school house symphony

this past week was greta's last week of school for the year. it's so funny to think back to those first few days (weeks) of school when she was having such a rough time transitioning. she loved school right from the start, but she did not love all the changes to her routine. in fact, i don't think i ever really blogged about it because it was pretty traumatic for all of us. greta is a lover of all things routine, and she adjusts to changes but it takes her a while sometimes. school was a doozy of a routine buster.....it just took us a while to get used to school as our NEW routine. man, i could cry just thinking back. but she really did love it, even when she was dragging her feet and crying. she would come home FULL of stories and songs. she knew everyone's names right from the start, and she would lay out my yoga mat and pretend it was a rug. and then we all had to "choose work" and bring it to the rug. and she'd give us lessons, show us how to "walk on the white line", etc. there were a few rough patches during the year, especially right after selma was born, but overall greta really blossomed in this first year of school. montessori is such a good fit for her. when we'd go to observe her in the classroom, she was so BUSY. moving from work to work...choosing math work and art work, stamping work and the writing desk (her favorite). over this year she has learned to read (YES, this girl can read)!! and she has learned many things, such as "no one can live on the planet mercury" or "hanukkah is when the oil burned for 8 days". she has made friends and learned how to be a friend. we are excited for the summer, but i'm sure greta will miss school.
anyway, 3 times a year the program school house symphony comes to greta's school and the musicians perform for the children. the first time they came this year, greta had a bit of a hard time because it was a break from the normal school day. the second school house symphony visit fell on one of the days that greta was out of school for selma's birth. so this third time, greta LOVED IT. she has been talking about it nonstop, telling us all about the instruments they played and how they played a "superhero song" and also told a story with their music. in these pictures, greta was being one the musicians. she told me where to sit, how to clap when the song finished, and that i needed to "sit very still and just listen".