By Jessica Baron | Executive Director
Dear Friends of GITC,
Thank you for your profound show of support for the work of this non-profit! Because of each of you, our office is experiencing a uke-nado. Your gifts have made it possible to begin moving beautiful, brightly colored ukuleles from their manufacturers into classrooms. First stop? San Diego for inventory and tuning.
Many hands make light the work. Two teachers, two retired friends who volunteers and three more helpers are on the uke-tuning, boxing and shipping committee. Jessica Leonard, Caley Smalling, Rae Newoman, Neal White, Anthony Tinelli and Ariel Solano and Elias Turner have all been showing up to unpack and get instruments ready for the children to play.
The first delivery went to a first grade classroom at Normal Heights Elementary School. The children responded with wonder and played their hearts out while learning to form contractions from "two different words" to a song their wonderful teacher, Michael Renner created.
The second delivery in on its way to 13 teachers in Longmont, Colorado, a small farming and ranching community 45 minutes outside of Denver. There each teacher will take a ukulele back to his or her classroom and learn to support a "music helper" to strum along in the seat next to them. This is an essential first step for teachers to take before they feel ready to implement a whole strumming station.
The third delivery went to 8 classrooms in the barrio in San Diego where children have no access to instruments without your help. These kids are so excited about their little red Diamond Head ukes. The second graders are using them to compose lyrics about habitats and animal adaptation. The new vocabulary words this is generating are very expressive and are motivating children to learn to spell. We are awaiting permission to share their photos.
This Wednesday, 8 ukes are going to a kinder classroom of eager little music makers who will be writing new verses to "Get On Board" to include their sight words.
I've got a word that we all know and "happy" is it's name. I've got a word that we all know and "happy" is it's name..HAPPY spells happy, HAPPY spells happy, HAPPY spells happy, "Happy" is a word I know!
Thank you for helping our organization make learning to speak, read and write in English a creative, joyful experience for children in need! We are so grateful to be making progress with your involvement! We'll keep sending these happy little instruments out because you have given so generously.
In service and profound gratitude,
Jess
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