Symphony Storytime

Jasper and I checked out the Symphony Storytime today, and it was marvelous.  This is a program that was developed by the Oregon Symphony and Multnomah County Libraries, and now Washington County Libraries are hosting it as well.  They have a separate presentation for each instrument family:  strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.  Today a violinist accompanied a librarian as she read several stories to the children, showing the kids how the instrument could make an amazing array of sounds to go with the narration.  Fans of "Peter and the Wolf" would have found it very cool.  The kids were shown how to make a "violin" from a shoebox and rubber bands, and any child who wanted to was given a chance to actually play the violin properly with a bow.  The violin she brought was a child sized instrument.  They had lots of library books and CDs to show us that would help us to learn more.  It was everything I most value in a learning experience- it was engaging, hands on, and fun. This month it's Wednesdays at 1:30 at the Holgate Library and next month it moves to the Hillsboro Main Library.  http://www.orsymphony.org/edu/storytimes.aspx