I have used Strictly Strings, and two years ago switched
over to EE2000 with DVD. I didn't realize how much I DIDN'T
like Strictly Strings until I switched to EE! I really like
the EE strings book. I have received a sample of the others
that you mentioned, and I don't like them as well when I
look through them.
But, you know your students and you know your school better
than the rest of us do. I like the rhythm raps in EE, as
well as the student hints that are in the yellow boxes. The
one thing about EE that I don't like is that the CD is often
too fast for the students to be able to keep up with. The
good students can do it, but the lower students cannot.
There is a machine that is about $150 that can play a CD at
any speed without changing the pitch - I may look into
getting that for my classroom!
Have you thought about starting the 3rd graders completely
by rote, and then going to a book, say, in January? By
then, starting them in EE may be just fine.
Let us know what you decide to do.
MusicNut