Refreshing our Souls with Hymn Study
When I was first starting out in the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling, I was a bit skeptical about getting my son to sing hymns. I mean, I didn’t come from a family that sang hymns, so even to me, the words were foreign and the melody lines were not familiar. So during our first year, I felt that singing more contemporary worship songs would cut it.
But the more I studied the CM method, the more I started to understand the power of singing hymns: the beautiful language, the rich ideas in them, among others. So we gave it a shot.
It wasn’t easy remembering the tune or the lyrics at first. But we plodded on. And I’m so glad we did!
Since then, we’ve expanded our repertoire to have many uplifting hymns to turn to during difficult times. One of my favorite memories was sitting in the hospital with our then months-old foster son, who wouldn’t sit still for his nebulizer unless I was singing hymns to him! And, I found that it helped me stay awake for that overnight hospital wait, because it forced me to think about what lyrics should come next!
Another incident I remember was a time when, just before we were about to sing our hymn, my second son did something that greatly annoyed me. I was tempted just to give up on it, but because I’d already announced we would sing our hymn, I grit my teeth and continued with it. To my surprise, as we started singing, I felt my heart getting light, so that by the time we were halfway through, I was already enjoying myself, having forgotten what I had been so worked up about!
How to Do Hymn Study
So how do we do hymn study in a Charlotte Mason homeschool?
- We sing the month’s scheduled hymn together as a family at least once a week. Some families do Morning Time together. And I say at least once a week, because many families have enjoyed singing the month’s hymn together everyday. One of the Advisory at AmblesideOnline.Org, Wendi, swears by it, and I’m inspired by her example!
- You can use YouTube to sing with, or if you play any instrument, feel free to play accompaniment live.
- After you’re familiar with the melody and lyrics, feel free to sing it acapella.
- Make it fun!
- Sometimes, you may want to research the story of the hymn or the hymn writer. But that’s purely optional!
Hymns You Can Use for Your Charlotte Mason Homeschool
If you’re just starting out with hymns yourself, here’s a list of some of our favorites, with corresponding YouTube link:
- All Things Bright and Beautiful
- All the Way My Savior Leads Me
- Be Thou My Vision
- Blessed Assurance
- Dear Lord and Father of Mankind
- I Know Whom I Have Believed In
- In the Sweet By and By
- It Is Well With My Soul
- Revive Us Again
- When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Enjoy Hymn Study Together
So if it’s your first time implementing the Charlotte Mason method in your homeschool, please please please don’t skip the hymns! Your heart will thank you for it!
If you need a resource that has your hymns all in place, we have our Finding Beauty in Hymn Study PDF, with two year’s worth of hymns, with copywork-friendly pages you can print wherever you are, plus a FREE Hymn Study Copybook companion for younger kids!
