For the Love of Music

My kids LOVE music!  I honestly think it started from the womb.  I'm one of those people that LOVES to sing alone.  And I have been known to throw some passion and volume into my singing.  I'd be pretty embarrassed if someone actually caught me doing this.  I'll do it with my kids and sometimes hubby around but definitely nobody else.

After the kids were born, the singing didn't stop.  I would play a cd with their name in the songs that my mom had given me for each of them until they fell asleep.  Also, this day I sing four songs to them before bed.  They love getting musical instruments as gifts: numerous play guitars over the years, maracas, tambourine, a metal drum set (still not sure I should have purchased the drum set), recorders from the dollar store (wow those things are loud), the Paper Jams Guitar for Christmas 2010, and probably some others I'm not thinking of.  My son also loves playing Guitar Hero.  He does very well on the drums and he's only 5 1/2.  Beyond the instruments, the kids love to sing whether it's with Hannah Montana or Jonas Brothers.  They even make up quite a few songs on their own.  They are quite the performers!

So with all of this exposure to music it's only natural to assume I'd want them in music at school right?  At their school the only options they have are violin and cello at their age.  My thought is "I'll take what I can get."  Problem?  It's not their favorite thing to do... ok they would like to quit, but I think taking the violin strengthens their music knowledge (for future instruments).   In addition, it's been proven that kids that participate in  musical activities do better in school.  With those two strong factors present, I want them to stick with it until they can switch to a different instrument when they get into a higher grade.  I think they can switch instruments in either third or fourth grade at their school.  Then they can be in band.  I hope they have more commitment when it comes to an instrument they want to play.  Am I forcing something on them?  Yes, I suppose but with 5 minutes of practice time a night (that I don't even commit to sometimes) I figure they'll survive.  They aren't doing a ton of other activities that pile onto their responsibilities of their instrument so I feel good about the lessons.

I'm looking forward to listening to my kids' music for many years to come.  What a blessing!!