Get a glimpse - group piano lessons

It seems that most of my blog entries are divided into two categories:

1) Coverage of a special event or occasion

2) Glimpse into our everyday life

Today's entry is a glimpse.

Last month Jack and Harriet started taking piano lessons. Their first exposure to music was really in the fourth grade when they took music class at school and learned to play the recorder.
They both really embraced that instrument, had a great music teacher at the school, and overall enjoyed the whole experience.
So it seems that piano lessons is a rite of passage for most middle class American kids, and mine should be no different, right? But finding a teacher and having time to take them to lessons and sit and monitor their practicing, funding a teacher and basically being able to put up with the inevitable resistance to practicing had thus far seemed like to too tall an order for me to fill.
I was aware of a music school located almost right across the street from our neighborhood in the same complex as our local Ralph's grocery store. I know it specialized in group piano lessons at a competitive, if not reasonable rate. I've known people that have their children enrolled and have been very pleased with it. The only problem I had was that the teacher required the parents to attend the 50 minute lessons for the children aged 3 -9. I was no way going to attempt that with my two younger ones. Just didn't seem worth it.
I found that Ms Kristen, the woman who runs this music school known as the Phoenix Feather Academy, offered an older beginner class for kids ages 9 -11, and parental supervision is not required. So, I got the twins excited about it by telling them that some of their classmates go to Ms. Kristen's school, and reminding them how talented they had been on the recorder, and they both agreed to start attending.
Well, if you're still with me, one month into it and things seem to be going well. The set up is in a large room with a smaller inner three-sided square of keyboards. Ms Kristen sits at the head of the square and plays along with the kids while they sit at their keyboards. Parents are invited /(required) to sit on the outer ring of chairs to observe. I've done this for a few minutes at each lesson, and feel completely up-to-date.

Here are some photos:

sitting at their keyboards

Jack picking out a song
(they are supposed to sing solfège, which is saying the notes "do re mi" as you play them, Jack does this very quietly)


Harriet plays while Ms. Kristen teaches
(and pipes out music for the kids to play along with over the
speaker system, which is actually a lot of fun for them)


they also learn music theory etc. from her, whiteboard style



Jack and Harriet with Ms. Kristen