August 5, 2010

Bash the Trash!





Bash the Trash poses for our "Green Team." 


Some of you might be planning for guest artists to come to your school next year. If you live in the Northeast part of the country I highly recommend this musical performing group called Bash the Trash (please check out the link.) This is a group concert musicians who spread the message of environmental awareness through recycled instrument performances and residencies. When I say highly trained, I really mean magical. At one point they were playing STRAWS! Not as easy at it looks, believe me I tried playing a straw from the lunchroom until I was light headed.
Playing a STRAW!

We fundraised for two years to have this musical performing group come to our school. If you have any sort of budget for performances at your school it should be an easy sell. They can incorporate literacy, science, social studies, math, visual arts, and of course music into their workshops.

I really wish I could post the pictures of the students interacting with them. I have a personal policy of not posting pictures of students on my blog (even though I have releases from most parents for newspapers and such.) There is one picture where 400 Kindergarten through Second Graders have their hands raised and their eyes glued on the performers. Sometimes I feel like we ask the students to sit politely and watch performers but this was so different! Even the gloomiest of teachers were smiling and participating.

Magic!

Serenading the Kindergarteners with the "horn."
When they bent the neck of the string instruments it totally changed the sound!
These tubes sounded so cool!
Playing everything, everywhere.

 If you have a Green Team at your school please let me know if you would like a partnership with another school. I'll send your info along to my good friend the Green Team co-leader at the school. 

Making our own recycled instruments.
All sprawled out creating recycled art in our Green Team.


3 comments:

Phyl said...

Wow Erica, while I was posting pictures of a pie, you are posting something amazing. I'm definitely going to look into this. While we don't have a 'green team', we do have some of us interested in recycling program. My 4th grade teacher friend (the one w/the henna on her head) spearheaded getting recycling bins throughout the school, and also a magazine subscription cancelation project that has been ery successful. In nearby Glens Falls, there is a paper-production plant (who funded the grant for the recycling bins), and this 4th grade class toured it and got a wonderful lesson in recycling paper.
Plus, we'll have a new elementary music teacher this year in the room next to me, and she might be very interested in pushing for this performance/project.

Phyl said...

hmmm - left a comment earlier - where is it? Maybe it will show up tomorrow?

Unknown said...

Sorry the comments go to my e-mail first then I have to approve them. I have to work on my blog and take that setting off! So glad you are interested in this group. They won't disappoint. Sounds like you guys do have a Green Team. Just need to call it that:)