How young is too young for homeschool choir?

[snickelfritz]

My dd will be a K'er next year. She LOVES to sing. I am not tone deaf, since I can hear that I am off key. I am, definitely, off key.

I am thinking about doing homeschool choir. They have one for K-3 and they teach with the Kodaly(sp??) method. It's very reasonably priced and I thought it might be a nice way to meet other homeschoolers, since we're not involved with a homeschool organization. I will probably still do "Discoveries in Music", since my younger would have fun with that. They both do dance, which involves rhythm exercises. Would the choir be beneficial or is she really too young? We also do gymnastics, so I'm not looking for an activity just to have an activity. I'm wondering if it would be beneficial and fun for her.

It sounds crazy to be planning so early, but some of the activity schedules come out and start signing up in MARCH!

[GreenKitty]

I wouldn't with mine.

Are you looking to drop either dance and gymnastics, for choir instead? Did she say she would like to join choir? I guess it would be up to you and how many different programs you want your kids in.

[snickelfritz]

Are you looking to drop either dance and gymnastics, for choir instead? Did she say she would like to join choir?

I don't plan on dropping gymnastics or dance. Both girls go at the same time to those activities and they are our built in "energy spenders" when the weather is bad. PE, I guess.

I haven't asked her about the choir. I don't want to bring it up, until I've decided if we want to do it. She likes to sing and to watch choirs (we have a few on DVD), likes Lawrence Welk (gag), etc... I'm trying to decide if the choir would be beneficial on its own merits.

[Rhesa]

But decide yourself whether or not you want to add it to your schedule first. Then, if she says yes, great! If not, you can try it another year.

Both my Ker and 1st grader are in chorus this year and it has been a good experience. It is an opportunity to learn music skills, as well as listening and teamwork!

It also looks like your class is designed for younger children, so it could be a good fit.

Just our experience- but chorus is a definite highlight in our week!

[Heather in VA]

I think choir sounds like a nice idea. Assuming you don't have a problem with adding an activity it sounds very nice. My 8 year old does choir in addition to competitive gymnastics and it's great. My 4 year old can't start choir until next year and she cries every time the older one goes. The older one has a CD of the songs for practice and the 4 year old just loves to pretend she's in choir and signs to the CD.

Go for it.

[chiguirre]

If the class is affordable and doesn't mess up your schedule, I'd go for it. It's for K-3, so your dd won't be the only Ker there. I like having my kids in a variety of activities and I personally believe they get a lot out of them. But other hsers prefer to be at home as much as possible. Where do you line up on this spectrum? If you answer that, you'll have your choir answer.:)

[Canada_Mom]

I stared my daughter in choir in grade 1, only because I wanted to wait a year to make sure that it's what she really wanted. She absolutely loves it and it has done wonders for her ability to sing- believe me, it was difficult to have to listen to her before. :p DD had grown so much because of choir and I have no regrets putting her in. She comes home from practice each week and teaches the songs to her 3yo sister. I'm putting them both (they'll be 7 & 4) in choir in the fall. DD4 will only be in pre-school.

I'm also of the opinion that music is very important for kids- my kids are going to have to take some sort of music "lesson" of their choice until they are 10- be it choir, piano or another instrument. But again, that's what we want for our kids...

I'm not one who likes to over-schedule myself and run around a lot for the kids, but that seems to be the story of my life. If I were you, I'd just make sure that it means enough to you to take her to ONE more activity every week.

[Plaid Dad]

Have you talked to the choir director? He or she might be able to tell you if it would be a good fit for your dd. Presumably if it's K-3, kindergartners are welcome, but if the choir is mostly 2nd and 3rd graders, it might be harder for a K'er keep up.

I actually found we did more outside activities when my dd was younger, since we weren't yet doing a whole lot of academics. We still keep our formal lesson time limited, but I'm just not up for multiple classes and clubs. This year it's just swimming and Brownies, although I'd love to get dd back into some kind of music lessons. If it fits your schedule and your dd is interested, go for it!

[Suzanne in ABQ]

She's not too young. I'm a Kindermusik educator, and have taught "real" music to 5-6 year olds in my Kindermusik for the Young Child class. They learn to read music, play several instruments, match pitch while singing, and several musical concepts. If your daughter is musically inclined, and if she has the attention span necessary to keep focused for the length of the class, she'll enjoy it and probably learn a lot. Kodaly methods are well recognized and effective with children.

Talk to the teacher to find out what the class dynamic is like. Find out how much of the time the children are moving around, and how much time they're required to sit still and focus. Find out the ages and experience of the other kids in the class. Find out if it is a performance oriented class, or if it is mainly a fun time to just get the music *into* the children. The answers to these types of questions will give you an idea of whether it will be a good fit for your dd.

[Julie in GA]

Choirs that use the Kodaly method, and are geared for K-3 anyway, should be a good fit for your dd. However, you may want to see what the performance schedule is (too many performances is not a good thing) and how long each class session is. I would think that an hour would be too long, unless activities are varied. At this age, they really should be having something more like a music class, rather than a true choir, which is what Orff/Kodaly teachers do, so you might just want to confirm this.

I'm a former music teacher and children's choir director, by the way. :)

[WTMindy]

Choirs that use the Kodaly method, and are geared for K-3 anyway, should be a good fit for your dd. However, you may want to see what the performance schedule is (too many performances is not a good thing) and how long each class session is. I would think that an hour would be too long, unless activities are varied. At this age, they really should be having something more like a music class, rather than a true choir, which is what Orff/Kodaly teachers do, so you might just want to confirm this.

I'm a former music teacher and children's choir director, by the way. :)
I agree with this advice!! If your child can stay engaged, I think the younger the better in terms of the Kodaly method.

[snickelfritz]

I'll email the director to get a little more info on how the classes are actually handled. I know they do have an older choir and an older "performance" choir, but I'm not real clear on what the class times are actually like for the younger one.