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Drachman Kindergartners Graduate from "Box" Violins to Real Violins
To kindergarteners, four months can seem like an eternity, especially when they're waiting for a real violin to play.

At Drachman K-6 Montessori Magnet School, the longing grew each week they came to Laura Barry's 45-minute class since classes began. They learned how to stand still, to bow to an audience and to hold their violins correctly. But what they held in their hands each time was only a substitute. They had been practicing on cardboard violins, or as their teacher called them, "box violins."

The suspense ended Wednesday, Dec. 19, when the two dozen students graduated to real violins, down-sized to fit small hands and fit under small chins. Family members crowded into the music room where the children had practiced with their box violins, bringing tiny digital cameras and video cameras to record the celebration.

After telling her audience that the first skill students learned was bowing, Barry asked, "Every time they bow, will you clap for us?" From that point on, the applause was frequent and enthusiastic even when there was no bowing.

The children lined up in rows, their box violins tucked under their right arms, their bows held in their left hand. Cued by Barry playing one note at a time on the piano, they assumed a Statue of Liberty pose, raising their violins high before bringing the instrument under their chins.

In groups of six, they filed to the front, with the rest of the class sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of them as the audience. As their names were called, their box violins were removed and a real one placed in their hands.

Barry proclaimed, "From this day forward, they will never play a box violin again. They will only play a real violin."

The children will learn to play the violins in the coming years. But for this ceremony, they had a special number prepared. While Barry played "Pop Goes the Weasel" on her violin, students supplied the "pop" noise by pressing a marked place on the violin.

The festivities ended with treats wheeled into the room and a bouquet of flowers presented to Barry.

Evelyn Sierras, whose son, Mateo, was in the class, said, "It was really nice. You can tell they really love playing and they listen to her. When Mateo started the class, he showed us the Statue of Liberty pose at home. Now he wants to learn to play the guitar, too."

Kindergarten teacher Tracie Ianni stopped to thank Barry in the courtyard after the program. "We all love Laura and the whole program she does," Ianni said. "It really stands out in the state. The students learn to work in groups and that's helpful, because here at a Montessori school, we do a lot of independent activities in the classroom, and they learn how to be effective group members in the violin class."

At Drachman, all students learn to play the violin by ear through the third-grade before they learn to read music. "When they get an early start, they'll never remember a time when they didn't play," Barry said.

-- By Sharon Dunham
Communications & Media Relations