *

If you're just getting started, let them hear stuff that's loud or surprising.  It seems to get their attention a little more than pieces that are relaxing and ethereal.  

Here's a link to one of the pieces that the kids enjoy hearing over and over again...  (turn up the volume for the full effect!)

In The Hall of the Mountain King, by Edvard Grieg (my kids love this one!)

* * *

Live Performances.  Go to any that you can!!  And for a bonus, see if you can chat with the musicians afterwards!  

* * *

"It is so important for people at a young age to be invited to embrace classical music and opera."  - Luciano Pavarotti.  

(sheesh! - he shouldn've written this series, not me!)

Kids and Classical Music :: Part III :: Ideas for School Age Children

(Looking for Part I and Part II??  <- Those are the links!)  

My boys are still elementary school age, so we haven't gotten into any very intense study of classical composers and styles. Everything we do is still meant to encourage enjoyment and appreciation, but the more exposure they have to a variety of music, the more the have been able to identify different styles and composers.  

Last year I started using the book, The Story of the Orchestra, by Robert Levine. 

While I like the concept of the book - it introduces major composers and includes portions of their work on CD - I ended up not using it much.  Instead, the kids preferred full-length picture books and biographies we found in the juvenile section of the library.  Now I use this book just to introduce different periods/styles of classical music and to guide the order in which we cover composers.   I usually gather whatever materials I can find on a particular composer and then we'll use them for a quarter of the school year.  

We started last year with the the Baroque Period (my favorite, and if I didn't realize how lopsided it would be we'd probably do all Baroque all the time!) and covered Vivaldi, Bach and Handel (Handel is not in the above-mentioned book for some reason).  The fourth quarter we started into the Classical period and learned about Mozart.  This year we've covered Beethoven, and are waiting until after the first of the year to start up with some Romantic composers.  

I thought what I would do is give you an idea of the materials we used for a couple of these composers and then quickly list some resources that are useful for a variety of composers.  This should provide an idea of the types of materials I gather for each composer... I hope :)  

ANTONIO VIVALDI, 1678 - 1741

Picture Books:

I, Vivaldi, Janet Shefelman

Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Anna Harwell Celenza

Vivaldi and the Invisible Orchestra, Stephen Costanza 

CD's:

Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery, from Classical Kids - a fictional story which incorporates real aspects of Vivaldi's life as a priest and orchestra director at an Venice orphanage for girls. Features his music throughout.

The Story of Vivaldi and Corelli, Music Masters series.  And hour of music and narrated biography. 

Masters of Classical Music, vol 7, Vivaldi 

Vivaldi for Valentine's - this really has nothing to do with couples or Valentine's.  It's just a collection of soothing ("romantic," if you will) by Vivaldi.  It's great for putting on at bedtime!  

We also listened repeatedly to recordings I have of The Four Seasons and Gloria - one of my favorite Vivaldi pieces.  Here's the Gloria on YouTube.

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART, 1756 - 1791

Picture Books:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mike Venezia 

Mozart: the Wonder Child: a Puppet Play in Three Acts, Diane Stanley

Mozart, Greta Cencetti

Young Mozart, Rachel Isadora (I know we got this from the library, but I don't remember much about it... not sure if it was that great.  Sorry.)

Mozart Finds a Melody, Stephen Costanza 

The Magic Flute: an Opera by Mozart, Kyra Teis  

CD's

Mozart's Magnificent Voyage 
Mozart's Magic Fantasy: a Journey Through the Magic Flute 
(both from Classical Kids) - stories relating events in the life of Mozart and a girl's "backstage" experience at a production of the Magic Flue.  Both feature pieces by Mozart; the first also has music by a few other composers.)

The Story of Mozart in Words and Music

Masters of Classical Music, Vol 1 : Mozart

Mozart for Meditation (relaxing, suitable for bedtime music!)

Mozart for your Mind

There are actually tons of Mozart compilations in this "series" from the Philips label... 

Mozart...

for your Morning Commute

for Mothers to Be

for a Monday Morning

for Midnight

for your Morning Coffee

etc...

And of course, we looked to YouTube...  The Mozart Requiem is one of my favorite choral pieces, so we listened to the more "exciting" portions of that like the Dies Irae.  After we became familiar with the music and story of The Magic Flute we watched clips of the Queen of the Night Aria and the well-known Papagena and Papageno duet.  Finally, I told the kids the story of how 14-year-old Mozart "stole" the music to Allegri's Miserere (Psalm 51) from the Vatican by committing it to memory.  It is referenced in the Mozart's Magnificent Voyage CD and we read more about it here. This story was especially fun for the boys because they were already very familiar with the Miserere - it's another one of the things they love to listen to at bedtime.  "Mom, what would we listen to at bedtime if Mozart had never sneaked out of the chapel and wrote it down?"  We don't even have to conjecture! Here's a lovely recording... YouTube again!  

* * * * * *

Ok, I think that's enough for now.  You get the idea.  There's plenty of stuff to keep you busy for an academic quarter once you choose a composer!  

* * * * * *

Some of these have already been referenced, but here are some ideas/resources to use for a variety of composers:

BOOKS:  In general, I tend to stay away from books that are collections of short bio's - things like "A Child's Book of Famous Composers"  - simply because I've never found one that holds my kids' attention.  They prefer, and deserve, whole books, and we all enjoy a good story!  I typically scour Amazon and the library on-line catalog to find relevant titles. 

                          

Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers, series by Mike Venezia (The kids and I both really enjoy these books.  They are informative - even Venezia's trademark cartoon illustrations are full of information that the kids remember long after the book's gone back to the library.  We also use his books on the artists that we're studying.)   

Bach

Handel

Mozart

Beethoven

Brahms

Chopin

Tchaikovsky

Stravinsky

Gershwin

Sousa

Copland

Bernstein

Ellington

Picture books by Anna Harwell Celenza.  She has books on these composers - usually focusing on the story surrounding one particular piece of music:

Vivaldi

Bach

Beethoven

Haydn

Mussorgsky

Saint-Saens

Gershwin

Ellington / (on his arrangement of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite)

Composer biographies by Opal Wheeler.  We have read only a couple of these, but have enjoyed them.  I'm hoping we'll be able to track down more, but our library only has a few.  She has written on all the usual suspects as well as Wagner, Chopin, Schubert, and Paganini.

CD's: Some educators disagree with the concept of using "snippets" of pieces for music study.  Example - on the Mozart Masters of Classical Music disc, the first track is just the well-known Allegro movement from Eine kleine Nachtmusik. For my purposes this is fine for now.  Perhaps in the future I will insist on playing complete pieces for my children, but for now, it's ok for me to provide them with compilations of the "Best of..."

Classical Kids Story Series - In addition to a handful of composers, they also have a story CD introducing early music called The Song of the Unicorn, and a delightful Christmas production called A Classical Kids Christmas.  (the thing that makes this disc different from many other kids' Christmas collections is that it's almost all sacred music interwoven with the story.  I really recommend it!)  The composers they have are:

Bach

Handel

Vivaldi

Mozart (2)

Beethoven

Tchaikovsky 

VOX Music Masters, Story and Music, 18 disc set

Masters of Classical Music, 10 disc set

PHILIPS label CD's such as Bach for Breakfast, or all the Mozart titles mentioned above.  It's not an actual series that I can link to, but if you click here, you'll find lots more titles featuring various composers.  As I alluded to before, I'll use these collections for bedtime music a lot - so many of the collections are soothing pieces for "relaxation," "meditation," or "daydreaming."

(note - all these links are to Amazon for convenience, but we've been able to find a lot of these books and CD's through our library.)

* * * * * *

If you've been searching for ideas for enjoying more classical music in the home, I hope that some of this has been helpful! It's a jumping off point, at least!  Please don't forget to leave your own ideas and resources here too!