For the love of music???

Earlier this week I took Paul to a high school wind ensemble concert. It was not his first classical music concert - we have been to several performances of the local symphony (they try to incorporate kid-friendly music into their shows) but it left me wondering if I should keep bringing him to shows. Paul LOVES drums and has been known to sit transfixed when a piece is heavy on the rhythm. The problem is that if a piece is dark or slow or really long, he loses interest. And patience. And starts to fidget. A lot. Now I know he is only four (almost) and has a limited attention span, but I have seen other kids his age sit through performances without having to climb all over everything and bang their feet against the seat. Each time we go to a concert I have mixed emotions. I become painfully embarrassed when he acts out and wonder why I bother bringing him. But then there are moments when he is sitting completely still and completely in awe of the music. Take Thursday night's concert for example. He turned to me after one of the songs and said, "THAT WAS FANTASTIC!" So we will keep trying. Tomorrow we are headed to see a high school musical and I hope Paul will enjoy it (and behave). Last year we tried and he spent a good part of the second act in the hallway. Someone suggested exposing him to the music first. We had a wonderful jam session to the songs of Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat yesterday after school and plan to hold one again this afternoon. Hope it helps.