My 4-year-old son, Mason, begged for piano lessons, but our family's piano teacher would only take 5- and 6-year-old students. I convinced her to let our son try. He practiced all the time and played in his first recital at age 5.
One day when he was 7, I saw my son packing his piano book in his backpack. He had volunteered to play a song for the students in his music class. Because Mason was a quiet student, this was unusual behavior for him. But it was through his passion for music, paired with the encouragement he received from his parents that helped him build the confidence needed for sharing this talent with his peers.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2010 issue
of Thriving Family
magazine. Copyright © 2010 by Audra Krell.
Used by permission. ThrivingFamily.com.