Mahagogo5, it's hard to ignore a child's potential when it's right in front of you but I remind myself that I got completely burnt out by age 8 and I'd have been much better off if my teacher had kept it fun and actually taught me the basic skills that I was missing rather than pushing me to advance and to compete. So, I think you're doing the absolutely right thing by letting her stay with group lessons. If she loves music in general, piano is a great second instrument to study. If you can afford it and your DD doesn't mind practicing, I highly recommend studying piano concurrently.
I got tired of driving DD around town last year so we dropped ballet and soccer and we cram both of her music lessons into one day and be done with it. DD wants to go back to ballet but I'm not sure if I'm ready to to commit. I feel guilty about not being more into it but I did not enjoy being a ballet mom and the recital fees were ridiculously high.
As for expenses, we are spending more than we should on her tuition and lessons. When it comes to musical education, I get the feeling we'll have to keep on investing without any expectations for future returns - be it be career or college scholarship - but it makes her happy and as long as it's fun and driven by her passion, we'll keep going.
Once your DD starts school full-time, she might not have a lot of time to pursue extracurricular activities so as long as she isn't burning out and still enjoys the experience, I'd let her explore as much as she wants within your budget. Don't burn yourself out though. I know I am getting close to it right now.
