Drum Line in Band

I have a small, but growing HS band.  12 kids.  Eight of these kids are freshman and they play roughly Level 1.5 or so.  Needless to say this year is a lot of teaching.  C does not equal C# type of stuff.

We have been doing a drumline unit using very easy drum cadences.  I am rotating the kids each day (bass to snare, etc...) and we spend about 30 minutes each day.  This was the second or third day.

I am hoping it is a good way to get the kids excited about rhythm and reading.  I am trying real, real, hard to get them to count out loud.