Start one instrument at a time
Last fall, we started my little girl in Kindermusik class in St. Louis. We homeschool and thought I have background in choir, I’ve never really learned to play an instrument outside the recorder of our elementary school years and I wanted to make sure she had the opportunity to learn. Like all of her other classes, it was optional, and we would have stopped attending had she asked us to stop; however, she loves this class and eagerly looks forward to it each week—even though the drive is long enough to where she falls asleep every week on the way there!
Piano lessons, however, were another story entirely. She enjoyed the class, sure; but she found the homework much more difficult than her Kindermusik (and it was; Kindermusik is only a few minutes of practice a day as well as a weekly assignment or games, while piano entailed about an hour of work a day, plus worksheets) work, and we struggled every day trying to get her to practice. It didn’t take long for us to discover that she simply did not understand the notes in piano as she was learning an entire different octave, thereby confusing the heck out of her!
So we decided to take a break from piano for another two semesters until Kindermusik is over in the summer of 2013. By then, if she is still interested in piano, we can continue—but we won’t force her to do too much at once, nor be confused by too many musical techniques. I think such learning is possible for older students, but for her young age of six, it was simply too much at once.
It’s really important to take our children’s temperaments and preferences into consideration when we enroll them into these programs—and there are many, for sure!—and really only choose one or two to do at a time to avoid overwhelm. We’re also taking a break from taekwondo right now—not only because we can’t afford it at the moment, but also because she’s been doing it twice a week since the age of four, and it’s been a bit demanding on her.
The problem with a child like mine is that she is so interested in everything and so willing to try out everything that she doesn’t want to limit herself! That’s not exactly a problem; I love that she is so open to art, music, and sports, as well as other activities. But it’s not good for her to do too much without that vital free play, imaginative time—and that’s where we parents come in.
This summer, we are going to try out a two-month gymnastics program (which is only once per week) and see how she enjoys it; if we do taekwondo and gymnastics at the same time down the road, it will be fully based on her own tolerance and preferences—as will any other classes, instruments, and activities we end up doing.
