How often should my child have music class? 
All elementary school children should have music a minimum of 1 hr per week.

Do you just sing songs in music?
I teach using the Orff method. This is a combination of singing, playing instruments (pitched and unpitched percussion), movement, and drama. Children are actively engaged in music from different areas, countries, and develop the ability to read music. Third through fifth graders play the recorder. Chorus and handbells become options in the seventh and eighth grades. I collaborate with classroom teachers when possible and reinforce ideas from math, language arts, social studies, reading, and religion.

When should my child start taking piano lessons?
Ideas on this vary from teacher to teacher. I personally like for a child to wait until he/she is reading and in second grade. Although many teachers will start very young children and have some success, most need a great deal of parental help. As parents, we all have the BEST intentions to assist our children, but sometimes fall short of what we plan due to our own hectic schedules. If a child is reading on his/her own, they have a much greater chance to succeed and continue taking lessons for many years.

How is my child graded in music class? 

Music is frequently assessed by the use of rubrics when students are demonstrating a skill.  One such rubric is below.  Realizing that God has gifted us each in different ways, half of each child's grade is from classroom effort and participation.