Help me pick a recorder/flute for my soon to be 1st Grader, please!

[Mittsy]

Beginning soprano recorder, pentatonic recorder, or pentatonic flute? Wood or plastic? Which brands? How am I supposed to teach this to my child?! I need some help please....

[knittygritty]

I would contact the Music teacher at your child's school and consider his/her suggestion. I know your flute should be pentatonic, preferably wooden. Many Waldorf schools use the Choroi pentatonic flutes for the lower grades.

Good luck! What an exciting chapter in your child's life!

[Mittsy]

 Has anyone ever heard of a Quinta pentatonic flute, and can tell me anything about it?

knittygritty: My dd is homeschooled, and we're not at all familiar with the local Waldorf school. Would a Waldorf teacher think it weird giving a recommendation to a parent of a child who is not going to their school?

ETA: DD was looking at instruments with me and mentioned she would prefer to learn to use a kinderlyre/harp, rather than a pentatonic flute. Are children ever taught this in the 1st Grade? Or, at what time traditionally does Waldorf teach stringed instruments?

Edited by Mittsy - 4/14/11 at 3:44pm

[knittygritty]

 I have not heard of a Quinta pentatonic flute, sorry! Hopefully someone else can ring in on that.

 Honestly, I don't think a teacher would find it odd to talk to a parent about his/her field, whether the child is enrolled at the school or not. I certainly wouldn't if a parent contacted me about knitting! Another suggestion is to look at some websites for Waldorf schools...sometimes the music programs list what instruments they use. A few sites may have Parent Handbooks to download that talk about required supplies, and they may list instruments.

 Traditional Waldorf curriculum designates the 3rd grade for stringed instruments--it corresponds with the 9 year change.