Minivan Ministries

Making Jesus the Driving Force in Your Family

Car Schooling

by 29 Comments

Whether you are a homeschooler or not, most of us probably have one thing in common…lots of time spent in the car.  We call it “car schooling.”  Car time is great for deep discussions, fun travel games, or even a little relaxation from time to time.  Car schooling is a great time for music.

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We love to sing, and even dance, in the car.  Unfortunately, radio stations can be a bit questionable at times.  You never know what kind of topics or language you are going to hear.  We eventually get tired of “safe” channels.  

When we are traveling during school hours, we like to make sure we are learning something. Occasionally an extra few minutes of car schooling can give you just enough time to finish up the required amount of hours for a school day.  It can be a fun way to reinforce or learn new concepts.  Educational music that is actually fun to listen to can be hard to find though.  

Here are a few of our favorite album suggestions to get your brain going and your body moving…

Educational music that is fun to listen to! Here are a few of our favorites… Click To Tweet

Teacher and the Rockbots:  We stumbled upon Teacher and the Rockbots at our local library while looking for a fun way to learn Multiplication.  We enjoyed rocking out to it so much that we also checked out World and Teacher and the Rockabots: America.  We have not gotten Science yet, but it is on our list.  A word of caution though–this album really rocks!  If you aren’t into loud, dramatic music, you might want to move on down the list.

 

They Might Be Giants:  I discovered They Might Be Giants in my early 20s without a single thought to education.  It was just silly and fun.  Years later I happened upon Here Comes Science (Amazon Exclusive Version) and knew it would be fun for my kids.  As a creationist, I would suggest skipping My Brother the Ape, but the rest is awesome.  They also have  Here Come The 123s and Here Come the ABCs, which are great for the younger ones.

 

Schoolhouse Rock:  Do I even need to talk about this one?  Some of us older parents remember these from our own childhood.  Why do we remember them so fondly?  Because they are great! If you want a variety of songs and have a DVD player in your car, Schoolhouse Rock! (Special 30th Anniversary Edition) is an excellent choice.  Those of you planning to study America this year might want to check out Schoolhouse Rock: America Classroom Edition [Interactive DVD].  If you are looking for audio music, iTunes is probably the best place to get School House Rock.  

 


John Lithgow: You might remember John Lithgow as an actor, but he has written some amazing and versatile children’s music such as Singin’ in the Bathtub and Sunny Side of the Street.  We discovered John Lithgow’s music when we were looking for orchestra music in preparation for a field trip.  Some of his songs have coordinating children’s books too.  

 

Jack Hartman:  I met Jack Hartman back in my public school teacher days.  He was a great speaker and has a ton of albums on various topics.  I wanted them all!   Movin’ 2 Math and Hip-Hop Alphabop 1 are a couple of our favorites for the preschool/early elementary age.

 

Chasing Summer:  Chasing Summer is an experienced duo, but have spent most of their recent time focussing on rootsy children’s music.  I love their focus on helping children across the world.  They have brought music and art camp to marginalized kids.  You can hear those children on their most recent album,  Let the Sun Shine In.

 


Coal Train Railroad: It’s great to expose kids to different kinds of music.  Jazz for preschoolers?  Yes!  While a couple of my kids are a little old for the topics, the sound is still too good not to listen to.   Coal Train Railroad and  Coal Train Railroad Swings! are not your traditional children’s albums.  You will enjoy it as much as they will.  If you have littles, get these!  

 

Stay tuned for our favorite Christian music selections for the family…

 

 What educational music do you enjoy?

 

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Comments

  1. Elizabeth Marshall says

    Oh my goodness! How fun. I had never thought about these ideas. Lately we have been listening to A LOT of Silly Songs with Larry from the Veggie Tales as we travel. I am going to look into some of these other suggestions. Especially the School House Rock! I loved that as a kid.

    Reply

    • admin says

      We have Veggie Tales too! We have found that variety is the spice of life though. You can only sing Silly Songs with Larry so many times before you need a break!

      Reply

  2. Jelli says

    This sounds like so much fun, and from the photo it’s obvious your kids really enjoy this music. Car rides are a great time to make the most of learning. In fact, my kids beg for Bible songs from Songs for Saplings every time we’re in the car. They’re learning Scripture, so it’s usually a big “yes!” from me….unless it’s been playing non-stop for too long 🙂

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  4. Matilda says

    What a great way to sneak in new information on the go. This is not only interesting but fun, will love to try this out sometime soon.

    Reply

  5. Vanessa Raphael says

    Haha I mean even non-Christians react to the stuff on the radio. It is good that there are options too. I remember some of the songs from your other posts with childrens music on youtube, I started to play them and I feel happy listening to them even if I dont have kids or are in that age group myself. My favourite is the “I got peace like a river” song
    Vanessa Raphael recently posted…How to detect and remove spammers on InstagramMy Profile

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  10. Ann says

    Those are great options for car schooling – and I love the name. Right now we devote our car schooling time to German. They used to speak German, but have lost it since we’re back in the states. Cars give them uninterrupted attention and it’s what they expect. But, when I’m in the mood to hear English, I’ll have to check out one outhouse options!

    Reply

  13. Tami says

    This is a terrific way to spend the ride in the car. My hubby likes to blare music. I prefer to visit with the kiddos. I’m definitely checking out these resources.

    Reply

    • admin says

      We try to find a happy medium in the car. We hit pause and talk about what we are singing sometimes. My husband prefers talking only because he works in a loud environment and craves the quiet sometimes.

      Reply

  22. LauraOinAK says

    I love this idea and totally agree that the radio is sometimes extremely questionable.

    Aside from music, I’ve always enjoyed doing audiobooks in the car. They make the time speed by and sometimes we have to sit in place to finish an especially good part of a story.
    LauraOinAK recently posted…Ways to Celebrate Good FridayMy Profile

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