• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • SCRIPT-N-SCRIBE
  • MISSIONS CURRICULUM
  • HIGH SCHOOL
  • STORE
Half a Hundred Acre Wood

Half a Hundred Acre Wood

Christian homeschooling integrating Classical and Charlotte Mason principles

  • Shop
  • Handwriting
  • Missions Curriculum
  • Resources
    • Favorite Books & Board Games
    • Curriculum Reviews
    • Homeschool High School
    • Cycle 1 Resources
    • Mission: Great Commission Curriculum
    • Script-n-Scribe Penmanship
    • Booklists and Reading Plans
    • Freebies
    • Cycle 2 Resources
    • Cycle 3 Resources
  • Blog
    • Latest Posts
    • Terms of Use
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy

Introducing Composer Study: Prokofiev & Peter and the Wolf

I receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please see our full disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for supporting Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood through your purchases.

Over the past few months I’ve fallen off the consistently-listen-to-classical-music wagon. This isn’t because I don’t have a plethora of organized resources already available to me. It’s just because I haven’t made it a priority. But… our children enjoy listening to classical music, so all I really need to do is play some classical music. I just make things too complicated.

In fact, what I’m sharing now is too complicated, but since this was the catalyst that first started our children’s appreciation of classical music and orchestra, I decided to pull out a family favorite, Peter and the Wolf. Because I wanted to include some composer study, we read about Prokofiev in Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought) and created a composer page to hang on the wall as we listen to various pieces by Prokofiev over the next month. (There’s also a free e-book on Project Gutenberg called The World’s Great Men of Music: Story-Lives of Master Musicians by Harriette Brower, although it does not include information on Prokofiev.)

–> Download Prokofiev Composer Sheet here. <—

Then… we listened to Peter and the Wolf. [Listen to Streaming Audio or download mp3 by right-clicking and saving to your computer (51.3 MB).]

After listening to the audio, we later watched Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Peter and the Wolf. This was so great!

(We also got sidetracked and watched a snippet of the Imperial March from Star Wars, where the conductor was using a toy light saber as a baton. Nothing like a little humor to make it even more engaging for our boys!)

In the past we’ve enjoyed watching the Disney’s 1946 Animated Version of Peter and the Wolf, but I’ve since found that it’s a violation of copyright to have those videos on youtube. In keeping with our goal to honor copyright as much as possible, I’m avoiding linking to such videos.  But Peter and the Wolf is included on the Disney’s Make Mine Music DVD.

Due to the familiarity of this piece, we didn’t pursue other activities.  But… for those wishing to camp out with Peter and the Wolf for a while before listening to other music…

Classics for Kids Peter and the Wolf Listening Map
Peter and the Wolf Finger Puppets
Baltimore Symphony Stick Puppets, Instruments, and Activities
Peter and the Wolf Coloring Sheet, Story Sequence, Instruments, Matching Activities by Westchester Philharmonic
Peter and the Wolf Coloring and Matching Activity Page

We will continue listening to Prokofiev’s various compositions over the next month…  His work includes film scores, ballets, symphonies, and operas.

Music by Prokofiev – download or listen via streaming audio

Prokofiev on Pandora
Cinderella
Romeo and Juliet
Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-Flat Major
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C
Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor
Classical Symphony in D Major
Lieutenant Kije Suite
Alexander Nevsky
Love for Three Oranges Suite
The Genius of Prokofiev – Romeo & Juliet, Lt. Kije, and Alexander Nevsky

Lately, we’ve been listening to the classical music when we’re making or eating lunch. Mostly we talk about what the music sounds like (what emotions or imagery it evokes), and point out different musical instruments we hear. We also talk a bit about the vocabulary we’ve been introduced to in past composer and music theory studies (e.g., crescendo). [Note:  This informal analysis is easy to do when in the midst of preparing lunch.]

For some of the these works, we may use listening maps we’ve found on-line, but we’ll most likely just use the Music Appreciation Log Sheet at Practical Pages (or we’ll just draw on blank sheets of paper).

Listening Maps
Listening Map for Cinderella – Waltz & Midnight (Upper Grammar)
Listening Guide for Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony in D Major (Upper Grammar+)
Listening Guide of Alexander Nevsky, 7th movement (Upper Grammar+)

More about Sergei Prokofiev

More about Prokofiev on PBS

Where we’re going from here… 
(aka, the plan which sometimes falls by the wayside)

During December, in light of the holidays, we are planning to once again study Tchaikovsky and the Nutcracker Suite.

Starting in January, we’ll select a composer to study using the Composer-of-the-Month Pages from Practical Pages and read from Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought).  We will attempt to find free (and legal!) audios via sites like Archive.org and Musopen.org.  If you’re interested in following our composer study, let us know by sending us an email or leaving a comment.  If there’s an interest, we’ll be glad to provide links to the audios and resources we will be using for each composer.
For a list of our Orchestra and Composer Resources, click here.
An Amazon affiliate link is contained within this post.  Click here for our full disclosure policy.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Related


By Brandy Ferrell October 28, 2013 5 Comments Tagged With: CLASSICAL CONVERSATIONS, COMPOSERS, FINE ARTS, ORCHESTRA

Reviews, Recommendations, and Resources

Engaging resources for homeschooling families...


Curriculum Reviews

Detailed reviews and free trials of curriculum we've used from elementary through high school - from unit studies to Charlotte Mason, from traditional to classical approaches.

Our Amazon Go-To’s

Visit our Amazon storefront for our favorite read-alouds, picture books, board games, and resources for homeschooling families. (Includes booklists!)

Our digital resources

Resources from elementary through high school to simplify your school year while integrating goodness, truth, and beauty into your learning experiences.

Footer

Contact us

15 Shirlenn Lane
Pleasant Shade, TN 37145
(615) 683-7125
support@halfahundredacrewood.com
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Looking for something? Check here!

Legal Disclosures

We care about your privacy! Read our Privacy Policy by clicking here.

All website content copyright Half-a-Hundred Acre Wood LLC unless otherwise noted ©2010-2023. All rights reserved. Read our Terms of Use here.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Click here to learn more about our affiliate relationships with Amazon and other programs.

Affiliate Program
Our Store · About us · Contact us · Join our Affiliate Program!

Copyright © 2025 Brandy Ferrell · Log in