The Joy of Making Music
By Andrea Smith, PVF Program and Communications Associate
Arts education is important for our students because it allows them to express themselves creatively as well as eliminate any cultural or linguistic barriers. Funded by the Westly Foundation, PVF’s Arts Resource Grant Program provides grants of up to $500 to teachers in select low-income Peninsula school districts to support their arts curriculum. As a flexible program, these grants allow K-8 public school teachers the ability to inject creativity into their classrooms, from basic art supplies to field trips and musical instruments to theater performances.
Below is an excerpt from a grant report we received from Diane Bobich and Corina Carroll at Brittan Acres Elementary:
The TK teachers and students at Brittan Acres Elementary School are ever grateful for being chosen as recipients of your “Arts Resource Grant”. With the 2 grants we received (one for each classroom), we were able to purchase a class kit of musical instruments which included maracas, tambourines, cymbals, triangles, sand blocks, cluster bells, and castanets. We were also able to purchase a paddle drum, a class set of rhythm sticks, and ukuleles, a true class favorite!
Music is a regular part of our day in TK. We start our day with a gathering song; throughout the day we use songs and word plays to teach concepts about letters & numbers, reinforce ideas about friendship and interpersonal skills; and enhance our themes of study; then we end our day with dancing. Music is a joyful way to help children make connections. But, prior to receiving this grant, we were limited in what we could do, as all we had available to us were our own voices and our CD player.
It won’t take much to imagine the joy we’ve found with our students this year, adding instruments into the rhythm of our day. Instrument exploration during free choice time, is in and of itself a big hit. Imagine if you will, a group of children tapping out the beat to “10 Little Butterflies” with rhythm sticks, as another group is “flying” nearby, using scarves to replicate wings. Using our rhythm sticks to learn an Indian dance during the Diwali holiday was truly a sight to behold. Storytime comes alive when the children shake their maracas slowly as the tortoise plods along, then quickly as the rabbit races by, in the reading of The Tortoise and the Hare. Parading with our instruments through the TK yard during our Dragon Dance for the Lunar New Year celebration was such fun! And learning to strum a ukulele at 5-years-old, what a gift, right?
We wish to thank the Westly Foundation for the transformative effect it has had on our TK music program. We feel lucky, and we are truly grateful.
Looking for a grant to help boost classroom and after- school education in music, theater, visual arts and dance? PVF’s Art Resource Grants Program will reopen for the 2024-2025 school year on August 12th.
