Many parents are taking advantage of homeschooling opportunities to give their young children a solid academic foundation. Learning piano has so many benefits for children that homeschool parents want to give their kids this important musical foundation as well. If this is you, however, you may not realize how easy this is to do right in your own home. You dont even need to hire a piano teacher, but you can if you want to.

Just as children need their parents to read to them and teach the alphabet, parents can also teach their young children the foundational "music Language" skills for piano or keyboard. If you can teach your child the alphabet, you can also give them an important foundation at home for learning to read music and understand keyboard theory. Even if your young children are already taking piano lessons, piano teachers don't have time in a 30 minute weekly lesson to give kids the complete foundation they need to read music easily. But parents can. There are so many resources available online for parents who homeschool their children, and piano lessons are no exception. And you dont have to do it alone. Enlist the help of your homeschool friends.

By starting a piano club you can invite your friends children to share this wonderful opportunity. Even if theyre already taking piano lessons theyll have a great time together, and learn even more. A small-group experience is a valuable way to learn because it models a family. I recommend two to five children. Each child can come to club meetings with their own portable keyboard. Heres what else youll need.

1. A room large enough for each child to set up their keyboard.

2. Portable keyboard stands and benches.

3. A table with chairs for children to play theory games.

4. A computer with speakers.

5. A printer

For teaching materials there are many resources available that you can download with easy to follow parents guides. They include stories, games, videos, music and piano lessons. These materials will be great for your piano club, because theyre very affordable. Plus you can print them for each child in your group to use and take home with them. Basic keyboard theory is not hard to teach or understand. With the right tools and resources, anyone can start an awesome piano club in their own home. So dont wait to give your children the gift of music!

Cynthia VanLandingham

Cynthia VanLandingham's Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources create an exciting musical adventure for children ages 5 to 11. Visit PianoAdventureBears.com for free samples of her Piano Adventure Story Books and piano resources for children. She is also the author of The Wonder Guide to Creativity.

Cynthia has been teaching piano in Tallahassee, Florida for 20 years and is the owner of TallyPiano & Keyboard Studios. She is a member of the American College of Musicians National Guild of Piano Teachers, the President of TallyPiano Enterprises, LLC, and a graduate of the Florida State University College of Education. Visit her website at TallyPiano.com to download her original, uplifting piano compositions, including "The Potter's Wheel." While you're there subscribe to her free internet newsletter, Piano Matters, and read the Wonder Guide to Creativity Online.

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