Past projects 8
Replacement Percussion Supplies
Funded Jun 9, 2024Thank you so much for your help! We needed several pairs of mallets and drumsticks to be able to have enough for all students for our drumming and xylophone activities. This not only helps my younger students with music literacy, but with fine motor skills that are useful for every activity in their lives.
With these supplies, my students have learned to play music from Cuba, Ghana, and Jamaica! It would have not been possible without your generosity. Thank you so much for your support of McKenny music class!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Matthews
We Will Rock You! (While Protecting Our Ears!)
Funded Mar 28, 2024This ear protection has made drum circles and bucket drumming so much more comfortable for all our students! I teach music in a portable with no soundproofing or sound absorbent acoustic panels, and it can get very loud. In my larger classes, we did not allow all the students to play at the same time when giving instruction, which simply results in half as much instruction time for everyone. With this ear protection, we have been able to cover more ground while protecting our ears! Thank you so much for your help – it really makes a big difference.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Matthews
Help My Students Read and Write Music!
Funded May 7, 2024Technology is essential in a modern elementary music program. It helps kids practice rhythm and note recognition skills, compose their own pieces, and have listening stations with room for reflection. Having these iPads has allowed me to implement station days where I have small groups working on different projects simultaneously. It allows for exploration and deep learning that is not possible during whole-class instruction. This would not have been possible without your generosity, and I am so very grateful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Matthews
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 13 other donors.Help My Students Take Their Ukulele Show On The Road!
Funded Mar 28, 2024Thank you so incredibly much for the funding to get a ukulele cart! This has solved so many space problems within my classroom, and also allows us to transport the ukuleles safely from my classroom to performance spaces. It has also improved the experience of neighboring schools, as we are able to share our ukuleles easily for concerts by rolling them straight into a van.
It has also helped me teach responsibility and self-sufficiency in the classroom, because students can now retrieve and put away their ukuleles independently and participate in taking good care of instruments. None of this would've been possible without you, and I am so thankful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Matthews
This classroom project was brought to life by LOFT and 3 other donors.Comfy Tushies for Music Class!
Funded Sep 10, 2022Thank you so much for making my classroom so much more comfortable for my students! They are able to focus so much better on playing instruments when they are sitting comfortably. We have had the cushions for a few months now, and they are holding up beautifully.
Having the cushions color-coded to match their sit-spots on the seating chart means a lot less time getting organized at the beginning of class - it also allows me to break them up into groups for smaller groupwork with ease.
We couldn't have done it without you - thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Matthews
Help My Students Make Music!
Funded Aug 23, 2021Thanks to your incredibly generous donations, I now have 1:1 Orff instrumentation for all my classes! All my students are gaining invaluable experience that not only leads to better rhythmic and notation skills, but universal skills like motor coordination, taking turns, independence, and taking turns.
We are almost ready to perform for our year-end concert, and all classes will be performing songs on xylophones. We couldn't have done it without you and are so very grateful.
"Music is a more potent instrument than any other for education, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul." – Plato”
With gratitude,
Ms. Matthews
Make My Music Class Welcoming!
Funded Sep 11, 2021Thanks to your generosity, I was able to purchase Feierabend curriculum books to design well-rounded, thorough activities to teach my youngest students the elements of music.
John Feierabend is a well-known pedagogue and music education researcher that believed deeply in movement being the best teaching tool for music in our youngest students. We have been able to use the movement activities that accompany the songs to help students understand tempo, pitch, meter, and more. Along the way, I have also been able to expose them to a wide variety of classical, folk, and world music!
Most importantly, the students are having FUN, which will instill a lifelong love of music. We can't thank you enough, and hope you have a wonderful year!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Matthews
Music is Motion and Expression!
Funded Aug 26, 2021Thank you so much for your generous donations to purchase the Feireabend and other music and movement books! Thanks to you, my students have been able to learn new songs and movement games that give them a whole-body appreciation for music. Movement is crucial in the elementary years to develop important music skills like expression and internalizing the beat.
In the classroom, the approach I take with these books is to sing and play the song on the piano or guitar for the children. For simple songs, I will teach them the solfeg syllables and hand signs, and we will practice getting the pitches of the song right. Then, I teach them the lyrics to the song along with any movements using instruments, scarves, or the parachute. Finally, if there is a game associated with the song, I demonstrate how the play and have a couple of practice rounds.
Students learn music best by having FUN. Your generous donation has brought my classroom alive for my youngest students. Thank you so much, and have a wonderful year!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Matthews