I would really love for my kids to study violin. My youngest expressed an interest in cello (and then, violin) when he was 4. My oldest is game to try anything. I believe they would both be in favor of trying violin. I play no musical instruments but I wish I did. But not only is it SO expensive, it's just a lot of time too. Between the art lessons, drama class, the dance lessons and then our one-day co-op, it barely leaves any time for our introverted selves to decompress! I managed to talk my kids down to cutting one class this spring (they still have one each and then the co-op morning) and my 5 year old continually complains about missing the other class. But OTOH, they are so introverted that they physically need quiet time at home; they are rarely bored and it's like therapy for them.
I wish we had more time...
I also wish I could be more consistent in exploring Chinese with them, but that's more of a time management issue than a "time available" issue. I took a semester of Mandarin in college and then I recently took a Mandarin class at a local community college. When I took the last class, my kids became highly interested in learning Mandarin. I bought them a kids audio tape and they really took to it. Then I bought them a DVD but I have yet to put it on; I keep forgetting. I haven't really followed up on any of this, partly because I have moved on to other languages for now. My oldest had the opportunity to take a kids Mandarin class on weekends, but our spring vacation would eat up 1/3 of the class so it wasn't worth it. He was disappointed; I hope it's offered again.
