Goss Homeschool Academy

The snow in our area prevented our January gathering so I decided to write some of my favorite passages from our readings down in this blog post. Essentially, this blog is for me - a time capsule that I visit to look back on what we experience in our home education journey. I hope it can also be an encouragement to others on this journey too. If you're here and reading, thank you! I know how fast paced our culture is now and taking your time to sit and read something for more than a few moments is a commodity. The readings for this month come from these three passages: Miss Mason's Message to the Children Women Must Weep The National Mission These articles were all written by Charlotte Mason during the time England was at war. Miss Mason's Message to the Children This is an article that I plan to share with my own children. We have memorized the Lord's Prayer and although we don't pray it every day, I think that sharing some of the heartfelt understanding of the wor...

  World music is a topic often neglected in composer study for many reasons. Firstly, there are so many European musical history periods and composers that we all want our children exposed to, and many times we don't know where to turn for resources in world music. The benefit of video sharing in our culture today allows us to glimpse music performances from around the world. This blog post is just a drop in the water of what is available to learn about the music of Asian countries. I hope you enjoy! China The focus of Chinese music can be centered on the amazing instruments found in ensembles. We had the opportunity to learn from a Chinese Music Cultural Society a few years ago and the way the performer read music fascinated me! Her performance was on the guzheng, a Chinese instrument that has been around for centuries.  Learn more and hear it played at this video: Other important Chinese instruments are discussed in this entertaining video: Specific composers of Chinese musi...

  The Nashville Symphony Education department has a list of dress rehearsals that are open to students age 10 and up. This is a great option for families who might have aged out of the Young People's Concerts or even adults that want to go to the symphony for $10 instead of regular price! Click here to go to the symphony page and order tickets! This month the programmed music includes: Ravel - Watch Here There are 8 sections to the Valses Nobles et Sentimentales. For students I would have them draw a box of 8 squares and write down the instrument they feel was a prominent instrument in that movement, or what the music reminded them of. The whole piece is about 20 minutes long. You will hear a pause at the end of each section. You can also listen along with the score here.  (And a reminder..... no clapping between movements at the symphony! It's not a hard and fast rule, but most concert goers will refrain from clapping until the very end.) In these program notes the auth...

I know people have certain Latin programs that they love and have consistency going for them (which is awesome) but I wanted to take a moment to share our Latin journey and how much we have enjoyed it through the years! Free game from Legonium First, here is a hyperlinked list of all the resources I have used through the years! Check them out if you're not familiar with some of them! Charlotte Mason Poetry thoughts on teaching Latin Song School Latin Legonium Ecce Romani Minimus Mouse Storybook Latin Some fun illustrations during Storybook Latin Our journey started out with my musician brain trying to come to terms with feeling ok with the classical pronunciation of Latin. I fought it tooth and nail at the beginning but realized that I needed to bend and be flexible because we will encounter the classical pronunciation in all academic circles. HOWEVER, if my kids experience Latin in music they can easily learn the ecclesiastical pronunciation when needed! Here's an article on t...

In the upcoming YPC concert "The Magic of Music and Film," students will be exploring tone, instrumentation, genre, character themes, and more. If you go to the Nashville Symphony page you can download a lesson packet with some great resources!  Character Leitmotif  is a musical term where a musical theme represents a character.  This video is a perfect example of what we will probably experience in the show at the Nashville Symphony. Star Wars is also famous for leitmotif. To download the musical notation for Star Wars click here. You can print or look at the sheet music while listening to the music here: On the program for the YPC, Imperial March, Luke's Theme, and Leia's Theme will be performed. Tone In music, another word for tone is timbre and can be used in a similar way that lietmotif is used. The best example is in the musical story Peter and the Wolf by the composer Prokofiev.  Walt Disney also created a movie with the story and music that you can search o...

  A Book of Centuries is part of a Charlotte Mason education where students keep a record of important people, places, and events throughout history. For the past 7 years we have done a family notebook based on the Simply Charlotte Mason Book of Centuries. (Download it for free here!) I decided I wanted to have more of a keepsake book for my children in a more compact size. I developed this hardback version of a Book of Centuries that is only 6x8" instead of the typical 8.5x11" size. It's designed to have 1000 years per page for ancient times, 100 years per page for the majority of centuries, and then 25 years per page once we get to the 20th century. The book moves to 10 years a page in the year 2000 and gives space for entries up to 2050. After our entries tonight I'm glad I went with this size! It seems to be a perfect fit for my kids! I designed two covers: A floral front:  https://amzn.to/3YcvIww And a travel front:  https://amzn.to/454oxsS They both have the sam...

I have been enjoying my summer preparing and planning for Form 3. We follow Charlotte Mason's method of education in our homeschool but I piece it together through community opportunities and the books that I really want to use for certain subjects! There is nothing wrong with going with an already planned curriculum like Ambleside Online, Simply Charlotte Mason, A Gentle Feast, or others.... but for our family I like to know that what I plan and use will be the right fit. If you've seen any of my other planning posts you know that I use the three divisions of Knowledge of God, Knowledge of Man, Knowledge of the Universe to categorize our subjects. Charlotte Mason's Volume 3 and Volume 6 give a detailed glimpse of all the subjects in a feast! It can be overwhelming to say the least! ( Here is chapter 10 of Volume 6 ) We don't always get every subject in every week but I do try to make sure the principles and the why behind each subject is spread out on our "table...