"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." -Henry Ford
My school houses a combination of two specific and unique programs: a public Montessori program and center-based education for students with special needs.
We are fortunate to have students of not only diverse cultural backgrounds, but also diverse cognitive abilities as well. One thing that unites our two programs is their ability to respond positively to music. When our students come into the music room, their day is transformed. It is a place for them to sing, move, and play with creativity. It is a place to build community and foster social interactions. It is a place to experience joy and human emotion. My students remind me each day that all of us are musical and the best way to experience music is to experience it together.
My Project
To cultivate community in our music room, we need a circle rug big enough for a whole class to sit around. Sitting in a circle reinforces the sense of togetherness and teamwork that we build upon in music. Since we frequently get up to move around the room in music class, we find chairs and desks very cumbersome! The rug has twenty-four sit spots around the outside, and each spot features a different musical symbol, reinforcing our music vocabulary. The treble clef staff in the middle is perfect for learning note names and rhythms. I can already envision our students excited about composing melodic patterns by putting bean bags on the staff!
Right now, our music room floor is an exercise mat that will likely not last another school year.
This rug will be the foundational piece of the music room for years and years to come. Students will see it and know that they are in music class. They will use its visuals to enhance their learning. They will sit around it and see their whole class working together and they will remember that feeling for the rest of their lives.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Conway and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
