Good music can be good for the soul.  We may have varying opinions about what is “good”, but most of us listen to music because it brings us pleasure or helps us relax.

Thanks to my dad, music was a constant part of life in our family growing up. We were exposed and listened to all kinds of music, but his favorite genres were/are jazz and opera.   Music played during dinners, parties, and when the family was just reading and hanging out.  My brother and I learned to appreciate all kinds of music and took lessons in guitar and piano.  Much to my father’s surprise and chagrin now, my brother and I both adore and regularly listen to country music, not his favorite genre 😊.

Mike and I love listening to music still, and dancing to music was one of the things that attracted us to each other in our 20s.  We still love to dance too!  We played a lot of music in our home as the kids grew up too.  When I was teaching Ancient World History to 6^th graders, I would incorporate music into daily lessons.  When we studied Ancient Egypt, I would play Egyptian music, when we studied Ancient China, I would play instrumental Chinese music, and so on.  Music set a tone in the classroom and made us feel a bit enveloped by the specific culture we were studying.   It created a calmness in the classroom, and I think it even helped the kids relate to the culture they were learning about.

We can set the same tones in our homes.  If we want our little ones to have daily time away from devices where they spend some time reading, music can help set a calm, peaceful tone.   In the classroom, I typically selected instrumental music so that the lyrics would not distract from what we were reading or writing about, but we can select whatever works best for our families.  Anything can be found on YouTube:  instrumental Hebrew music, instrumental Greek music, sounds of nature, screenplays like The Lion King, or one that never disappoints, The Piano Guys!   Maybe our kids can choose the genre of music and we can just type in “instrumental” at the beginning of the search.  

We’re exposing our kids to culture through music, as well as encouraging reading.  They may look forward to both the music and the reading time.  In the craziness of this world right now, simple moments with good music and a book may be just what is needed.  Now your family just has to agree on what type of music qualifies as “good”!

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