My students are young musicians yearning for more musical knowledge. We are beginning our 3rd year as a school, in the midst of a pandemic. As a choice school, my students come from all over the district to our school to integrate STEAM into their curriculum. We laid the foundation for our music education journey the past 2 years! Now it is time to build upon their knowledge!
As a STEAM school, we integrate all subject levels.
Students make meaningful connections between music and what they are learning in reading, math, science, and social studies. We are constantly looking for new ways to connect across subjects and create hands-on, authentic experiences to learn, feel, and express concepts.
"Tell me, I forget; Show me, I remember; Involve me, I understand." said Carl Orff. Music education should be hands-on and authentic. I believe Carl Orff was a music educator before his time, advocating for a hands-on musical experience where students get to sing, play, and move. We strive to accomplish that with every music lesson at my school. Students leave my classroom having sung, played, and moved with smiles on their faces.
My Project
We received 4 vegetable and 4 fruit shakers from another DonorsChoose project recently. I have NEVER seen kids happier than when playing these shakers! I give them a fruit or a vegetable shakers and they are full of squeals and laughter! It makes playing a shaker instrument just SO MUCH FUN!
I would love to have more veggies and fruits so that my entire class can play them during music activities.
It just goes to show how magical something like a simple shaker can be in the eyes of a child! The banana, the pickle, the pineapple, and the carrot are fan favorites!
My goal this year was to provide shaker instruments for my students. Because we are a relatively new school, until now, we've only had maracas and egg shakers. The kids enjoy them, but I wanted to provide more, fun options for them to play in music class. And these veggie and fruit shakers are the perfect HIT in my room!
More than a third 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 Mrs. Johnson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
