Blog Posts

An AMAISE-ing Day of Training! 9/10, Let's Do it Again!

9/11/2022

Submitted by Jess Baron, Executive Director
San Diego, CA 9/11/22

What happened when an AMAISE-ing group of home hospital teachers, special educators, classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, and support service providers gathered yesterday at Whittier School? Devoting their own Saturdays to a full day of voluntary training in adaptive music, they sounded amazing!!

AMAISE stands for Adaptive Music for Achievement in Inclusion and Special Education.
It is pronounced, "amaze!"

Thanks so much to all who helped put on and carry out our first in person gathering since 2020, including GITC staff members Gail Wingfield and Stiina Luedtke! The photos below are chronological and give you a snapshot of the day. We welcomed many first-time participants in GITC from San Diego, and a great representation from East County school districts as far east as Lakeside, and from the Inland North, as far as Escondido and Vista! Kudos to all of you, including you passionate, creative mod/sev teachers from our own San Diego Unified School District!

Immense gratitude goes to SDUSD Home Hospital Transistion Supports superstar, Kristy McNamee (below) who teaches at the Bernardy Center for Medically Fragile Children, for teaching adaptive musical tech and keyboard adaptations for inclusion! We are excited to learn more about speech generation devices, and a wide range of intuitive and adaptable music apps.

A truly devoted and fun group of GITC leaders served tirelessly to make yesterday possible including Molly Stewart, Patty Steele, and Gingerlily Lowe (left), and Patty Bertam (right). Talk about managing logistics with love! These gals brought the joy all day long. Thank you so much to these angels.

We also deeply appreciate the outstanding instruction teachers received from the team of Annela Flores and her interns from music therapy providers. Musicworx for teaching drumming & drum circle facilitation for inclusion, special ed, and homebound and hospitalized students!

Three cheers for GITC faculty member and National University's SEL 2021 Teacher of the Year for this region, Ms. Reagan Duncan (left) of Maryland Elementary in Vista, for teaching SEL through Music! I am so fortunate to have had the chance to step in to teach an introductory lesson in adaptive ukulele, and be part of this inspiring team. A second training focusing on SEL with drums and ukes, and music leadership for student and family groups will run on September 24 from 9 am- 12 pm. GITC Teaching Artist Jody Mulgrew will be joining us in person! Seats are still available for 9/24/2022 HERE.

We are exceptionally grateful to the NAMM Foundation, our contract with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as Kala Brand Music, West Music, the D'Addario Foundation, the Nordson Foundation, CECO, the San Diego County Employees Charitable Organization, and the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture for their support of these sequential trainings so all educators and support staff may participate at no cost, and receive training and musical supplies for their classrooms! We send love to Karen and Stephen des Jardins of Encinitas, CA whose contribution gave AMAISE it's very first opportunity to train educators in 2018.

Please enjoy these moments from the first Saturday AMAISE for the 2022-23 school year!
Thank you to Molly Stewart, Gingerlily Lowe, and Reagan Duncan
for sharing the photos in our gallery!

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GITC Welcomes Kazoobie Kazoos to the Family!

9/2/2022

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Back in May, 2021, Guitars & Ukes in the Classroom received a mysterious gift from our amazing board member and Education Committee Chair, Dr. Joan Maute. A large square, lightweight package containing 500 beautiful, high quality kazoos made by the Kazoobie Kazoo Company in Beaufort, SC, was about to brighten all of our lives! Joan had sourced these American made, high quality, dishwasher safe kazoos, and we just had to figure out how to integrate them into our work.

Within four weeks, we had an answer! Opportunity knocked with the start of our first Summer Strummers Clubs in San Diego. A little preliminary experimenting taught us that some removeable painters tape stretched across the kazoo bottoms kept all saliva in, and still let the buzzing out, making the kazoos safe to use. So into the clubs these mighty kazoos went, and the kids loved them at first sight. Next step was sharing them with our educators in training.

Total Beginners in our professional development workshops had a blast using the kazoos to hum song melodies. Why? A. No one sounds like the next Beyoncé playing a kazoo. You can sing and just have a good time without anxiety. In the words of Bobby McFerrin, "Don't worry, be happy!"
B. You can improvise a cool instrumental solo without using your fingers!
C. Kazoos can go anywhere and bring joy to the moment. And wow do they get a classroom's attention.

Please check out Kazoobie Kazoos, and if you are teaching in our programs, stay tuned for our Fall Classroom Purchasing Guide with a special discount code for GITC-affiliated teachers and staff.

Guitars & Ukes in the Classroom is grateful to the kind folks at Kazoobie Kazoos, and to Dr. Joan Maute, for giving everyone the world's funniest and easiest way to make music.

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Real Food for Music Students: GITC's NEW Sponsor, JAMBAR!

12/23/2021

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JAMBAR – THE NEW ORGANIC ENERGY BAR THAT SUPPORTS MUSIC STUDENTS!

We are so excited to introduce you to JAMBAR, Guitars in the Classroom’s newest sponsor. Jennifer Maxwell, creator, mom, musician, natural foods baker, and co-founder of the original super popular energy bar PowerBar, has come up with a scrumptious new organic energy bar especially for student who need nutritional support, including music students and athletes! We are so grateful to her friend, musician-poet Don Paul, for introducing GITC to Jennifer. This kind of caring for kids is why GITC continues to serve and grow.

JAMBAR combines innovative proteins, gluten-free ancient grains, real chunks of fruit or premium chocolate, and authentic sweeteners from nature. This is a healthy after school energy booster for students who have had a long day and are heading into extracurricular activities and homework. Jennifer dreamed it up in her kitchen, and now these bars is fantastic natural fruit flavors are in production in San Rafael. Super cool that the food production is housed in the Grateful Dead's old rehearsal studio (pre-kitchen of course). Good vibes abound.

As a musician, a drummer no less, Jennifer understands that musicians need energy to make their beautiful music. She has a big heart for hungy music students, especially those in economically challenging circumstances who may not be able to afford high quality snacks. To provide them with this fun, positive nutritional support, she and JAMBAR are donating 50% of their after-tax profits to help get this REAL FOOD into students' hands.

GITC is an early beneficiary of the “JAMBAR Gives Back” program! JAMBAR made its initial contribution of 588 bars in every flavor to our music education partner, San Francisco Unified School District, so hungry SFUSD music students could experience the benefits. Thank you, Jennifer Maxwell for your incredible generosity!

About JAMBAR
JAMBAR makes delicious organic energy bars that provide excellent fuel for cyclists of all levels. Since Jennifer and her late husband Brian started making PowerBars in 1985, energy bars have become a go-to, and we can tell you first hand. JAMBAR is head and shoulders above the others. JAMBAR was created with the goal of helping people feel good about the ingredients they put in their bodies, and the positive impact they can have on their local communities. We're so happy they've joined the GITC community to create musical opportunities for ALL learners.

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GITC Receives George Chamberlin Community Leadership Award

12/20/2021

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SDCCU Presents the Fourth Quarter 2021
George Chamberlin Community Leadership Award
Guitars & Ukes in the Classroom (GITC) honored for helping others and
making a positive impact in the San Diego community

SAN DIEGO, Calif., (December 20, 2021) – San Diego County Credit Union® (SDCCU®), one of San Diego’s largest locally-owned financial institutions, is proud to present the fourth quarter George Chamberlin Community Leadership Award to Guitars & Ukes in the Classroom (GITC), selected for the positive impact they make in the San Diego community. The award recognizes individuals and organizations that devote their time, talents and resources to helping others and making San Diego a better place to live.

GITC is a non-profit based in San Diego. Founder and Executive Director, Jess Baron, is an early childhood specialist, music educator, author and songwriter. She shares her profound love of making music with many teachers and students, primarily in Title 1 schools in San Diego and all over the country. Baron knows the power that music can bring to teaching and learning. She is relentlessly dedicated to transforming the next generation by making music accessible to all learners. Baron lives the GITC mission, to expand the role of music in education by training, inspiring and equipping teachers to provide integrated music with cross-curricular learning, with every intentional word choice and action. GITC’s responsive approach educates the whole child through hands-on music making with guitars, ukuleles and educational, collaborative songwriting for academic success.

“We congratulate Guitars and Ukes in the Classroom for being selected as this quarter’s recipient of the 2021 George Chamberlin Community Leadership Award, and celebrate the hard work they do.” said Teresa Campbell, SDCCU president and CEO. “Acknowledging individuals and organizations in our community who dedicate their work to enhancing the lives of those around us is gratifying and impactful for all involved.”

The life of longtime KOGO personality, George Chamberlin was defined by doing the right thing. During his life, George's positive outlook, integrity and generosity touched many people. By doing the right thing day-to-day, George created a legacy that is being honored through the George Chamberlin Leadership Award. Along with his leadership and legacy, Chamberlin was also a renowned financial expert and provided a wealth of financial and business news updates to the Southern California community. Chamberlin presented financial wellness seminars for SDCCU for a number of years, offering his expert insight to help educate members of the community on a variety of topics including budgeting, investments and retirement planning. The community can submit a nomination quarterly at https://kogo.iheart.com/promotions.

To learn more about Guitars & Ukes in the Classroom, please visit guitarsintheclassroom.org.

SDCCU is one of the nation’s top credit unions, proudly serving the financial needs of customers in Southern California counties including Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura. SDCCU has assets of $10.7 billion, over 425,000 customers, more than 40 convenient branch locations and 30,000 surcharge-FREE ATMs. SDCCU provides breakthrough banking products that meet the demands of today’s lifestyle and delivers banking services that save customers money. SDCCU is leading the way, offering FREE Checking with eStatements, SDCCU mobile banking, mortgage loans, auto loans, Visa® credit cards and business banking services. Membership required. Federally insured by NCUA. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS #580585. For more information, visit www.sdccu.com.

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Dol-an' Out the Music!

11/2/2021

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Blog by Gail Wingfield

Second grade teacher Monica Dolan was delighted when, during the morning line-up, Camden, a student in her class, looked up at her with shining eyes and said, “Today we are having uke class!” The children around him echoed his enthusiasm. They all remembered this was the day GITC’s teaching artist was coming for the classroom’s weekly residency visit. Everyone was excited to write songs and play their ukuleles again.

As a woman of color, Monica’s childhood experiences were similar to those of many of the 2nd graders she teaches today. She always wanted to take music lessons but her family had no money to spare and there was no access to elementary arts education in her school. Music remained absent from her life until she found GITC as a veteran educator in 2020. For the past 2 years she has been learning to play the ukulele with GITC and to lead hands-on music in her classroom.

During her own school years, Monica did well in school but felt that a college education was out of reach because of her family's economic situation. She worked after school and summers to help support her family. After high school she started taking classes at a community college and later was accepted to San Diego State University. By working her way through school, and with the help of scholarships, student loans, and financial aid, she became the first person in her family to graduate from college.

Even though Monica’s longing to learn the guitar remained a dream, after she married and started raising a family she considered it her responsibility as a parent to provide her own children with musical opportunities. Her son and daughter both learned to play the clarinet and joined the band at school.

Monica has been a classroom teacher in Title 1 schools for the past 27 years. At the start of the pandemic, she heard that another teacher at her school was bringing music to her classroom with GITC. She was hesitant to try it herself because she thought it was too challenging to learn to play an instrument. Then a personal tragedy struck, and the need to do something positive provided the necessary motivation to move ahead with music. She asked herself, “Do I wait even longer to do something I’ve always wanted to do?” The other teacher, Gingerlily Lowe, was in training with GITC, and she encouraged her to sign up for a GITC course. Monica says she knew she was “not a young chick” but she wanted to push herself out of her comfort zone and take the advice she gives her students daily: try.

With Gingerlily’s support, Monica signed up for a GITC course. She did it for herself, and also because she believed it would make her a better teacher, capable of bringing an element of creativity and fun to the students in her virtual classroom. She started by learning the ukulele in a free GITC after-school Total Beginner course online.

Monica’s favorite phrase, developed from her own efforts, is, “We’re not going to cry, we’re going to try.” As a language learner herself, she knows it’s important to have a growth mindset and grit when working towards a goal. She decided to learn deliberately, at her own pace. This was a perfect match for the GITC approach in which learning to make music is meant to be a pleasurable journey, not a race. She took GITC’s Total Beginner course twice and practiced on her own. Now she is taking the GITC Experienced Beginner course. Monica says she is getting better little by little, and she is loving the adventure!

During the pandemic Monica participated in two GITC co-teaching artist residencies in her online classroom with GITC teaching artist, Sharon DuBois. Thanks to support from the San Diego Unified School District’s VAPA department, GITC was able to obtain ukuleles for all her students so they could play and sing together while socially distanced at home. Music became the best part of their day and a way to stay engaged and have fun. It brought joy to her students and light to her own life.

The last time her second grade students had a normal school year, they were in kindergarten. Now that they are back in the classroom, Monica finds music more important than ever for boosting recovery from very significant pandemic learning loss. She leads music three times a week with her students, playing ukulele and writing songs with them to further academic learning in many subjects. Recently, she was delighted to overhear her students talking together about how to plug their favorite math strategies into songwriting. They asked her if the class could make up a song about math, with each student writing a verse about the strategy of their choosing. Of course, she said yes!

Monica is determined to make sure that music is not out of reach for her students, as it was for her. "Art and music give children the opportunity to shine." she said. “Exposure to music through GITC can create a musical connection, making it possible for my students to take it a step further as they grow.”

For herself, Monica feels very fortunate. She loves her job, loves teaching, and her students are amazing. “It can be overwhelming, yes, but I embrace the constant chaos.” She is grateful to be supported by the GITC faculty who make her feel that wherever she is in her musical journey is ok, and is a step forward to becoming more proficient. And what’s the next GITC course she plans to take?

Next, she’s going to learn the guitar.

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Around the World with Mimi Seney

7/23/2021

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A Summer Strummer at Euclid Elementary

30,000 students from all over the San Diego Unified School District took a journey into in-person learning this summer as participants in the district’s new program, Level Up San Diego, funded by federal ESSER support for pandemic recovery. Students could enroll in a.m. summer school focused on learning recovery, and in a variety of summer enrichment opportunities such as outdoor activities, Arts classes, or STEAM-related programs, offered by 65 organizations.

Many students participated in both morning and afternoon activities intended to restore joy and inspire a passion for returning to learning. Guitars and Ukes in the Classroom (GITC) was honored and excited to be among the first organizations included in this opportunity, made possible because of grant support from The San Diego Foundation. Thanks to the local partnership, we were able to provide music instruction integrated with arts and crafts and literacy enrichment on seven SDUSD summer school campuses, as well as online for students ages 3 through 18. We called our programs Summer Strummers Clubs so students felt a sense of belonging to something special… and parents are reporting that they really did!

To fully staff GITC’s Level Up SD: A Summer of Learning and Joy, we expanded our faculty, bringing on amazing, highly qualified public school teachers and specialists from Vista, San Diego and Chula Vista as our Club Leaders, and interns in support positions in education and music programs from SDUSD, Cal State San Marcos, Point Loma Nazarene University, and Grossmont College! It “took a village,” to staff our clubs, and that village extended to the boundaries of San Diego County!

GITC Instructor Mimi Seney

But one Summer Strummers Club Leader wanted her young club members to experience even more of the world. Mimi Seney, the Monday afternoon Club Leader at Euclid Elementary, took her students on a musical journey around the world! Assisted by her intern, Mr. Gilbert, himself a middle school math teacher at Logan Memorial Educational Campus (LMEC), Mrs. Seney brought the world into her classroom through the power of international music and crafts. Club members travelled to the UK, Italy, Greece, South Africa, Japan, Hawaii and more, learning about each country’s culture, flag, and music -- all within the span of four weeks!

Student passports -- Let's go!

“Each student received their own passport, which got stamped along the way,” explains Mrs. Seney, who has been active with GITC for about seven years. “At each stop, the kids colored pages with facts about the country or flag, which were made into a travel journal to take home. And each week, we talked about the music that comes from each culture and learned a new song on ukulele.”

Mrs. Seney also helped each student create a “Strumming Flat Stanley” - a paper cutout inspired by the Jeff Brown children’s book series Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures Students were encouraged to take photos of their Strumming Flat Stanley at various locations around town or on family outings and share them with the group. “The kids love to see Stanley out and about, even if he’s just at Starbucks,” she explains.

Mrs. Seney helps a student assemble a lei

This is Mrs. Seney’s first year joining GITC as a faculty member, but she began learning to lead and integrate music the GITC way as a teacher for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students at San Diego County’s Davila Day School. “I started by taking courses with GITC instructor Dan Decker and quickly got into it,” she explains. “I was a pianist and guitar player, not a uke player. At the time, most of my preschool students were non-verbal or just acquiring language. GITC’s approach was a great fit for that and I was immediately hooked. After teaching preschool, I decided to move into working with an older, more diverse group of students at a youth detention center. These days I teach math and science and integrate music, including after-school ukulele and keyboard classes at the East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility, and I just love it!”

Mrs. Seney has also enjoyed her role as a Summer Strummers Club Leader. “It was something so different and healing for all of us.”

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Summer Strummers Clubs Photo Gallery

7/22/2021

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GITC loved participating in Level Up SD: A Summer of Learning & Joy! Thank you to all the students, instructors, volunteers and families who joined us for this unique summer experience. We played music, made art, and found joy again after a very challenging year. This program was made possible thanks to support from The San Diego Foundation.

Please enJOY our Summer Strummers 2021 Photo Gallery:

Clay Elementary

M/W Club Leader: Maria Weiss
Intern: Suzanne Chin

T/Th Club Leader: Mark Spencer
Intern: Rachael Holmes

Dewey Elementary

T/Th Club Leader: Katie Stoesz

E B Scripps

T/Th 12:30pm Club Leader: Garner Saguil
Intern: Nohemia Rosales
T/Th 3:00pm Club Leader: Garner Saguil
Intern: Autumn Harris

Euclid Elementary

T/Th Club Leader: Reagan Duncan
Intern: Aliyah Holmen

Euclid Elementary

M/W Club Leader: Mimi Seney
Intern: Rhico Gilbert

Foster Elementary :

T/Th Age 6-7 Club Leader: Teresa Adams
Intern: Jonathan Hanninen
T/Th Age 8-10 Club Leader: Elisa Samaniego
Intern: Madeline Samaniego

LMEC

M/W Club Leader: Connie Gonzales
Intern: Lara Wuhrmann
T/Th Age 3-5 Club Leader: Connie Gonzales
Intern: Jean Borja
T/Th Age 6 - 8 Club Leader: Maria Weiss
Intern: Jorge Flores

Nye Elementary:

M/W Club Leader: Gingerlily Lowe
Intern: Teresa Adams

T/Th Club Leader: Gingerlily Lowe
Intern: Erin Leavitt

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Meet the GITC Summer Strummers Team!

6/10/2021

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GITC is thrilled to be participating in Level Up SD: A Summer of Learning and Joy! We'll be providing musical after-school programming at multiple Level Up SD sites, and we couldn't do it without the teaching artists listed on this page. Please take a moment to get to know these GITC superstars who are helping kids Level Up this summer! This program was made possible thanks to grant support from The San Diego Foundation.

Meet Our Team!

Name: Teresa Adams
Level Up Location: Foster Elementary
School During the Year: Dailard Elementary
Grades You Teach: I am a Paraeducator Independence Learning Facilitator, currently working with mild moderate second graders
Years with GITC: 3
Favorite Activity: I enjoy hiking, camping and taking pictures of my sister’s garden.
Fun Fact: I was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Name: James Clarkston
Level Up Location: Online
School During the Year: LA USD
Grades You Teach: 6-12
Years with GITC: 6
Favorite Activity: Running
Favorite Summer Food: Tacos
Fun Fact: I once performed classical guitar music at a party for former President & Mrs. Bush.

Name: Reagan Duncan
Level Up Location: Euclid Elementary
School During the Year: Maryland Elementary (Vista, CA)
Grades You Teach: Kinder & 1st
Years with GITC: 1
Favorite Activity: Hiking & visiting the beach (w/ a uke, of course!)
Favorite Summer Food: Watermelon
Fun Fact: My parents were in the circus when they met!

Name: Connie Gonzales
Level Up Location: LMEC Logan Memorial Educational Campus
School During the Year: LMEC Logan Memorial Educational Campus
Grades You Teach: Montessori - Pre-school, TK & Kinder
Years with GITC: 10
Favorite Activity: Dancing, gardening, family barbecues, outdoor water activities, touring wineries, and riding nice n slow on a big ol' Harley Davidson motorcycle!
Fun Fact: I am a San Diego native, born and raised, and have four adult children and five grandchildren! I am a Flamenco dancer and a member/actor in a community theatre group.

Name: Gingerlily Lowe
Level Up Location: Nye Elementary
School During the Year: Recently retired from Nye Elementary
Grades You Teach: Over my 33 years of teaching, I have taught from 1st grade all the way up to 8th grade.
Years with GITC: 4
Favorite Activity: Dancing in the Japanese Obon Festival-- a community circle dance festival celebrating our dear departed.
Fun Fact: I grew up in Chinatown. When I was a little kid, the Art Linkletter House Party had a segment "Kids Say the Darndest Things". They wanted a "Chinese" kid on the program and came to my school to find one. I was lucky to be selected. And that's how I got my first bicycle--a blue Schwinn which was my prize for doing the show.

Name: Garner Saguil
Level Up Location: EB Scripps
School During the Year: Dingeman Elementary
Grades You Teach: 4th Grade Seminar and Choir Director
Years with GITC: 2
Favorite Activity: I love to run, cook, and travel to tropical climates.
Fun Fact: I just adopted a husky and golden retriever puppy from a shelter in Ensenada, Mexico. I named him Baja, and he's currently the love of my life.

Name: Elise Samaniego
Level Up Location: Foster Elementary
School During the Year: Foster Elementary
Grades You Teach: 4th
Years with GITC: 3
Favorite Activity: I go to Idaho every summer with my family - fresh air, river rafting, and relaxing with no TV, computers, phone or internet.
Fun Fact: I was a concert violinist for 12 years!

Name: Mimi Seney, Ed.M
Level Up Location: Euclid Elementary
School During the Year: East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility
Grades You Teach: High School but have taught pre-school through 12th, adult learners and special education (DHH)
Years with GITC: 6
Favorite Activity: Pool time and ukuleles!
Fun Fact: I have two mini schnauzers (Charlotte & Savannah) and love quilting in my spare time!

Name: Mark Spencer
Level Up Location: Clay Elementary
School During the Year: Veterans Elementary
Grades You Teach: 3rd
Years with GITC: 3
Favorite Food: Sushi
Fun Fact: Besides being a teacher, I have 3 wonderful children with my wife Krista (also a teacher), I am an Uber driver on weekends, and I enjoy acting in community theatre.

Name: Patti Steele
Level Up Location: Floater/Substitute
School During the Year: Recently retried from Paradise Hills Elementary
Grades You Teach: Tk & Kinder
Years with GITC: 3
Favorite Summer Food: Cherries
Favorite Activity: Reading at the beach
Fun Fact: I take tap dancing lessons!

Name: Katie Stoesz
Level Up Location: Dewey Elementary
School During the Year: Dewey Elementary
Grades You Teach: 2nd
Years with GITC: 6
Favorite Activity: I enjoy the beach and the pool. I read a lot. I enjoy watching people play live music!
Fun Fact: I swim a mile in a pool 4 days a week.

Name: Maria Weiss
Level Up Location: Clay & Foster Elementary
School During the Year: Doyle Elementary
Grades You Teach: 5th
Years with GITC: 2
Favorite Activity: The end of my gym class always makes me very happy!
Fun Fact: I played college volleyball at the University of San Diego

Additional Staff Profiles Coming Soon!

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Let’s Get “Bizzie!”Exploring Music, Nature and Kindness with GITC & JoyWorks

2/9/2021

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This month at GITC, we are buzzing...about bees! Bees fly from flower to flower, spreading pollen wherever they go. They are vital to the pollination cycle and help plants grow and thrive. They live in hives, or colonies, and work together to create something sweet -- honey, of course!

GITC is a lot like a hive. Our entire community works together to create something sweet -- access to musical learning for ALL students! And just like bees fly from flower to flower spreading pollen, GITC teachers “fly” from student to student, spreading creativity and an enthusiasm for learning.

This year, due to COVID-19, we re-homed our own hive from in-person school to online classrooms! Sometimes bees must be rehomed in nature, too, in order to be safe and keep humans safe, too.

Rancho Santa Fe author, Janet Lawless Christ, puts a musical twist on the topic of bee rehoming in her new book, Bizzie the Beat Loving, Bumbling Bee. In this picture book for children ages 2 through 9, two humans use the power of music to re-home a swarm of “bumbling” bees. And although this strategy is different than how professional bee rescuers re-home bees, we love Janet’s positive message and creativity!

We are also buzzing with excitement to announce that Janet’s company, JoyWorks Networks, Inc, is donating a portion of the proceeds from Bizzie to GITC!

“Teaching children about complementary relationships between different species, and how we humans can adapt our ways to support others to thrive is such important, compassionate work,” explains GITC's Executive Director, Jess Baron. “Students and teachers everywhere are going through an unimaginable this year. It is our hope that Bizzie will inspire young students to overcome their fears to find gentle and caring solutions that protect creatures great or small like the bumble bees."

Ms. Christ's journey learning to play the ukulele also plays a key part in her story.
She feels passionately about music and its importance in the lives of all children.
So she chose our nonprofit as a beneficiary to receive a portion of the book's profits.
We are most grateful for her support. You can read more about
Janet Lawless Christ and Bizzie HERE!

Learn about Ms. Christ's organization, Joyworks here:
joyworksnetworks.com/products/bizzie-the-beat-loving-bumbling-bee.

Guitars and Ukes in the Classroom is committed to protecting and healing our planet and we celebrate and teach about ecology through our Green Songbook!

The Green Songbook features Nancy Shimmel's wonderful song,
"Every Third Bite"
which joyfully raises awareness of how bees contribute to the earth's ecology, making it possible for plants of all kinds
to grow,
living creatures everywhere.

To explore safe methods for re-homing bees and to learn the latest progress addressing Colony Collapse Disorder
please explore these resources below.

Four Tips to Rescue a Honey Bee Swarm
https://www.hobbyfarms.com/4-tips-to-rescue-a-honey-bee-swarm-2/

Re-Homing a Wild Hive video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usvWMIBuqKw

Honeylove Be-Rehoming in Santa Monica
https://honeylove.org/rescuebees/

San Diego Bee Re-Homing Expert
https://honeybeerescue.com/

Colony Collapse Disroder Progress Report, 2020
https://www.hobbyfarms.com/colony-collapse-disorder-update-2020/

Also make sure to check out GITC volunteer, Rich Poser's incredible account of his personal experience
moving a live colony and their beehive safely out of his roof!

Download the full PowerPoint presentation or PDF below. The PowerPoint has a book animation feature when played as a slide show.

rich_poser_powerpoint.pptx
File Size:	80561 kb
File Type:	pptx

Download File

rich_poser_live_hive_final.pdf
File Size:	3245 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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Changing the World Through Music: How One Teacher Is Shifting Her Entire School’s Culture with GITC

1/14/2021

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By Abby Dorsey

First grade teacher Reagan Duncan

Maryland Elementary School first grade teacher, Reagan Duncan, closes each day of virtual learning with the same instructions for her students -- “Go out into the world, my little world changers!” she says cheerfully via Zoom. “I figure if they hear it every day, they will start to believe it.”

Miss Duncan is the ideal person to talk to her students about changing the world, as she herself is currently shifting the culture of her entire public elementary school in Vista, California towards making music. After a chance meeting on a San Diego street corner with Guitars in the Classroom’s founder Jess Baron, Miss Duncan signed up to take her first ukulele class. She was immediately smitten.

“I’d been looking for this thing -- something that would help me shift my students’ trajectory in life, ” she explains. “My school has the highest number of homeless students in the district. Many of my students are English language learners. My biggest hope is always to shift their trajectory with small, positive changes. Even if it’s just three degrees, it has the power to change their lives when they are adults.”

Miss Duncan and her first graders

Uke Can Do It!

Miss Duncan found the effects of the ukulele to be just that -- life changing. Just as she started her GITC training, the pandemic hit, and she was forced to make the transition to distance learning with a whole new set of challenges. How would she keep first graders engaged over Zoom? How could she convince six year olds to show up to class online when school attendance was already a challenge for them before COVID-19? The answer, it turns out, was right in her hands.

“I started playing ukulele and singing songs with my students virtually last spring and immediately noticed that my language learners were picking up words faster with music,” she explains. “So when distance learning continued this fall, I decided that even though I was still teaching virtually, I was going to teach my kids to play the uke, and they couldn’t just watch -- they needed it in their hands!”

Reagan put a call out on Facebook for friends to help her fund instruments for the students to play at home, and in about a week, she had enough donations to empower GITC to provide a ukulele for every child in her class with subsidized support from Kala Brand Music, one of Guitars in the Classroom’s enduring sponsors.

Now midway through the school year, every morning the students begin with fifteen minutes of songs accompanied on ukulele. “That’s how we start the day, and if they miss it, they’re disappointed! As a result, I have excellent attendance,” she laughs.

“Both attendance and participation are higher because the music helps keep kids engaged. We pick our ukes up throughout our lessons each day to practice grammar, syntax, basic structure and punctuation. It translates so well into language arts and brings new vocabulary into their world through song. I never feel like I’m wasting my time as a teacher when I add music to my lessons.”

Neither, it seems, do other educators at Miss Duncan’s school.

Since starting her training with GITC, Reagan has inspired sixteen more Maryland Elementary staff members (including the school psychologist, school nurse, and both special education teachers) to enroll in the program. This January everyone is taking one of GITC’s Total Beginner or AMAISE for Beginners courses!

Socially distanced strummers

“Momentum is building,” she reports. “Both my principal and assistant principal are excited. Over half the teachers in the school have signed up so far, with at least one teacher in every grade level learning how to incorporate music into everyday learning. I shared this with Jess Baron and we have a goal of creating musical continuity for our students from Tk all the way up through fifth grade!”

We’re pretty sure they’re going to get there.

Spreading the Joy

Of course, Miss Duncan isn’t stopping with just recruiting teachers from other classes; she’s also actively fundraising to start student ukulele clubs for each grade level. She hopes that the model her school is building will serve as a point of inspiration and reference for other schools in the district. She already raised donations to empower GITC to provide 14 beautiful concert sized Tanglewood Tiare ukes through GITC’s partnership with Korg’s Educational Division called SoundTree. These larger instruments are wonderful for the 4th and 5th graders who are starting a ukulele club in person, socially distanced, outside next week!

“I found love and passion for playing the ukulele and teaching with it,” shares Reagan, “and now I’m helping to create a culture of music and learning through song with my colleagues and our Maryland Elementary students,” she explains. “It brings me so much joy to see the kids enjoying it, and when someone feels inspired, it’s contagious. THIS is the virus I want people to catch! I want them to catch the musical bug and be excited, and just keep doing it!”

Support Miss Duncan's Ukulele Clubs HERE!

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