DIY Homeschooler

Joy to the World! by Kenneth W. Osbeck has been a family favorite in our home for years and can be used as the basis for a Christmas carol unit.

The book covers 25 Christmas carols, one for each day of December through Christmas.

These folk-song-like hymns confront us once again with the profound mystery of the incarnation: God became a humble Babe that we might live and reign with Him eternally. Who can fathom fully this amazing truth? Yet even amid all the glitter and commercialization that dominate our modern culture and tend to dull our spiritual senses, the singing of these simple songs has a way of recapturing our spirit’s focus on Bethlehem’s manger.

The printed music is provided with each song, along with background information on the lyrics and tune.

Carols include:

• “Angels We Have Heard on High.”
• “Away in a Manger.”
• “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.”
• “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.”
• “O Come, Little Children.”
• “O Holy Night.”
• “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
• “Ring the Bells.”
• “The First Noel.”
• “We Three Kings of Orient Are.”
• “What Child is This?”

The old hymns and Christmas carols seem to be less well known to our children than to us, and even more so our parents and grandparents. Joy to the World! gives us a chance to pass along those inspirational favorites to the next generation.

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Suggestions

• Through the month of December, cover one song each day.
• Read the background information and sing the song. (You’ll find resources below to help you if you are not familiar with the song.)
• Create a notebook with one page per song. Copy and illustrate a favorite verse or the chorus from the song.

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Additional Resources

Favorite Site: Christmas Karaoke
Sing along!

Christmas
Background information, lyrics, score, and MIDI music for Christmas hymns.

Christmas Carols & Hymns Unit Study {Free}
A free unit study based on 15 Christmas carols and hymns, all but one of which are covered in the book.

Drawing & Writing Notebooking Paper {Free Download}
Our favorite for writing and illustrating.