To add to our “Christmas School” we put our regular music study on hold and used Squilt’s Christmas Carols Volume 1.
This was a super easy way to add an extra dose of Christmas excitement to our day.
We learned what a “carol” is and studied two different Christmas carols this year.
Carol of the Bells
It was really fun to learn the back story to some of our favorite carols. Did you know Carol of the Bells is about “a sparrow and a bountiful year that awaits a family”? Who knew?!
We talked about handbells and listened to so many different versions of this carol. It was awesome!
Away in a Manger
One thing I love about this curriculum is it sometimes draws attention to things that I never really thought about before.
Away in a Manger has two different tunes. There is the “mueller” tune which is most commonly heard today and has a descending melody and the other tune is the “cradle song” which is more popular in Europe and has an ascending melody.
It was great to listen to two different versions of this song and hear the contrasting melodies.
Final Thoughts
As I said at the beginning, this is such an easy way to add a little spice to your Christmas learning. Each time I heard these carols throughout the season it made me stop and take greater notice of them. Definitely worth it!
