We’ve got big news here at our homeschool, my husband and I decided that the kiddos and I are going to tag along on my husband’s work trip to Nashville this year! We are so excited! When an opportunity this this pops up, it dramatically changes our homeschool plans. We are totally dropping everything else and switching gears to Nashville, Nashville, Nashville! I went directly to the library card catalog and got us started with the following ideas and resources.
Nashville is known as Music City, and we know next to nothing about the big stars who have performed at the famous venues there. We are going to learn about some famous musicians using books from the “Who Was…?” series.
Update: we ran out of time and we only listened to “Who Is Dolly Parton?” and “Who Was Johnny Cash?”. Both books were fantastic and we listened to many of the songs referenced in the books.
We also watched Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors made-for-TV movie. The movie was very good, but please know that one of Dolly’s siblings was stillborn and that was a major theme of the film, as well as how babies are made. It was done very tastefully but if you haven’t already had “The Talk” with your kids you might be having it after you watch this movie! The still baby scenes were extremely sad, and I was totally chocked up. I definitely recommend previewing it first before watching it with your children.
Nashville also has a replica of the Parthenon, and since we probably won’t make it to Greece anytime soon, we’re going to try and check that out too. We want to have a bit of background information about the Parthenon before we go.
I snagged a classic novel by William O’Steele set in Tennessee. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to read this one before our trip. It’s on our list now though…
We already had an American Girl book, “Tenney” set in Nashville, Tennessee. We really liked this book a lot and we bought the rest of the series to read later.
We really enjoyed these two picture books about people from Tennessee that we hadn’t learned about before, William “Doc” Key and his horse Jim, and Sequoyah.
🎶 Are you from Nashville or have you visited Nashville?
🎵 What should we do while we are there?
🎼 Do you have any other resource ideas for us?
heavens to betty 
Fun! Caleb and I went to Nashville for a teacher convention before the kids were born. We went to the Grand Ole Opry and rode the General Jackson Showboat. Both were fun! If you feel like it you’re also about 2 hours from both Southern and Oakwood universities which can be interesting stops too. Have a great time!
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Did you see a show at The Grand Ole Opry? Would you take the kiddos?
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When you are there, you should pick up your Home School Mother of the Year award! I mean you make learning so much fun – relatable! We are going to the Smoky Mountains in April. Perhaps you could take a side trip there. And please ask your husband to schedule the trip around ours, so we can meet up! 😉 We visited “Hermitage” while in Nashville a few years back. That is the home of President Andrew Jackson. He wasn’t a favorite president of mine, but I do like to visit presidential homes and museums. Whatever you do, enjoy and safe travels!
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Betty you are so sweet! The Smoky Mountains sound amazing! We went there many years ago before we had children. If you’re near Gatlinburg, check out the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum!
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We are staying in Gatlinburg, so we will definitely check that out. I have a friend who used to collect Salt and Pepper shakers.
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I started collecting them after our visit to the museum. 😊
The little elderly lady who owned the museum was so sweet. She came out to tell us about the museum before we started our tour. She only said two sentences: “I am so fascinated that such creativity, such beauty, such detail, such artistry is put into these tiny containers for the simplest ingredients only just salt and pepper. Enjoy the museum.”
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I have always been tempted to start a collection. My favorites are always the humorous ones. This is definitely on our list!
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Oh fun! We took our daughter there years ago as her high school graduation gift! We had so much fun. I love that you will get to study some of the things ahead of time and make it meaningful for all of you. Have fun!
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Thank you! What were your favorite places on your visit to Nashville?
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The Grand Ole Opry and we did do a tour of one of the music studios and a bus tour. I liked the bus tour as I learned some special things about some of the Nashville people that f focused on their humanness rather than just ‘stars’.
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Oh, how wonderful! I haven’t been in years! I visited Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage (💕) Grand Ol’ Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, Parthenon, and we went to a theme park! Downtown is neat and in my later years went to the Bluebird Cafe! I remember my Dad driving us around and pointing out famous singers’ places (we grew up on old country 🎶). I really want to go back as I have many friends that share all the wonderful times they have now when they go! There’s a lot of beauty and history there. I love finding hidden gems so maybe you can find some for us! 💛
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You did a lot in Nashville! I’m having the hardest time trying to narrow down the activities for us to do! 😊
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Well, my parents crammed a lot in that time! Lol …and I was fortunate to go back again as an adult. I really do want to go back. I’m 52 and haven’t been since I was in my late 20’s!
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How fun and memorable to go to Nashville! This is the best about homeschooling. Love it up, girl!
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As you well know, homeschooling is certainly not easy but it’s opportunities like this that make it totally worth it. I love homeschooling despite the difficulties!
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Agree with everything you said!
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Fun! Travel fieldtrip sounds like a dream come true. Have a great time!
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It is just a dream come true! For years, I’ve wanted to tag alone on his work trips but it has just never worked out before. 😊
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