“My class would not be possible without musical instruments, and they are expensive. My annual school budget is small, and we rely on grants like the one we received from BEMC to purchase the instruments we use in class.”

I’m certified in the Orff-Schulwerk Approach, which includes a process of imitation, exploration, and improvisation. We incorporate things like singing, movement, and chanting with playing different types of instruments, and reach students at their own level. In kindergarten we start with speech pieces and build on their skills through 5th grade. I believe music should be fun, and it should be accessible. I teach a composer curriculum, where I make people like Antonio Vivaldi real, as opposed to someone from the distant past that they can’t relate to. After a few days of talking about him, I have kids explaining to me what concertos are. They’re making connections not just with instruments, but with historical timelines and all different types of music.

The best part is seeing the kids get excited, seeing that spark, when they think they can’t do something, and then they suddenly realize that they can. We’re doing a unit in second grade where they are creating their own ostinatos, or repeatable musical phrase or rhythm. I’ll select one of the students to be our composer for that day, and they’ll usually look at me with big eyes and I can tell they’re thinking ‘I can’t do that I’m a second grader!’. Then we break it down and make it simple, and by the end of class we’re all clapping for them because they wrote the music that all the kids were successful at playing. They walk out thinking, ‘Wow, I can do that!’.

We’re building confidence, and they’re learning how to collaborate, while developing an appreciation of music, which hopefully becomes something they can enjoy their whole life. I think music is its own language. Some of the students won’t choose band in middle school, but even if you don’t play an instrument, if you understand music, especially from a young age, your life will be richer.