The Power of Music and Your School Time
There is a great classical music station available to Central Coast listeners. KUSC FM 99.7 cranks out your classic favorites from Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and more. If you are curious about utilizing classical music as part of your home school line-up, consider the science behind it: Listening to music (without lyrics) stimulates the right side of the brain. Conversely, when you write and study, you trigger the left hemisphere of your brain. Doing both at the same time means both hemispheres are firing simultaneously, working as a whole and increasing your ability to memorize and retain information.
So what kind of classical music is best? Experts say Mozart and other baroque music (music in the 17th and 18thcenturies from Europe), maintain a pace of 60 beats per minute and is actually said to increase learning potential by up to five times normal amounts.
While I am no brain scientist, I did read numerous science studies linking classical music to learning when my children were babies. For me this was “new news”, so I gave it a try. It worked. I found my toddlers playing significantly longer and with more focus when classical music was playing in our home. That mini experiment made such an impact on my husband and me that our family has incorporated classical music into our home school days as well. I truly find my children (and me) more relaxed and I do believe that it has a positive effect on their learning ability. So, let the music play…
