Chicago Public Schools K–3rd grade classroom teachers and Ravinia Teaching Artists in the Music Discovery Program participated in interactive music workshops at Ravinia over August 2–3 and will reunite on September 10 at the Kehrein Center for the Arts in Chicago.
Throughout the institute, participants take part in hands-on activities and strategies for bringing music into the classroom and learn different ways to integrate music into language arts and social studies. Sessions such as “Musical Creativity in the Classroom,” “Comprehensive Musicianship Through Performance Demo,” and “Developing a Curriculum for Movement in an Academic Setting” are what support and allow educators to explore their own musicianship ahead of the new school year.
Participating educators that take part in these workshops are inspired to bring music and creativity into their curriculum in many ways. Christine Taylor Conda, Director of Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play education programs, led one of the sessions for non-music teachers, where they were provided with a variety of everyday activities for using music in the classroom.
Teachers like Columbia Explorers Academy teacher Miriam Orrego came in curious and open to the different music education strategies. “I felt engaged and ready to learn,” Orrego shared. Other teachers like Cynthia Martinez from Robert Fulton Elementary School learned about the importance of music education as a whole: “Music matters and can be incorporated into students’ overall learning.”
One of the more interactive workshops invited the institute teachers to participate in a community singing session, with the understanding that singing brings a sense of unity and shared purpose in a fun and welcoming setting. “It eased some back-to-school tension to just sing, and it made me think about the importance of caring for students emotionally through song,” Megan Brand Holmberg, a John B. Murphy Elementary School teacher, shared of her experience in the workshop.
Take a look at some of the professional development (and fun!) educators had at Ravinia as summer comes to an end and the school year begins.
