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teachingmyown
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there is a slight chance that I may be able to sign my girls up for either ballet or a homeschool band. The prices are roughly the same. I will probably be putting my son in the band program either way.
I am wondering which to choose. The girls, 9 and 7, have always wanted to dance and we have never had the money. However, is learning an instrument, probably violin, more valuable to them in the long run? Should I just go with what they want to do?
What do you think?
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Kathryn
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Personally, I don't think one is more valuable over the other. That's just my very, very non-educated guess. I have my daughter that has done ballet for 5 years and she LOVES it. Just 1x per week for 1 hour and I believe it's taught her many of the same skills as an instrument would...perseverance, dedication, beauty. She's never done a musical instrument although we do have a piano at home and books she can "teach" herself although I would love for her to start formal lessons in that too. I would prob. let them decide.
A homeschool band? That sounds like a great idea. My son deciced all of the sudden the wanted to learn violin and I found one place for "private" lessons 1x per week for only 30 min at $125 per month!! We won't be doing that! I thought about calling a college music dept. Sorry for the tangent...
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LLMom
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For our family, we try to give our children lessons that they can use most of their life. We just can't afford lots of lessons plus I am not willing to spend tons of time out for most sports so we choose music, art, tennis, golf, etc. YOu can play the piano( and do some of those others listed) when you are a senior citizen. I took gymnastics for years. I did use it into my twenties because I coached, but I don't do flips anymore. 
Just sharing how we decide.
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DianaC
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I would recommend signing them up for dance - since they've been desiring that - and it would cover both a musical program as well as physical fitness. Also, my daughter has been taking violin, and she likes it, but she misses the social aspect of the dance classes.
When my children have wanted to try different things, we will have them try one thing for one year, then the next thing the next year, then decide which one they would like to continue.
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Mamamoon
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Ballet~so good for them.....
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Lara Sauer
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Looking at their ages, I would probaly opt for the dance class...
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stefoodie
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I would let the kids choose if $$/schedules aren't issues. But that's me :) I love when the learning is child-led, the interest/passion is there right off the bat.
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Rachel May
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Kathryn wrote:
| I believe [dance has ] taught her many of the same skills as an instrument would...perseverance, dedication, beauty. |
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I think this is an interesting perspective. I think many subjects can teach these same virtues, but to me dance and music are different in a more fundamental way.
Music is a foreign language. It requires vocabulary, decoding, and interpretation and teaches children to have an "ear" for different sounds and pitches. It is one of the easiest foreign languages to make available to a child, and as someone pointed out, it is a skill to use for a lifetime.
Dance is physical activity. It requires learning how to move and control your body through space and has the additional challenge to timing it to the rhythm of music. A girl I know danced ballet for 10 + years and now in college has switched to ballroom dance, something older people often enjoy. So if an interest in ballet leads to interest in other kinds of physical activity, it can also be a lifetime skill.
I would look at 2 things when making this decision:
1. Is this going to be a one time sign up or do you think you will sustain it long term? If you think it's only going to be this one session, I would choose what interests them.
2. Which skill do you value more? Which do you think it's more important to expose your kids to?
Just my thoughts... I hope they enjoy whichever you choose. 
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Bookswithtea
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I would do the band, because when little girls start dance, its all cute and lovely. Then they fall in love with it and want to do it 2 and then 3 nights a week. And suddenly, I have no homeschool budget because all our money is going into dance classes.
If money isn't a consideration, then I still think I'd gravitate to the music, because I also try to find activities that both genders enjoy rather than having to drive to two separate activities.
Does this sound horribly utilitarian, in light of the lovely beauty of little girls in pink tutus? 
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Elizabeth
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i agree with Rachel's point about dance, except that I would add that dance isn't just a physical activity. It's an art and there is a big musical dimension to it. There are also drama, costuming, and performance lessons to be learned when a girl dances. There most definitely is a vocabulary to ballet and in our case, there are vocabulary tests, too.
Dance, particularly ballet, also teaches a girl how to carry herself, even when she isn't dancing. In our experience, it's also been a "girl world." Mary Beth began dancing when she was the only girl among five boys. Dance was a feminine haven for her.
It's expensive; there are no two ways about it and we've switched schools and cut way back because of the expense.
Incidentally, we have also taught basic piano at home using the Bastien series in order to teach that vocabulary. My children are by no means proficient musicians, but they do have basic music literacy. Mary Beth is also very, very familiar with classical music because she hears it at dance so very often.
I don't think there's a right answer here. If I were you, I'd go with what they WANT to do, because then you have much less chance that you will have to, ahem, "persuade" them to practice 
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Kathryn
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I would also like to add about ballet that a lot does depend on the studio. My daughter as well has learned many of the proper French words for the dance steps as well as been immersed in beautiful, classical music. Her dance studio is also one where the motto is "Praise him with Dance..." so they begin each lesson with a prayer and end with a prayer. They are also taught to strive to be the "best ballerina THEY can be". I was never a dancer and was very leary about anything that would unduly influence my daughter to focus so much attention on her body. In my opinion, too many dance studios promote pop culture music, gyrating hip-hopping movements and scantily clad girls...even for ballet! So, we are very fortunate to have such a wonderful studio and her teacher is about 50 years old and has been dancing her whole life and is probably in better physical shape than me! 
Again, all that said...my daughter WANTED ballet for over a year after I took her to see The Nutcracker. We are very blessed she has had such a positive experience and the beauty has come from her actually dancing...not focusing on her body. And it def. has allowed her to appreciate her femininity in the way she moves in every day life. I would definitely lean toward what your child's interest are.
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KC in TX
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My girls do both but ballet wins hand-down. It is such a feminine world for them. They have learned acting, dancing, music, and grace. My girls are such graceful little girls. We are lucky that we have a wonderful ballet studio where the instructor tried to minimize all the girly backstabbing stuff that can go on so that we won't worry too much when they get older.
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Ballet or music lessons?
