I teach music to students in grades K-5 in an urban area. Students in our building come from a very diverse background of cultures, and consequently, musical knowledge and prior experiences. As a music teacher, I make it my goal to show them lots of cultures and find ways to connect us through music. Drumming exists in all cultures in the world, and I would like to honor the cultures of my students and their families.
What I love about teaching where I do is our kids have a lot of compassion, resilience, and empathy to give.
We need your help getting the supplies to help us fill in our learning about rhythm. My students deserve to experience and learn from fun music activities. Research shows that when a person has FUN doing an activity, they only have to do it 10 times to remember the concept, compared to hundreds of repetitions for rote memorization. I strive to reach them through the inclusion of relatable, exciting, memorable activities in our music community. So that, even when life gets tough, they will always have music.
My Project
I said a boom chicka boom! With your help, my students will be learning rhythms, but in a way that they WANT to! Drums! KidStix Drum Kits are something I first experienced on a Saturday music-teacher workshop. In a room full of adults, we were all smiling and having fun! Sounded perfect to me! They are kits of 5 items for every student: a big can, a foam pad, drumsticks, a tambourine, and a cutting board. You turn over the can and hit each different item, much like a drumset player.
Your donation would help my students connect with current, fun music in an appropriately-challenging way.
Rhythm reading is proven to increase literacy in language because students are reading music symbols and having to decode them. You must remember how a symbol looks--and what sound it will make, just like phonics.
Rhythms account for half of the music curriculum, but it is so important for students to feel engaged and motivated to do well. KidStix Drum Kits would not only put a smile on my face, but also on theirs. To me, that is the most important thing.
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