Whether your child is the next great pop
star or just sings solos in the shower,
music is undoubtedly a big part of his
or her life. Music provides the soundtrack of our lives. We celebrate with it,
we mourn with it, we relax with it, and
we worship with it. As expressions of
our deepest feelings and thoughts, music
underscores our life experiences.
As a homeschooling parent, you’ve
probably read the research about how
music stimulates brain development,
and about how music makes your child
more creative, even smarter. But did
you know music can enrich your child’s
life by improving communication and
team building skills? Did you know
that there is an instrument that lends
itself to all of these things? This
instrument is the handchime.
Handchimes are an affordable
and fun solution to introducing
music to your children. A set of
handchimes can be purchased for
only slightly more than the cost
of a beginner band instrument for
a single child, but handchimes are sold in sets, so one set can
be used by many ringers. Because each chime is a single note,
handchime ringing is inherently a group activity where every
ringer is vital to the ensemble.
Ringing chimes promotes
healthy team building skills,
yet still encourages individual
creativity, curiosity and
motivation, all while creating
relationships that can last
a lifetime. Compare that
to the majority of sports
teams, where inevitably,
there are children who rarely
get to participate because they
lack the coordination or skills
required to be a contributing
member of the team.
Since handchime ringing
requires no special techniques,
they are ideal for beginners
of any age. (Yes, Mom or Dad,
It’s not as difficult as you might think to establish and lead
a chime ensemble. In most instances, you will follow the
same steps that you would if you were creating any other
type of local group or co-op– for example, a book club
or a current events forum or a math study group. Whatever
has worked for your homeschool circle in the past should
work to begin a musical group.
To get you started we have created a resource guide filled
with information about handchimes and tips for building
your handchime ensemble. Call us at 1-800-547-2355
or email us at support@jhsbell.com to receive your free
electronic resource guide, “Bringing Music to Life in the
Homeschool: a Beginners Guide to Handchimes and
Starting a Handchime Choir”. We’re here to help!
Bring Music to Life in Your Homeschool Community
1-800-JHS-BELL (1-800-547-2355)
www.HandbellWorld.com
