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  • Jun 27
  • 4 min read

Did you miss our booth at the 2025 Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania Convention? Here's how it went.


We had a wonderful time at the CHAP convention meeting new people and talking with homeschool families about our music appreciation curriculum and all things homeschool! We took the whole family, and the kids had a great time meeting other homeschool families and seeing all the exciting booths. A special shout out to our daughter, Lydia, who made sure attendees and vendors alike knew about our booth (see photos below).



Attendees loved our Music Appreciation Curriculum


My favorite part of the convention was the opportunity to walk homeschool parents through our homeschool curriculum options.


"This feels so doable!"

~ (CHAP Attendee)


Since we were toward the back of the vendor hall, by the time attendees reach our booth, they often seemed a bit overwhelmed from perusing all the choices. But when I walked parents through either the Elementary A or the Primary A curriculum, nearly everyone I spoke with brightened up and said something like "I could see myself doing this," or "I was told I really needed to add music to my homeschool but I didn't know how; this feels so doable!" or simply, "This is so cool! I'm glad you created this." A fellow music vendor complimented us, saying, "This is the real deal!" And one of our favorite comments was from one of our last customers of the convention: "This is the best curriculum I found here!"


"This is the best curriculum I found here!"

~ (CHAP Attendee)


Of course there were many other wonderful curriculum choices at the convention, but we were so happy to be able to meet this customer's needs by providing an easy, once-a-week, open-and-go music appreciation curriculum that harnesses the power of great books to make music come alive.



Questions We Heard at CHAP


We heard a number of questions at CHAP that we thought others might share. Click each question to see the answer below!

Q: Do Primary A and Elementary A cover the same topics, just at different levels?

A: Primary A and Elementary A are complementary curricula, covering many of the same musicians, should you wish to use both curricula with a larger range of ages in your family. However, the fundamentals, instruments, and activity lessons are mostly different, with a little overlap on the last activity of the year.

Q: Does Elementary A require Primary A as a pre-requisite?

A: No, all of our Primary and Elementary offerings are meant to stand alone, assuming minimal to no experience with music. The topics covered in the primary levels are simpler, especially in the fundamentals lessons, and the Elementary lessons move faster and in more detail, but both start by assuming the student (and parent!) may possibly know nothing about music.

Q: How strict are the recommended grade ranges? Do I have to purchase both curricula if I have students in both age ranges, such as a Kindergartner and a 3rd grader?

A: You do not have to buy both! You can choose one that feels like the best fit, and modify the activity sheets up or down if necessary for your student(s) outside the recommended grade range. Primary A is recommended for grades K-2 and Elementary A is recommended for grades 3-5, but there is some flexibility to those recommendations. At the co-op where I (Emma) teach, I have used Primary A up to 3rd grade and Elementary A up to 6th grade. The biggest differences are the picture books and the level of work expected in the Activity Pack. The books in Primary A are mostly aimed at a slightly younger audience than the books in Elementary A. The Primary A Activity Pack features traceable letters, matching, easy labeling, coloring, and other similar activities. The Elementary A Activity Pack features more writing, with fill-in-the-blank answers and more involved labeling activities. To choose the curriculum that's right for your family, I recommend parents look at our free one-month samples.

Q: Do you have a group rate for co-ops?

A: If you are interested in using our curriculum in a group setting such as a school or co-op, we offer group pricing for groups with 15 or more students using a curriculum. We are also developing a studio pricing rate for use in private music studios or studio-based music programs. If you are interested in using our curriculum in either kind of group setting, please reach out to us!



SAMPLE: Primary A (Digital)
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SAMPLE: Elementary A (Digital)
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If you have been on the fence about purchasing one of our curriculum programs, this is a great time to try it!





It was exciting to see the variety of other vendors, including some of the familiar big name curriculum and book sellers, as well as some lesser known small businesses with great offerings. We enjoyed getting to know our neighbor booths, STOA and Elizabethtown College (who hosted the convention). Our children spent a lot of time at author Willamette Sutta's booth, spinning her prize wheel and learning about her fantasy series, Air of Another.


We met two other music vendors at CHAP, both of which offer virtual lessons (as well as local in-person lessons), so if you are looking for something like that, check out:


And since we are passionate about including all the arts in homeschooling, we loved seeing great options for homeschool art:


It was great to connect with other vendors and attendees alike, and we look forward to hopefully attending next year's CHAP convention!



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Bring the joy of music to your homeschool!

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Updated: Jan 22


Our mission is in our name: Music Comes Alive aims to bring music to life for your family through an easy, fun, and comprehensive homeschool music curriculum.


Two students reading picture books

Easy & Fun

Primary A Curriculum Guide
Primary A Curriculum Guide "Month at a Glance"

Music Comes Alive is designed to fit into your busy homeschool life, with one easy-to-teach lesson per week.


Each course includes a parent-friendly Curriculum Guide and an engaging Activity Pack for each student. Our no prep, open-and-go Curriculum Guides contain a year's worth of fully written-out lesson plans, with everything you need to teach music at home:

(1) For planning: scope & sequence, booklist, playlist, supplies list & month-at-a-glance pages

Primary A Activity Pack
Elementary A Activity Pack "Musician Fact File"

(2) For teaching: fully written-out lesson plans with diagrams and internet-linked resources (with links & QR codes)

The Activity Pack features colorful activity sheets for a fun, hands-on experience. For each lesson, your student will enjoy the accompanying Activity Pack page, such as "Musician Fact File," "Fundamentals Focus," "Instrument Spotlight," or "Hands-On Activity." "Listening Pages" are provided for each listening assignment.



Comprehensive Music Curriculum

Nine picture books for Primary A
Books for Primary A

In addition to being easy and fun, Music Comes Alive aims to be comprehensive, providing access to a range of musical styles and topics for your family to enjoy.


Our literature-based curriculum uses great books to bring music to life and foster connection between you and your child. Over the course of each month, you and your child will learn about music history, music fundamentals, and musical instruments. Curated playlists and listening guides help you and your child to become familiar with great musical compositions and to learn how to listen to different styles of music.


Music Comes Alive also taps into various learning styles by using a range of teaching approaches, including read-aloud books & lessons, listening assignments, hands-on worksheets & activities (crafts, games, etc.), and internet-linked resources (primarily video) for further exploration of the topics covered by the curriculum.


Course Offerings


Our long-term vision is to offer digital and print homeschool music curriculum for grades K-12.

Primary A Curriculum Guide and Activity Pack

Our current offerings include:

  • Primary A (Grades K-2): Medieval Melodies to Musical Theater (Learn More)

  • Elementary A (Grades 3-5): Medieval to Modern (Learn More)


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Print versions of Primary A and Elementary A will be available soon!


Upcoming courses will include additional courses for grades K-2 (Primary B) and grades 3-5 (Elementary B) as well as our first middle school curriculum (Intermediate 1). Head on over to the Music Comes Alive store and bring the joy of music to your homeschool today!


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Homeschool Music Curriculum with Flexible Age Ranges


Adding music to your homeschool should be easy! One way to keep things simple is to teach multiple grades at once. Each of our courses is suitable for a range of grades:


Additional tracks for Primary (grades K-2) and Elementary (grades 3-5) and more are coming soon!


Parallel Homeschool Music Curriculum

If you have a range of elementary ages in your home, consider purchasing parallel courses! All our Primary and Elementary tracks work in parallel.


For example, Primary A: Medieval Melodies to Musical Theater covers the same time periods and many of the same musicians as Elementary A: Medieval to Modern. (See below)

Month

Primary A:

Medieval Melodies to Musical Theater

Elementary A: Medieval to Modern

Month 1

Hildegard of Bingen (Medieval Era)

Guido D'Arezzo (Medieval Era)

Month 2

J. S. Bach (Baroque Era)

J. S. Bach (Baroque Era)

Month 3

W. A. Mozart (Classical Era)

W. A. Mozart (Classical Era)

Christmas

"Silent Night"

"In the Bleak Midwinter"

Month 4

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George (Classical Era)

Ludwig van Beethoven (Classical Era)

Month 5

P. I. Tchaikovsky (Romantic Era)

P. I. Tchaikovsky (Romantic Era)

Month 6

George Gershwin (Modern/Jazz)

George Gershwin (Modern/Jazz)

Month 7

Marian Anderson (Opera singer)

Billie Holiday (Jazz singer)

Month 8

Broadway Stars (Musical Theater)

Leonard Bernstein (Modern/Musicals)

Upcoming courses Primary B & Elementary B and Primary C & Elementary C are structured in a similar way. Combine parallel courses to create a rich feast of musical learning for all your elementary-aged students!


Homeschool Music Curriculum for a Group Setting

Several Copies of Primary A Activity Pack

Looking to teach Music Comes Alive in a group setting? Our flexible curriculum is adaptable to several kinds of group settings, including co-ops, private schools, library classrooms, and more. We offer discounted group licensing options, so please contact us for group pricing!


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