Sounds like a wonderful opportunity. It is great to find a supportive environment for your child in their area of interest. When that happens things just seem to fall into place, snowball, and even more wonderful opportunities happen. So happy you have that for your daughter. :001_smile:

I agree.

No, I did not find the one I was looking for. Maybe the program never took off and is no longer available. I bookmarked it a number of years ago when dd was young and I didn't want to put out the money until later then that computer crashed. Sorry.

Not piano, but my dd's music teacher increased lesson times as dd's attention and the amount of material covered in each lesson increased. She started with 30 min lessons very young. By 8yo she was doing either two hour lessons a week or one 90 min. lesson each week…that's what I paid for but lessons always ran over time. She was also practicing for hours each day and the material to cover included scales, arpeggios, etudes, plus repertoire (review and new). There are some posters saying 45-60 min is not necessary for a child that young but there are children who have the attention, drive, and desire and who enjoy music. I just wanted to give you that other side. Think about your son's interest in music, whether and how long he willingly practices, and his attention span. You don't have to be training a concert pianist to keep him challenged and happy. Many of the best young musicians do not end up going into music as a career but the skills and life lessons they learn through their music benefit them throughout their lives.

Water, mostly. Tea or coffee in the morning. Occasionally milk.

I agree with staying on the waiting list. Changing teachers is fairly common and a good teacher with the child's best interest in mind will recommend going to a better teacher when it is necessary for the student's development. When a spot opens up or prior, you may want to do a trial lesson with Teacher A to see how she interacts with you and your dd and attend one of Teacher A's studio recitals to see if her students technique is noticeably different than Teacher B's students. The most popular teacher may not always be the best fit for your child.

We were going to a concert on Saturday night where dd was asked to join the band on stage. The woman in the band was supposed to send me a message through Facebook telling me what time to bring dd so she could be told what to play and do a sound check but I never got a message (turns out she did not have internet all day). I decided to take dd at a certain time figuring it would be a bit before the concert, enough time for everything she needed to do, but not too early. We parked in the garage across the street from the venue, walked out of the parking garage, and there was the entire band coming across the street on their way to supper. Five minutes in either direction and we would not have run into them.

We use a Dr. Beat. They are a bit pricey but ours has lasted 6 years and is still going.

Wait. Am I supposed to plan? We are more free-form but then I don't think I qualify as large family.

I work two long days a week (about 12 hours) and right now another short day (which I am trying to get rid of). I have always home schooled at least one child. When my kids were younger, my husband was home with them on the days I worked and he followed through with the plans I set out. Now, my kids are old enough and motivated enough to independently get their schoolwork done and I check it when I get home. It is difficult for me to balance work and schooling especially at the moment as we have been doing a lot of travel for the kids' music which means rearranging my work schedule and less time at home for me. I am currently trying to cut back a bit on work to make balancing, rearranging, etc… easier because I prefer to have a couple days at home with them.

Why do you think focusing on a sport or music or anything else that requires a lot of time and money is focusing on one aspect of the human experience? My daughter is passionate about music (as is her brother to a lesser extent). It takes a lot of our resources both time and money. Our life might look crazy to an outside observer. Focusing on one something you are passionate about teaches lessons in dedication, hard work, sacrifice, and setting goals then achieving them, among other traits that build character. Sure there are other ways to build character but just because the focus is narrow, does not mean a person is one-dimensional. Through music dd has been able to travel to see other parts of our country and the world, help raise money for different charities then seen how her efforts have helped others less fortunate than herself and met many different people who have become our friends/community. I treasure the time we spend together on this journey. She is also being educated, involved other interests like crafting and sewing, reads voraciously, and enjoys physical activities like running though because of her music, she doesn't have time for organized sports. It has been similar for my oldest ds with wrestling. The focus did not start small. When he was young, he was involved in everything from tae kwon do to drums to church youth group but as he got older and felt the need to put more time in, we supported him. One tends to be myopic when looking at other people's lives from the outside. There may be way more going on in their lives than you could have imagined.

When you figure it out, let me know. My dd never wants to sound like she is "bragging" so she will gloss over any accomplishments or not include them when writing or talking about herself. This is fine in everyday conversation but when applying for a scholarship program, not so great.

It depends on the child/person. All of mine have taken ownership/pride in activities they enjoy but only one seems to be that way with everything and has been about certain things since she was very young. As she gets older, I have gradually given her more independence and control with things like instrument practice, schoolwork, and doing things around the house (like baking or making dinner).

Last fall dd stepped on a toothpick stuck in the carpet. It went into the soft part of her foot and broke off. She had to have surgery to remove it.

Thanks for the list!

Thank you.

I don't think so. It doesn't look like I remember though that one might work. Do you know the level of difficulty for that one, Emerald?

I am planning for next year….A few years ago, someone told me about a curriculum that links music, art, and history. At the time, my dd was too young for it. The computer I had that information on crashed and I completely forget what it was. I would love to find a curriculum like this for dd now. Has anyone used this one… http://www.professorcarol.com/discovering-music/ or do you know an interesting curriculum that does this well?

I taught dd to take notes using an online science course (PLATO) so we could stop the lecture as needed at first. First she watched me take notes while we talked about what was important and I taught her how to outline. After a few lectures that way, I had her tell me what to write and I helped her decide what was important if she missed anything too glaring. After a couple months she was taking her own notes, slowly at first, stopping the lecture when she needed to catch up. She gets quicker and more efficient with practice and she now takes notes on Great Courses videos, online courses, and anything she reads for school.

Two of my kids are passionate about music especially Irish traditional music. This involves lessons, learning new tunes on their own, researching tunes and composers, writing their own tunes, gigs, hanging out at Irish music sessions on weekends, performing and arranging music with others, lots of travel, summer music camps, competition, and recently a lot of time in the recording studio working on a debut album, participating in another musician's album, and for dd working on the music for an author's audio-book with live performances of the audio-version. Dd has also been involved in classical music, orchestra, and enjoys learning music theory and music history. My ds is also very interested in sound production and photography so has been watching online and DVD lectures, trading and bargaining for equipment, hanging out with mentors, and practicing.

I say give it a go. I would try talking with some of the people involved to feel them out on the possibility of a younger child. My dd attended a camp this summer for kids/young adults from 15 to over 20 years old. She had just turned 12. I sent a message to those running the camp prior to her auditioning to see if they'd consider a younger child and they suggested she send in the audition. There were some logistical challenges, I didn't want her staying by herself on the campus overnight, but they were very willing to accommodate her once she auditioned and was chosen.

There needs to be a "Like" button for things like that. :001_smile:

Thank you for sharing, Margaret.

Wow! This is a great thread! I am beginning to plan my, now 7th grader's, high school. She is already doing some subjects on a high school level and is very busy pursuing her music so spreading out her high school education over 5 years will make life easier for her plus she enjoys the challenge of those classes. Like many of the kids here, she is going to need a slightly different academic experience than what I would have originally planned. I have been listening in on a number of posts on the high school board for about a year and taking notes on curriculum and online programs (I have a 5 page sheet of notes to go through very soon) trying to figure out a way to give her what she needs while allowing her time to pursue what she wants. I posted a couple months ago questioning how much of certain subjects (especially math) she really needs to have since her plan, at the moment, is to pursue music in some way while I am trying to keep her options open for at least another 2-3 years in case her ideas change or she decides to double major or minor in something else. I love reading all the btdt advice! Keep it coming, please!

We view busking as providing a service…music and people are free to pay what they feel that service is worth.