Past projects 14
Making Our Mark(ers) on the World
Funded Sep 19, 2024Thank you so much for your donations to my music classroom. Performing arts ideally integrate all parts of the term VAPA-visual and performing arts. Supplies such as markers are the starting point for many students to explore the visual part of the medium in a music classroom.
Students use the markers on a weekly basis. After listing to a piece of music, they love to draw a picture of what the music makes them think. Visualizing the music and then being able to record what they visualize is invaluable.
Students were excited to use the markers immediately when they saw them. The variety of colors and the fact they were brand new made them extra exciting to use. Students are used to having to throw out a number of dried-up markers-but not with brand new packs!
Students will continue to use the markers to draw and color. The markers help enhance their visual imaginations and connections to music and the world around them.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smith
This classroom project was brought to life by San Ramon Valley Education Foundation and one other donor.Rocking on Recorders!
Funded Nov 28, 2023Thank you so much for your donations to our classroom recorders. The third graders have already started playing the recorders. They learned to play "Hot Cross Buns" in their last class. They are now perfecting that song and preparing to pass their test on it. They are looking forward to learning more songs on their new instruments.
Students were gleeful when they saw the recorders. They were excited to write their names on them and have official ownership. They were able to apply the music theory they have learned in class and connect it to playing recorders.
My students are excited to learn more songs on the recorders. In the spring, they will play a compilation of songs for family and friends at a concert. They love to perform, and your donations will make the recorder concert a reality!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smith
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and one other donor.Say "Hi (to) Ya" Because Recorders Are Back!
Funded Nov 29, 2022Thank you so much for donating to my project! Students have started their recorders and are excelling at the curriculum. All the third grade students have already mastered their first song, and they were thrilled to get their white belts. They are showing great pride in their achievements, and I know they will continue to thrive on the recorders.
The students were very excited to play their recorders. As soon as they saw them, they were eager to use them. They learned their first note (B) and started playing the musical exercises immediately. Students were equally excited to receive their first belts. They are very motivated to earn more belts.
The classes will continue to work on our recorder songs. Our plan is to play some of the Recorder Karate songs for a concert at the end of the school year. The students will continue to grow in their musicality and show the community how much they learned. Thank you again for donating so the students could have this opportunity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smith
This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 3 other donors.With a Smile, a Song...and a Seat!
Funded Aug 10, 2022Thank you so much for your generous donations to the classroom rug. My students now have a brand new rug to sit on every music class! They enjoy the vibrant and bright colors the rug brings to the classroom. Each student loves choosing their own color of rectangle on the rug for class.
The students were very excited about the new rug when they first saw it. They come enthusiastically into the classroom and chose their favorite color to sit on quickly. Students across all grade levels (TK-5th) love to sit on the new rug.
Every class that comes to the music room uses the new rug. We even coordinate some of our instruments (colored handbells and boomwhackers) with standing on that rug color.
We are so grateful for the rug!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smith
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 9 other donors.Supplies Accomplished!
Funded May 4, 2022Thank you so much for your generous donations to my project. It is so wonderful to have the supplies we need for the school year before it even starts. The supplies that were donated will be used every day in our classroom, The pens, pencils, and erasers will be used for writing. The markers will be used for art and writing illustrations. The pipe cleaners will be used for art and music. We are so glad to have these supplies.
The students were thrilled to get the supplies at the end of last school year. We were able to utilize the markers and crayons immediately for some end of the year art projects. We were running very low on the felt pens, and they were also glad to have those as they finished their writings for the end of the school year.
The supply amounts were so great, that they are barely used or brand new for the students at the start of this school year. The supplies will be utilized from the first day of school to the last. Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smith
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 7 other donors.Music in the Dojo
Funded Nov 13, 2021Thank you so much for the recorders and workbooks. The students were excited to receive their recorders and workbooks. They immediately started looking at the different belt levels and reported on which they were most excited to earn to one another.
Once the recorders were handed out, students could not wait to play them. Masks made that difficult, but the students persevered. They played them happily outside regardless of the weather.
Students will be working on earning their belts and getting songs ready for a concert in the spring. The students and I are so grateful for your donations!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smith
Making Music in the Dojo
Funded Oct 16, 2019Thank you so much for your donations to my project. My third grade students now have the fantastic opportunity to play recorders this year in music.
My students have started to learn to play their recorders. This fall they worked to learn music theory. They have learned to read the notes and count the beats in music. Their last classes before winter break were spent learning to play the note B on their recorders. They also began to label the notes on their first song in Recorder Karate in preparation to play it and earn their first belts!
The students have been very excited to play recorders since they first saw them. They are also excited to earn their belts as they progress in the program. I showed them the recorders and how the belts could adorn them. They are even more excited now to begin the program.
Our goal is to have everyone earn the first three belts and play the recorders for their families at the spring concert. Students will have to take up the challenge of memorizing the songs, but I know they are up to it. They will sound fantastic and their families will love it. Thank you again for this opportunity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smith
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron Fuel Your School and 2 other donors.Recorders in the Dojo
Funded Oct 17, 2018Thank you so much for your generous donations to my students. The opportunity to play the recorders in 3rd grade is such a fun and exciting experience for them. Their experience of learning to read music and play the recorders extends beyond the classroom and their 3rd grade year. It provides lessons into learning other instruments and taking up music as a career or hobby their entire life.
My students started learning to read music back in September Before their winter break, they started looking at their Recorder Karate workbooks to start recognizing time signatures, note values, and note names beyond the songs and classroom presentations. They also learned to start labeling the notes so they could double check themselves. Once they returned from winter break, they began to practice learning notes notes on the recorders.
Upon first receiving the recorders, they were excited and very curious. The recorder belts they earn that coincide with the curriculum are very motivating for them. They are already excited about earning their white belts for the song "Hot Cross Buns."
The students will continue with their recorders through March. Beginning in April, they will start learning their songs for the end of the year vocal concert. They learn two to three songs that showcase a variety of genres and music styles. They also do a great job taking on the double duty of learning recorders and still learning as many songs for the concert as the other grades in their school.
Thank you again for this wonderful opportunity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smith
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron Fuel Your School.Mastering Recorder Karate!
Funded Oct 31, 2017Thank you so much for providing my students with recorders and the Recorder Karate curriculum. Since starting recorders, students have shown incredible enthusiasm to learn the songs and earn their karate belts. Students come in during recess and after school to pass songs or get extra practice with me. Their desire to learn the songs and earn the belts is apparent and contagious.
When the students first saw the workbooks and recorders, they could not wait to start playing. By the end of the first class, they could already play the first three notes for "Hot Cross Buns" with ease. By the next class, over half of them had earned their white belts. They loved looking at all the belts they could earn on the book of workbook.
Students will continue to work to pass the first three songs. Our goal is for all students to earn up through the orange belt this year. Students who finish Recorder Karate through the black belt song will have the chance to complete songs in Recorder Karate 2 and earn the belts in that curriculum. Students are already excited about that prospect.
Thank you so much again for your donation. We love the recorders and the workbooks!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smith
Recording Our Talent
Funded Oct 21, 2016My students and I are so grateful to you for funding our project! They are ecstatic to begin learning to play the recorders after the winter break. They are preparing to play them by learning to read and count music. They are also practicing on Boomwhackers to get practice playing playing as a group. I have talked about the recorders since the project was funded, including educating them on what a recorder is and informing them they were going to learn to play on their very own.
I showed my third grade classes the recorders right before they left for winter break. I explained that we would begin learning to play them when they returned. I played a song and discussed how you produce sound on a recorder. I let the students look at their recorders and get them out of their packets. They expressed great enthusiasm for the opportunity to learn to play songs on them soon. When they return, we will begin playing songs from the Recorder Karate lesson books that were provided to us. Thanks to your gracious funding, each student will get their own lesson book as well!
Once students have mastered the recorder, we plan to do a concert for parents. Students will show parents what they have learned regarding music by performing at least three songs as a third grade group on their recorders. They are already looking forward to an opportunity to perform for friends and family.
Thank you again for giving my students this opportunity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Smith