How to keep the kids out of trouble -- Part I

In the land of suburbia, far from the endless activity opportunities of city life, some kids will spend their free time channel surfing on the couch, instant message surfing on the computer, complaining about being bored, or wandering around town looking for something to do. A little bit of wandering is good for any childhood, but too much wandering leads to thinking that throwing a couple rocks through the window of that building might be sort of fun. In recent years, several studies have been published that show that kids who have hobbies or are involved with sports tend to avoid spraypainting graffiti on walls and such.

Corvallis has a lot of great activities for kids of all ages, some of which I will cover in the weeks leading up to summer. For now, I want to write about an activity that is tied more closely to the school year, but provides an amazing opportunity for kids from 3rd grade on up through high school.

Tonight, I attended a concert put on by the kids in Elementary Strings and the Middle School Orchestra. Elementary Strings is a program that offers violin, viola or cello lessons to kids from 3rd to 5th grades during the school day at a very reasonable cost. Due to tight school budgets, the elementary schools here do not have musical instrument lessons included in the curriculum, so the Corvallis Youth Symphony Association started offering lessons at each school in town, with half-price scholarships to any child eligible for free or reduced lunch. Even parents interested in taking lessons can be involved; it's sort of neat to see parents on stage with a slew of 9-year-old kids, plucking and bowing with the rest of them. In middle school, the program is subsidized so that students in the 3rd and 4th levels of orchestra can continue their lessons.

This evening's concert demonstrated the progression of levels 1 through 4, with kids ranging from 3rd graders (who seem incredibly tiny) to 8th graders. The songs start simply, with all children playing in unison, and gradually increase in difficulty to Vivaldi concertos. By the time these kids reach 4th level, let me tell you, they sound amazing.

CYSA also oversees the Corvallis Junior Symphony and Corvallis Youth Symphony for those kids who want to explore orchestral music more intensely. There are also private music lessons provided through Gracewinds Music downtown, and kids in middle school can take up traditional band instruments.