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Musical Memory | Renee Cook

My weekly emails encourage homeschool moms in teaching young children at home with practical tips for real-life homeschooling. Get ideas for simple, engaging, and effective teaching strategies. PLUS tons of short & sweet learning songs... I wrote the only homeschool memory work program that is 100% set to song and homeschooling families with K-5 kiddos LOVE it!

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Featured Post

Anchors in our day ⏰

I've been thinking a lot about how to describe daily homeschool life to newer homeschooling parents... one of the most common questions I get is: "If it doesn't look like school, what does it look like? What do you do? How do you structure it?" Anchors. Rhythms. Things that happen on a regular basis that are carefully chosen for your individual family and season of life. Things that always happen. (And by always, I mean most of the time. 😂) What anchors are in your days, weeks, and months?...

21 days ago • 2 min read

Everyday Homeschool is Live! I've done several interviews for my new podcast... every single one has left me feeling inspired and encouraged! And I'm so excited to be sharing them with you. I couldn't pick which episodes to share first, so I released four! 😊 Episode 001: Welcome Episode 002: Creating Great Thinkers, Writers, and Fort Builders with Andrew Pudewa Episode 003: Music Appreciation & Reflections After Graduation with Mary Prather Episode 004: Ohhh, you homeschool....?! Listen on...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

Happy Friday! A few links to share with you today. That is all 😊 Happy Homeschooling, -Renee Open and Go? Some thoughts on curriculum that claims to be "open and go," and how to modify it when it's not working for your kiddo. Read article Word Play Books The Circus Ship, The 7 Silly Eaters, Casey at the Bat... 20 picture books that play with words that your kids ages 4-11 will laugh at and love. Get the List Coming Monday! Join the facebook launch group to be entered in a books + coffee...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

It's That Time of Year Where we worry that we're not on pace to make it or finish in time or cover it all... or [insert your fear about your kids' progress or lack there of.] I'm going to say something very controversial in the homeschool world. It might ruffle your feathers. You might vehemently disagree. (That's okay; we can still be friends.) You do not need to finish scripted curriculum with 150 lessons taught 4-5 days per week to give your kids a world-class education at home. 😲 I would...

about 2 months ago • 1 min read

Do Your Kids Have Lists? We've used several different versions of an independent work list over the years. It's SO nice to have systems in place where your kids can self-direct their time and get going on what needs to be done without waiting on Mom (who may or may not be occupied directing the rest of the circus). Today on the blog, I shared some different ideas for independent lists or work baskets in your homeschool. I wrote about how I set up school-ish type things for preschool and...

2 months ago • 1 min read

Phonogram Question Hi there! This is Renee Cook, the homeschool mom behind the Musical Memory shop & website. I'm curious to know if you use the phonogram chart you downloaded a while back!? Here it is again if you need it. Download Phonogram Chart I'm using phonograms to teach my 4th child to read right now, so it's on my mind. I want to create stuff that is legitimately helpful for other parents! So, if you have a minute, hit reply & let me know whether or not you ended up using it, along...

2 months ago • 1 min read

Do you know about Chinese Bamboo Trees? You must very carefully monitor their water & temperature for the first 5 years, and nothing happens. You have to water often and weed and make sure it stays at the perfect temperature… but you won’t see a single sprout. Not an ounce of visible growth. But in year 5, something crazy happens. Within 6 weeks, the tree grows 80 feet tall. Turns out, during the first 5 years, a deep, vast, root system was growing beneath the surface. You just couldn’t see...

3 months ago • 1 min read

"Oh my goodness this is just the best." A friend who uses Musical Memory shared a great story with me the other day. She voice texted me: "Musical Memory is the best thing ever... my first grader is doing addition with 8s and 9s right now. As you get further into the lesson, they start introducing the reverse of the problems. 4 + 8 instead of 8 + 4. As soon as [6 year old] saw the problem 4+8 , she started singing the Commutative Property song: 'The commutative property works for addition and...

3 months ago • 1 min read

Watching kids learn to read is nothing short of amazing. A baby goes from eating books to realizing that you're supposed to hold them and move those pages back and forth to babbling while they pretend to read to unlocking the mysterious code that is all the sounds their native language's symbols make on the page. It amazes me every time I watch it "click" for an emerging reader. But how do you teach reading well at home...? Is there a perfect curriculum? What if you don't remember all the...

3 months ago • 1 min read

How to Actually Teach Beginning Readers I recorded a live video workshop with some new homeschooling parents about how exactly to teach your kids to read.... ❤️ Side by side at the table or snuggled up on the couch. 🧒 At your child's ideal pace, without tears. 💰 Without spending hundreds of dollars on curriculum. Because spending hundreds of dollars on a program doesn't mean your child will learn to read without tears. What will actually help your kiddo become a great reader is: You, the...

3 months ago • 1 min read
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