Start the Homeschool Year with Private Guitar Lessons

Marty Keith. photo cred: David Bailey

Marty Keith knows music. At age 4, Marty began learning how to play the guitar from Herb Chapman, father of GRAMMY and Dove award-winning artist Steven Curtis Chapman. As a full-time professional musician he performs live, records in studio, writes music for television and film, and has been teaching private guitar lessons for over twenty years.

Many of Marty's music students are homeschoolers, and as a homeschool dad, he gets it. He will even provide grades for your report card. 

Marty is accepting new guitar students. Besides guitar, Marty also

Screenshot of Marty Keith playing on ABC's Nashville

offers lessons on bass guitar, ukulele, stage performance, songwriting, and artist development. Adult students are welcome, too. Rental guitars are available for a small fee.

Marty offers first lesson free for homeschoolers. Lessons are 30-minutes, once a week (no extra charge for a 5-week month.) Hour lessons are available for advanced students.

Marty is conveniently located just half a mile off I-65 (Exit 65, Hwy. 96) in Franklin. Email: johnmartinkeith at hotmail dot com or call him at 615-415-1942.

Check out what some of Marty's students are saying:

After taking one lesson from Marty my entire outlook on music changed. I learned technique, explored different styles, and also began composing my own songs. I wouldn’t be the musician I am today without his patience, encouragement, and dedication to teaching. If you’re thinking at all about improving your skills as a musician, look no further than Edenbrooke Music. — Ali, 19

We have been so happy with guitar lessons from Marty Keith! In just 9 months my son is playing many songs and playing them well! I never would have guessed that he would be playing guitar like this in such a short time. Marty’s style is patient and thorough. He really cares about his students and wants the very best for each of them. — Amy, Franklin TN

I really like taking guitar lessons from Marty because he makes learning guitar fun and he lets me play songs that I like. — Logan, 11

My 16 year old son has been taking acoustic guitar and now electric guitar as well from Marty for the

past 3 years.   Marty is very talented, hard working, always on time, and a does an amazing job engaging my teenage son in the learning process.   His talent, teaching skills and caring attitude are wonderful! — Gwen, Brentwood TN

I would highly recommend Mr. Keith as a guitar teacher!  My son is 14 and he has really advanced this year!  He told me he has learned so much from him!  Lots of instruction. –Diana, Franklin TN

Our 10 year old really enjoys taking lessons from Marty.  His ability to teach her to play everything from Guns N Roses to Fleetwood Mac to old hymns keeps guitar fresh and fun.  We’ve really seen her progress over the months and create a collection of guitar music that is never boring.  Marty maximizes the lesson time so she learns something new each week to practice until the next lesson.  She enjoys playing guitar and ukulele now! — Lori, Brentwood TN

Marty Keith came highly recommended to us by friends. Our daughter started taking lessons from him almost three years ago.  We are very pleased with her continued progress and that she learns songs she enjoys playing. Marty is a knowledgeable professional musician, is organized with his communication and lessons, and is very encouraging to his students. — Rebecca, Brentwood TN

I have taken lessons from Mr. Marty for almost three years. He is a very good teacher, encourages me to continue learning, and gives me a variety of songs to play. –Zola, age 11

Marty Keith’s heart for God is displayed in his teaching and encouragement of young children. His passion for guitar and music, combined with his passion for Christ is the perfect environment for learning. I love the variety of his song selections and how he moves through them building confidence and the sense of accomplishment for my daughter…I’m truly thankful! — Anne, Franklin TN

It is my pleasure to recommend Marty Keith as a guitar mentor for your child. Marty is very patient, flexible and student focused meeting the needs of our family. I appreciate Marty′s ability to adapt his teaching methods that challenge my ADHD child′s interests. I am very pleased with my child′s

The Kindoll Adademy by Kristen Kindoll

I'm a maverick, a rebel with a cause, and a plain-old prospector. These flags fly proud, though a bit tattered at times. It is in the tradition of self-publishing and home-schooling, some of my alternative endeavors, that I wanted to expand my reach and create a learning academy.

Kindoll Academy has been in the works for over ten years. I initially conducted classes for my children and their friends. While homeschooling has many benefits, due to its construct of a one-on-one tutoring methodology, this positive has some innate

How to Teach Your Child the Value of a Thank You

I bet your children had a wonderful time this past Christmas opening all of their gifts. The wrapping paper was flying, decorative ribbons were tossed and eyes sparkled when they were set upon an “unexpected” gift just for them. It is always nice to receive gifts. As a gift giver, it is also nice to receive thank you notes. As we progress through the digital era, a hand-written thank you note is probably something you will continue to see less of in your life. Only a homeschool parent could turn that around and bring hand-written thank you notes back into popularity.

 

I do not know what it is about homeschool parents, but we have to turn everything into a learning experience. As a homeschooling

Homeschooling Artists and Crafters Spotlight: Sally's Retro Christmas Wreaths

Homeschool mom Sally of Shabby Shimmer Christmas first saw a glass ornament wreath tutorial at Retro Renovation and decided to give it a try. Fast forward a couple of years later and she's made over a hundred Christmas ornament wreaths and has also ventured into making putz houses (also known as little glitter houses).

Homeschooling Artists and Crafters Spolight: Annalise Joy's Carved Art

Homeschool mom and wood carving artist Annalise Joy creates hand carved ornaments, wall hangings, and hard bound books. Her carved art is available for purchase from her website.

Annalise learned chip carving by apprenticing with a Los Angeles based artist in the early 2000s. Her carved art was recently featured at West Elm in Green Hills. Be sure to visit annalisejoy.com to view the many options for unique and exquisite Christmas gifts. Here are a few of her beautiful creations:

Homeschooling Artists and Crafters Spolight: Rachel's Bookmarks

Homeschool student Rachel E. creates beautiful handmade string and bead bookmarks. She started making the bookmarks about two years ago and began selling them at yard sales. The bookmarks became so popular, she now sells them online as well. 

Calling all homeschooling artists and crafters!

Hey happy homeschoolers! Over the holidays we will be featuring homeschoolers (parents or students) who create and sell their creations.

Do you knit, bake, carve, paint, candle-make? Contact us and we will feature your wares and let the Williamson County homeschool community know how they can order your special creations just in time for Christmas.

Contact us through the Contact Form on the left sidebar and we will be in touch shortly. 

Not a crafter? Subscribe to this blog so you can keep up with the offerings from your local homeschool community. Know a crafter who should be featured on HomeschoolingWC.com? Send them the link to this post and let them know about the fun opportunity!

Set Reading Goals with Book Adventure

When you have a child who would rather wash dishes than read a book, coming up with creative ways to encourage their interest in reading becomes an ongoing task for you as a parent. Although there is no quick fix for a struggling or unmotivated reader, Book Adventure by Sylvan Learning comes close to being a key to helping your child move in the right direction.

Book Adventure is a free, online resource for parents and teachers to use to encourage reading in their student. The program is geared towards children in kindergarten through eighth grades. Book Adventure provides

Creative and Fun Nature and Art Challenges for Your Child

Do you have children who love spending hours upon hours outdoors enjoying the wonders God has created? Do you have sketch artists who write on anything that is blank? Well, whether you answered yes or no to those two questions, one or both of these challenges may interest your child and provide a fun and new addition to your curriculum for the school year. These fun art and nature opportunities are free to participate in and may be done from the comfort of home or by just stepping outside. They are also for all ages, from toddlers to adults.

 

Outdoor Nature Hour

Barb, a homechool mother of four, started the Handbook of Nature Study blog to record and share the nature studies she and her children did using the book Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock. What started as a simple way to archive their studies has grown into a wonderful resource for homeschool families as they pursue a nature study in their classrooms.

Through what she calls “nature challenges,” Barb has created a free study using the book Handbook of Nature Study as a resource, which you can go through with your children to learn about the great outdoors during anytime of the year. There are more than 50 challenges available. Although they are designed to use in any order you choose because of the different climates participants live in, you may want to at least start here and follow through in order with the first couple of challenges just to have a sense of how everything flows.

Sketch Tuesday

Calling all sketchers, children and adults. Yes, adults may participate too in this weekly art assignment, which gives you the opportunity to create through drawing. Sketch Tuesday is another creative idea from Barb, who is also known as Harmony Art Mom from her website Harmony Fine Arts where she offers art and music appreciation curriculum.

Jennifer Smeltser writes for HomeLife Academy blog. HomeLife Academy is an official private school serving thousands of home educators. For more of Jennifer's articles, visit the Homeschool Roster.

Hide it in Your Heart Coloring Book by Annie Douglass Lima

More than just a coloring book, this inspirational activity book will help you relax, unwind, and enjoy some creative fun while hiding God’s Word in your heart. The 35 separate verses and passages are printed in colorable word art with decorative borders, blank on the back to make them easier to remove and frame or display, if desired. Each one is accompanied by two different activities or puzzles featuring the verse or key words from it.

Hide it in Your Heart is an ideal Scripture memorization aid for Christian schools, homeschool programs, Sunday schools, or your own personal use. Children and adults will enjoy learning, practicing, and meditating on these artistically presented verses from the New International Version Bible.

Proceeds from the sale of Hide it In Your Heart will be donated to www.Christar.org to help provide a translation of God’s Word for a particular people group in East Asia who do not yet have the Bible in their own language.

Here is a sample coloring and activity pages from Hide it In Your Heart. If you'd like to color it or complete the word puzzles, click on the link to access a PDF that you can download and print.

Hide it In Your Heart is available in paperback on Amazon for $8.99. Happy coloring!


About the Author:
Annie Douglass Lima spent most of her childhood in Kenya and later graduated from Biola University in Southern California. She and her husband Floyd currently live in Taiwan, where she teaches fifth grade at Morrison Academy. She has been writing poetry, short stories, and novels since her childhood, and to date has published thirteen books (two YA action and adventure novels, four fantasies, a puppet script, five anthologies of her students’ poetry, and a Scripture coloring and activity book). Besides writing, her hobbies include reading (especially fantasy and science fiction), scrapbooking, and international travel.

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