Many people feels that we have been spending alot on our children's enrichment. Well, I do agree if you look only at dollars and cents aspect. In my opinion, I have made good investments in them. For Ashley, I e
nrolled her to ballet and piano on her interest. Talking about ballet, I was sceptical upon enrolling her to ballet when she expressed her interest. In fact, I hesitated for sometime before I agreed to her request. I enrolled her to attend pre-primary ballet at the community center as a 'test'. She was only 3+ then, which cant helped caused me to wonder if her interest in ballet will sustain. I have heard so much, where parents enrolled their child to ballet and subsequent, the child dropped out from the course. I don't wis
h that to happen to me. After all, I don't think the cost for a ballet outfit and accessories are cheap. As such, not wanting to put my money to drain, I enrolled her to the class in Community Center. I told myself, should she showed interest and would like to excel further in ballet, I will provide her full support and enrol her to a certified school. I was a blessing that she does enjoyed ballet and after 4 terms of lessons at the CC, I enrolled her to Crestar for certified ballet. Jeremy shared the same thoughts as me " Unless you have no interest... if you have, go all the way and get certified". The ballet course in Crestar cost more, but as long as we can afford, we don't mind sending her. Ashley hasn't gone for any examination at this stage, but I am glad that she continued to enjoy her lessons. Each time I asked if she likes ballet, she gave me a happy answer "YES". I know I have made the right decision in letting her continue her ballet lessons. She is turning 6 soon... my persistent in letting her go for the lesson pays off... though there aren't any certification for her at this young age. As long as she still has the passion in ballet, she will excel! It's just a matter of time... ;-)
nrolled her to ballet and piano on her interest. Talking about ballet, I was sceptical upon enrolling her to ballet when she expressed her interest. In fact, I hesitated for sometime before I agreed to her request. I enrolled her to attend pre-primary ballet at the community center as a 'test'. She was only 3+ then, which cant helped caused me to wonder if her interest in ballet will sustain. I have heard so much, where parents enrolled their child to ballet and subsequent, the child dropped out from the course. I don't wis
h that to happen to me. After all, I don't think the cost for a ballet outfit and accessories are cheap. As such, not wanting to put my money to drain, I enrolled her to the class in Community Center. I told myself, should she showed interest and would like to excel further in ballet, I will provide her full support and enrol her to a certified school. I was a blessing that she does enjoyed ballet and after 4 terms of lessons at the CC, I enrolled her to Crestar for certified ballet. Jeremy shared the same thoughts as me " Unless you have no interest... if you have, go all the way and get certified". The ballet course in Crestar cost more, but as long as we can afford, we don't mind sending her. Ashley hasn't gone for any examination at this stage, but I am glad that she continued to enjoy her lessons. Each time I asked if she likes ballet, she gave me a happy answer "YES". I know I have made the right decision in letting her continue her ballet lessons. She is turning 6 soon... my persistent in letting her go for the lesson pays off... though there aren't any certification for her at this young age. As long as she still has the passion in ballet, she will excel! It's just a matter of time... ;-)Ashley had also initiated her interest to learn piano. However, I have not paid much attention to enrol her. Sorry to mention, I have my reservations. Mr Ho (my ex-colleague who
se wife is piano teacher and he himself a violin teacher) recommend me Yamaha's foundation
course when I asked him for advice (this mum is not 'musically inclined', that needs help lah', and the course was a 4 year course, with 2 years parental participation in class. Well, I am not prepared to give this commitment.... thus this was 'delayed' for a long while...The idea on sending Ashley to learn piano was then arisen with Jeremy's 'traditional' thought that dancing is of no value. His thinking, to learn a skill with value in the market, it should be playing an instrument such as piano. I disagree with him. To me, learning any skills has its value so long as there's interest and passion. It depends on how you judge
its 'value'. Learning a skill is a long-term investment. In order to ensure this investment is the rightful one, I again 'test' Ashley on her interest in piano by asking her several questions 
on different occasions. It's not easy to tell how far a young child's interest will last. As parents, I told myself not to 'force' her interest, should she be not interested to proceed, stopped her lessons immediately-Don't waste money. Constantly, I have to also 'remind' Jeremy that we should let her decide what she prefers, and not enforcing our 'hopes/likes/dreams' on her. The path is hers, not us. We cant force her to learn piano just to satisfy ourselves. Ashley started her 1st lesson on Jan 09. It was once again a blessing that Ashley enjoyed the lesson. To be honest, I enjoyed too. I have learn to play as well..since I am in the class with her....haha! For once, I have the regrets that I did not seize the opportunity to learn to play the piano when I am young like her. Ashley had her 1st mini performance in class on 28 June 09. Though she is playing with her right and left hand separately, I think that's already returns of our investments. With only 6 months of learning, we are happy to see her progress. Ashley is nervous while waiting for her turn to perform... her fingers are cold acco
rding to Jeremy, which I didn't realise earlier. I can see that she takes her performance seriously. With the presence of her daddy and Cieran watching her, I do believed she feels the pressure Ashley played her 2 songs very seriously (look at her expression when she plays)... and a sudden relief when she finished. While watching her playing the tune, I explained but feel proud of my little girl. :-)
se wife is piano teacher and he himself a violin teacher) recommend me Yamaha's foundation
course when I asked him for advice (this mum is not 'musically inclined', that needs help lah', and the course was a 4 year course, with 2 years parental participation in class. Well, I am not prepared to give this commitment.... thus this was 'delayed' for a long while...The idea on sending Ashley to learn piano was then arisen with Jeremy's 'traditional' thought that dancing is of no value. His thinking, to learn a skill with value in the market, it should be playing an instrument such as piano. I disagree with him. To me, learning any skills has its value so long as there's interest and passion. It depends on how you judge
its 'value'. Learning a skill is a long-term investment. In order to ensure this investment is the rightful one, I again 'test' Ashley on her interest in piano by asking her several questions 
on different occasions. It's not easy to tell how far a young child's interest will last. As parents, I told myself not to 'force' her interest, should she be not interested to proceed, stopped her lessons immediately-Don't waste money. Constantly, I have to also 'remind' Jeremy that we should let her decide what she prefers, and not enforcing our 'hopes/likes/dreams' on her. The path is hers, not us. We cant force her to learn piano just to satisfy ourselves. Ashley started her 1st lesson on Jan 09. It was once again a blessing that Ashley enjoyed the lesson. To be honest, I enjoyed too. I have learn to play as well..since I am in the class with her....haha! For once, I have the regrets that I did not seize the opportunity to learn to play the piano when I am young like her. Ashley had her 1st mini performance in class on 28 June 09. Though she is playing with her right and left hand separately, I think that's already returns of our investments. With only 6 months of learning, we are happy to see her progress. Ashley is nervous while waiting for her turn to perform... her fingers are cold acco
rding to Jeremy, which I didn't realise earlier. I can see that she takes her performance seriously. With the presence of her daddy and Cieran watching her, I do believed she feels the pressure Ashley played her 2 songs very seriously (look at her expression when she plays)... and a sudden relief when she finished. While watching her playing the tune, I explained but feel proud of my little girl. :-) Sometimes I told myself, why not just let her choose between ballet and music to save costs, but when I look at her... I know I should persist in letting her excel in something that she enjoyed and may provide her a better future.....
I know it's worth this persistence!
