Today we are the newest El Sistema Program in the world...

After all the planning, momentum, and the false start on Monday, today was finally day one.  As Tricia said, today we are the newest El Sistema program in the world!  How cool!?  The kids came in very excited and ready to learn.  The students got a chance to rotate between classes and try out all the instruments (violin, viola, cello) before choosing which one they would like to learn for the semester.   The students were adorable, funny, curious, sassy, and energetic.  Above all, they were very excited to be there.  There was a positive energy in the room.  The first day was not without a few chaotic moments.  Everything is so new to the students.  We tried our best as teachers to just make music and do activities, but the first day came with a lot of explaining- rules, expectations, introductions etc.  As the program continues we will find our groove.  I came home today exhausted and full of ideas and adjustments for next class. 

This is where the hard work begins.  It is fun to dream and get lost in the glamorous excitement of music and social objectives.  However, it is within the ordinary classroom interactions that we will make this program something real.  It is the repeated non-glamorous, mundane (and sometimes challenging) daily lessons, teaching the building blocks of music, that will hopefully lead to something extraordinary.