LENA HART'S MUSIC BUS
It is a cold morning in November, and Lena Hart is sitting in an old yellow bus in a small village in Canada. She is very busy. She has to clean the bus before twenty children arrive. Lena does that every morning, and she will do it again tomorrow in another village. She teaches in an unusual school. It is a music school on wheels – a bus full of musical instruments.(lines 1–9)
Lena has always lived in Toronto, a big city in Canada. For many years, she taught music in a school there. But Lena wanted to teach children in small villages, far from big cities. She also wanted to help children who cannot buy instruments. And she wanted to travel around her country. So she bought an old school bus and turned it into a music classroom.(lines 10–13)
Lena worked on the bus for a whole year before her first lesson. First, she took out all the seats and painted the inside in bright colors. She also took lessons and learned how to drive a big bus. "The bus has to carry thirty instruments, in addition to chairs and music books," explains Lena. "So I built strong shelves for everything. Then I was ready for my first village."(lines 14–17)
Some days only a few children come to the bus. Lena doesn't mind teaching small groups. But when she arrives in a new village, she wants everyone to know about the bus. So then she plays the drums outside. People who hear the music come to the bus because they want to see the instruments. Parents also want to ask her about lessons for their children.(lines 18–21)
When this year's trip is over, Lena plans to take the train to Churchill, a small town in the north of Canada. "I've always wanted to see the polar bears there," she says. "First I need to rest for a few days. Then I hope to find a second teacher for the bus, so that we can visit twice as many villages next year. But I will never sell the bus – I love it too much!"(lines 22–25)