Music

I had planned to cover the core subjects before getting into extra curriculars, but since I had this picture from last night I thought I'd talk a bit about Music. For the most part, Music has three components. We sing, we play an instrument, and we have "music appreciation".

I have a resource that I use for the singing part, but I have to admit, the kids would much rather sing along to their "Kidz Bop" or VBS CD's. That's okay! They enjoy the songs and all three of them enjoy singing them. Social Butterfly has a beautiful voice. The local University (CMU) offers voice lessons to children who are 10 years old or older. I think I will enroll her when she is old enough.

For the musical instrument, we have the piano. We don't start the instrument until the kids are in 3rd grade. I hope the teacher we have for Social Butterfly is around for a very long time. She is wonderful. She's very kind but she also demands quite a bit. I couldn't believe it when Social Butterfly had to transpose her practice selections to a different key. That's a bit difficult. This teacher also has monthly recitals. The kids can choose if they want to participate or not. We usually allow Social Butterfly to take part every other month. She enjoys the audience (where did this child come from?) and it encourages her to practice more and increase the difficulty of her songs. The other part about the recital is the poise it allows the kids to develope. I'm very proud of Social Butterfly! Next year, Jetter will begin.

Finally, we have Music Appreciation. For this aspect, we simply listen to classical music. Surprisingly, the younger kids love it. It has a very calming affect on Jetter, who loves to listen to it in the car. He has always been very sensitive to music and even as a baby cried when the music in the car was louder than he wanted. The curriculum we use has specifice music that the kids listen to when they get into 3rd grade and higher. They listen to the music and learn about the composer. For the younger kids, they listen, but it only to develope in them an appreciation for it. The more they hear classical, and the less they hear "pop" or the other popular music of the day, the more they like the classical. It sure doesn't take them long to "change sides" once they become teenagers though!