83: Music Lessons for National Hispanic Heritage Month to do in Your Homeschool

How can you celebrate culture, history, and music in your homeschool—all at the same time? In this episode of Music in Our Homeschool, we’re diving into simple-to-use, click-and-go, no-prep music lesson ideas for National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15–October 15). You’ll learn the fascinating history behind the celebration, explore the difference between “Hispanic” and “Latino,” and discover engaging ways to bring the vibrant sounds of Latin America and Spain into your homeschool.

From mariachi and samba to classical composers and Broadway hits, I’ll share music lessons, cultural activities, and hands-on crafts that your kids will actually love. Whether you try singing Spanish folk songs, watching a Paraguayan bottle dance, making homemade maracas, or studying composers like Villa-Lobos and Ginastera, you’ll find something for every age and homeschool schedule.

By the end of this episode, you’ll have a ready-to-use list of resources and the background to confidently teach your kids why this month matters.

🔗 Don’t miss the companion blog post for all the links and activities mentioned!

Find links to all resources mentioned in this episode here: music-lessons-for-hispanic-heritage-month 

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Transcript

Music Lessons for National Hispanic Heritage Month

Gena: [00:00:00] What if you could celebrate culture, history, and music all at the same time, and do it in a way your kids will actually love? That's what we're going to explore today. September 15th through October 15th is National Hispanic Heritage Month, and it's a perfect opportunity to bring vibrant sounds, fascinating stories, and hands-on activities into your homeschool. Whether you've celebrated before or this is brand new for you, I've got some ideas today that will make it easy, meaningful, and fun.

Over the next few minutes, we're going to unpack the history behind National Hispanic Heritage Month, so you can share it confidently with your kids and e xplore a mix of music lessons, activities, and cultural experiences, many of them free, that you can start this week. By the end of this episode, you'll not only have a list of ideas, but also the background to help your kids see why this celebration matters.[00:01:00] 

Let's start with the why behind the dates. National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15th to October 15th every year. Those dates aren't random. They're connected to major moments in history for many Latin American countries.

September 15th marks the anniversary of Independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In 1821, all five declared independence from Spain. The very next day, September 16th, is Mexico's independence Day, and then Chile celebrates on September 18th. You can almost picture this season as a domino line of celebrations across Central and South America.

If you map it out with your kids, you'll see how those anniversaries line up in mid-September. That's why the United States chose this date to kick off the celebration. It honors multiple countries at once, and it actually began much [00:02:00] smaller. In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law Hispanic Heritage Week. Two decades later, in 1988, President Ronald Reagan expanded it to the full month that we have today.

What is the difference between the words Hispanic and Latino? It's a question that comes up a lot, even for adults, so it's worth being clear before we dive into the lessons.

Hispanic refers to people connected to the Spanish language, so that includes Spain, most of Central and South America, and even some other places like the Philippines. Latino or Latina or Latinx is about geography. It refers to people from Latin America, and that includes Brazil, where the language spoken is Portuguese, not Spanish.

So here's how you could explain it to your kids. Someone from Spain is Hispanic but not Latino. Someone from Brazil [00:03:00] is Latino, but not Hispanic. Someone from Mexico is both Hispanic and Latino.

For our purposes today, however, we're going to celebrate music from both Hispanic and Latin American traditions because both have influenced U.S. culture in incredible ways, from the mariachi bands to tango, from Spanish guitar, to the Brazilian samba.

Why music? Well, music is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to connect with a culture. It's a living history. You hear the rhythms that came from a certain place, and the instruments shaped by certain people, the melodies that were brought from one place to another and transformed over the centuries. Your kids learn a song in Spanish or dance to a Brazilian folk tune, they're not just hearing notes, they're stepping into someone else's story, and that's powerful.

We are going to walk through a set of ideas you can [00:04:00] use this month. You don't need to do them all. Of course, there's a lot to choose from. Just pick one or two that fit your time and interest.

 First is my 15-minute music lesson for Cinco de Mayo. Even though Cinco de Mayo is in May, this lesson works beautifully in September too, for it introduces Mexican history, traditional instruments like the guitarron and vihuela, and the lively rhythms of the Mariachi music. After you listen, have your kids identify the instruments they hear in the recording. Can they draw one? Can they c lap along to the beat.

Gena: And by the way, be sure to check the show notes or description for the companion blog post because all the links to these lessons will be there.

Villa Lobos is one of Brazil's most famous composers, blending classical European forms with Brazilian folk tunes. In my 15 minute music lesson, we explore his Bachianas [00:05:00] brasileiras where you'll hear both Bach-inspired counterpoint and rhythms that could only come from Brazil. Listen for the guitar-like patterns in the strings and the lilting syncopation that gives it a tropical feel.

Next, you'll want to watch cultural performances. I have a video of a Paraguayan bottle dance. Yes, it's an actual glass bottle balanced on the head while dancing, and some young people from Mexico playing in a youth mariachi band. Kids are fascinated by what they see as much as what they hear. So watch these videos and you can ask, "What do you notice about their costumes or the instruments and the way they move?"

The next idea is to make some Latin American instruments. Maracas are really easy. Just put some dried beans inside a plastic egg and seal it with tape. Use plastic spoons for the handle. Or you could try making a [00:06:00] simple box guitar from a shoebox and some rubber bands. Kids connect more deeply to music when they create instruments themselves, even these simple ones.

Part of my Music of Christmas course has some lessons from Christmas traditions from different places around the world. You can explore the lesson about the Las Posadas songs, the tradition of processions, and the role of music in community celebrations. So, light some candles, dim the lights, and walk around the room singing a Las Posadas refrain. It's a beautiful sensory experience.

And then there's musicals and movies. You can watch Rita Moreno perform "America" from West Side Story and talk about how musicals tell cultural stories. Then watch Linda Ronstadt singing "Poor Wandering One" from the Pirates of Penzance. A nd then of course there's Lin Manuel Miranda of Puerto Rican [00:07:00] heritage. He's the creator of Hamilton. Inside Music in Our Homeschool Plus, I offer a masterclass on how and why the musical Hamilton became such a sensation. Let your teens watch a scene and then research a historical figure from the musical.

Also, inside Music in Our Homeschool Plus, I have some master classes, including one that is a Latin dance masterclass. Even if you're not a dancer, you will love learning some steps in this class. You can even use it as P.E. for the day.

Some more composers from Hispanic countries include Manuel De Falla and Enrique Granados from Spain, Alberto Ginastera from Argentina. And Isaac Albeniz. Listen to one piece per week and talk about what makes their sounds unique to their countries.

Next, you could sing some [00:08:00] songs in Spanish. I have Fum, Fum, Fum from Singing Made Easy Level Four or De Colores from a Folk Song A Week. Once you've learned the song, sing it at meal times for a week. Repetition helps kids remember.

In my World Music for Elementary course, I have many lessons from Latin American and Hispanic countries. There's Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. Each lesson includes a mix of listening, cultural facts, and even optional activities.

See how many directions you can go with this National Hispanic Heritage Month celebration from folk dances to Broadway, hands-on crafts to classical masterpieces. There's something here for every age, every style of learner, and every homeschool schedule. Just pick one thing from this [00:09:00] list and actually do it this week, and please let me know which one you picked.

It could be as simple as watching one performance together and talking about it over lunch. Consistency matters more than quantity. You can always add another lesson next week. You'll find links to every resource I mentioned in the show notes and description, and I also encourage you to download Two Weeks of Free Music Appreciation Lessons at MusicinOurHomeschool.com/FreeMusicLessons. And I would love to have you join us inside the Music in Our Homeschool Plus membership. That link is MusicinOurHomeschool.com/membership. So keep learning, keep listening, keep filling your home with the joy of music and the arts.

I'll see you next time.

Find links to all resources mentioned in this episode here: music-lessons-for-hispanic-heritage-month