Lorena and I drop the kids off for piano lessons every Monday at 5:30 in the afternoon. That gives us about an hour and fifteen minutes to have dinner or just go for a drive in the country. We are planning to continue doing that next year as part of our homeschool.

Planning: Kelly and Christian both enjoy playing the piano very much. Lorena and I really do not have ANY training in music; something that makes both of us a little sad. In talking to people who do have some training, we have been led to believe that a good base in piano is a super way to get started in music either as a way to lead into another instrument or as an end unto itself. We have decided we are going to keep both the kids in piano lessons for at least seven or eight years each.

This summer, Jill Hickenlooper has said she would be happy to give the kids some singing lessons. We want them to be able to sing the different parts for our hymns and to have a change over the summer with something they enjoy. Jill said that if they wanted to go any further than that, it might be a good idea to get them lessons with a voice teacher. Our plan is to keep them in piano lessons during the school year and then give them something fun and different over the summer. We will just have to see how it develops.

Driving the kids to their piano lesson has been a really great deal for Lorena and I. Every week we have some time set aside to talk and spend some time alone together. Last night, we were not too hungry so we drove to Scio to see a piece of property our friend Warren Bone is thinking of buying. It was a great drive through some beautiful country. As we drove, we thought it might be kind of neat to live in such a beautiful setting, but we came back to our senses in a couple of minutes. It is WAY to far from a decent restaurant out there!