Past projects 7
Sing Me A Story!
Funded Jan 1, 2017This project was a new way for my older elementary students to make music and connect with the younger students in our building. By singing a song in a picture book, it provided that instant connection of something familiar for all elementary students, but the fact that the students had to learn a children's song and accompany themselves singing on ukulele made the performances a memorable experience for the performers as well as the children in the audiences.
My fifth grade students chose one of the books that YOU helped provide to our classroom. They learned to sing and play chords on ukulele to accompany themselves. They practiced as a small group until they were able to perform the song while sharing the story for an audience. At the close of the unit, their "test" was to go around to classrooms of younger students and share their story-song with those classes. The following week, the fifth graders also got to perform their story-songs for their parents as part of a "Bring Your Parent To Music Class" day.
I am so grateful for your donation and the impact it has made on my students. My fifth graders have a lot of confidence with simple songs, but they sometimes lose the idea that songs like this are meant to be shared with a community. They were very nervous about the idea of performing for classrooms full of students, but every single student left their first classroom and said "I WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN!" The young children were so appreciative and attentive and grateful for the performance that it was an excellent experience for everyone! I'm so happy to have added this project to their memories of elementary school. I am also proud to say that it will become an annual part of the curriculum here at our school.
Thank you so much for your donation to my classroom. Music Education is alive and well here at our school, in part because of YOU!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Loos
Brand New Orchestra Needs Your Help! (Part 2)
Funded Dec 30, 2014Thank you so much for supporting our NEW orchestra program! As you can see from the photos, we have string players in our school district who will now be able to participate in school music ensembles. We will be starting a new group of beginning orchestra students for the very first time this coming school year. Our fifth grade students just recently began the process of deciding on their middle school schedules. Everyone in town is buzzing with excitement about the chance to play a stringed instrument in orchestra. We are able to provide this opportunity because of YOU!
Your donation has helped provide sheet music, instruments, classroom materials, and supplies to this new program. We can't thank you enough for your support of public school music education programs like ours. Our goal is to provide a firm foundation on which to build a strong, vibrant orchestra program for many years to come. Every donation like yours brings us closer to that goal.
Please know that the supplies you've provided will be cared for and well-loved by our students. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity and support.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Loos
This classroom project was brought to life by Disney and 29 other donors.Brand New Orchestra Needs Your Help
Funded Dec 3, 2014Thank you so much for supporting our NEW orchestra program! As you can see from the photos, we have string players in our school district who will now be able to participate in school music ensembles. We will be starting a new group of beginning orchestra students for the very first time this coming school year. Our fifth grade students just recently began the process of deciding on their middle school schedules. Everyone in town is buzzing with excitement about the chance to play a stringed instrument in orchestra. We are able to provide this opportunity because of YOU!
Your donation has helped provide sheet music, instruments, classroom materials, and supplies to this new program. We can't thank you enough for your support of public school music education programs like ours. Our goal is to provide a firm foundation on which to build a strong, vibrant orchestra program for many years to come. Every donation like yours brings us closer to that goal.
Please know that the supplies you've provided will be cared for and well-loved by our students. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity and support.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Loos
Caring for Classroom Materials
Funded Jul 26, 2012I am so grateful for your generous donation to my classroom. As you can see in the pictures, the ukulele hangers look wonderful on the wall! They have created a large counter space in my room where I am keeping sheet music for the students to take and practice both in and outside of class. The instruments no longer bump against each other on the shelf, so we have reduced the nicks and scratches that were a common occurrence before. You are helping teach my students the value of caring for items that have been entrusted to them; a valuable life skill. Since installing the hangers, we haven't had any damage or accidents and the younger students are far less tempted to play them during their time in my classroom each week.
In addition to helping us take care of our equipment, you are also enhancing my classroom environment. My teaching philosophy places importance on the environment in which the students learn and interact. With these instruments on the wall and out of harm's way, you are helping improve our learning environment. You are helping me create a safe, organized place for each group of students to move and play with music.
I am extremely grateful for your donation. It will keep the instruments and the music room beautiful for years to come. Thanks again!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Loos
Build Your Own Music!
Funded Aug 13, 2012I am so very grateful that you donated to this project. You have provided my students with an exciting way to learn rhythm values in music. As you can see from the pictures, we have already put these materials to work during class. At the beginning of the year, we spend some time reviewing what we already understand about music, basic rhythm values are one of those review items in the upper elementary grades. In the lessons pictured, students were experimenting with creating a 4-beat pattern, having a partner perform it, and then combining patterns for a challenge. Previously, this concept has been relatively abstract and difficult for my students with special needs. After using the megabloks, they were not only enjoying this composing project, but the stress of composing and getting things just right had disappeared. They have a BALL when they use the blocks.
I have color-coded the blocks, using different colors for different time signatures and note values. As the students add more values and time signatures to their repertoire, we will add them to our block composing sessions.
At the end of one of the class sessions, two students approached me with excited looks. They proceeded to quickly talk about how the half note gets two beats and it has two humps and you can only fit two of those on the measure. They said the quarter note only had one hump and you can fit four of those on a measure. "Mrs. L., did you do that on purpose? I never got that beat thing before. This is SO COOL! I can do this!"
It really is cool. And so are you. Pat yourself on the back because you have brought joy and a new layer of comprehension into my classroom. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Loos
Take students around the world with MUSIC! (part 1)
Funded Aug 4, 2007Thank you so much for giving my students the opportunity to have hands-on experiences with these instruments from around the world. You have truly enhanced their education with your funding and their hands-on experience with these instruments will enrich their music education, creating learning connections and lifelong memories. Thanks again for your generous contribution to my students. I look forward to sending you photos and feedback of the students "in action"”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Loos
Take Students Around the World with MUSIC! (part 2)
Funded Jun 6, 2007Thank you so much for your generous donation! I'm sure my students will really enjoy the chance to make music with these new world drums. What an awesome gift to our school! You truly have helped take my music classes around the world and now they can see how children around the world make music. Seeing, touching, and playing these instruments will bring diverse cultures into my classroom. Thank you again so much. I can't wait to send you the pictures of our first experiences with these drums.
Sincerely,
Kristin ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Loos