Fifth grade is when kids get to start band or orchestra in our school district. For the first three weeks of the school year, the music teachers hold auditions where all the kids get to try out all the instruments. When auditions as over, everyone gets an instrument assignment and music class begins.
We were hoping Jeff would get percussion, and as luck would have it, that is what he got. After a fateful trip to the music store, we are now proudly renting-to-own a snare drum / orchestra bells (aka xylophone) kit that weighs in at some 50 pounds.
The school district kicked off the musical year with a “first lesson night” for all the 5th graders in town. I went with him, and it was adorable to see an entire auditorium filed with kids all so excited to play their new instruments. Jeff could barely sit still through the drum clinic taught by a percussionist from the community college. There were even a few times he got so wound up that he had to go out and get a drink of water to calm down.
And now — on with practice! Can my ears withstand daily drum practice? Stay tuned….
Casa Camisas 
You did get a practice pad with that kit, right?
The music store sold us a big heavy wooden practice pad with a rubber top. It was only later, at the drum clinic, that I found out about the practice pads that can sit right on top of the drum. I wish I had; Jeff has no desire to practice on the wood/rubber thing. I’ll probably insist on it, though. Just for the sake of my ears.