Gretchen Elise

Workshops
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Do you want to have a more musical program but don’t know where to start? Recording artist and Arts in Education consultant Gretchen Elise Iversen offers hands-on workshops for both the experienced musician and the intimidated newcomer.

Instrument-making for Preschool and School Age Providers (2-3 hrs.)

Start with simple instruments you can make with preschool and early elementary kids. Branch into drum-making with durable materials which will last in your program. Take home your own goatskin head drum. (drum-making requires materials fee)

Multicultural Music and Movement for Preschool (2 hrs.)

How do you teach music to a multilingual group of children? How can you incorporate rhythms, songs and movements from different cultures into your program in a fun, sustainable way? Walk away with music teaching skills and ideas about activities that are musical and you can enjoy using with your kids.

Introduction to English Language Music and Movement for Preschool (2 hrs.)

Do you remember how you learned from nursery rhymes on some adult’s lap? Use specific songs and rhymes to introduce English language learners to language learning. Learn to help non-native English speakers learn to speak through music and movement.

Drum-making for School Age Providers (2 ½- 3 hrs.) (School Age/Youth)

Do you want to use drums to add music, math, and community-building to your program?
Learn how to make simple, durable drums with your kids with recycled cardboard tubes and goat hides. Walk away with a drum and skills to promote music, math and leadership with your students. (drum-making requires materials fee)

Jump-start to a Multiculturally Musical Program (2 hours) School-Age)

Jump in and add more music to your program with the resources you already have on hand. Kitchen music (played with kitchen instruments), simple percussion projects, and basic rhythm and music games will be taught. You’ll find out through hands-on discovery how to better integrate the cultures of your students and of the world around you through music at your program. You’ll also find out how you can integrate recorded music from CDs and radio in creative and community-building ways.

Hip Hop--Ya Don’t Stop (with MC/poet Walnut) (2 hours) (School Age/Youth)

Vocalist/MC Team Gretchen Elise and Walnut use hip hop to figure out how to use project-based learning with any music style you and your students want to explore (jazz, pop, world music, country, etc.). We’ll explore and debate basic elements of hip hop. We’ll also explore how to get students involved in planning your activities, and we’ll look at connections to learning standards. Get started helping kids write rhymes and rhythms, even if you don’t think of yourself as a performer.

Hip-Hop AND Multiculturally Musical Program (2 1/2 to 3 hours) (School Age/Youth)

Jump in and add more music to your K-8 program with the resources you already have on hand. Kitchen music (played with kitchen instruments), simple percussion projects, and basic multicultural rhythms and music games will be taught. We’ll use hip-hop as an example of how to use project-based learning to integrate the cultures of your students and of the world around them.

Introducing the “Peaceable” Student-run School Age Program (2 to 3 hours)

Do you want build a more peaceful, student-run classroom, and have fun building it? Invent systems and social skills which support the Peaceable Classroom model. Figure out how you can set up the daily operations of the program to support democracy, youth initiative, and cooperation--and reinforce positive behavior.

Intro to Conflict Resolution for School Age providers (2 hours each, can be done individually or in a series)

Part I (2 to 3 hours): Intro to systems and social skills which support the Peaceable Classroom model , and how staff can set up the daily operations of the program to support democracy, youth initiative, and cooperation. How to establish and enforce clear limits with children and reinforce positive behavior.

Part II (2 to 3 hours): Intro to games, arts and drama activities which teach social skills to School Age children as building blocks to a comprehensive conflict resolution system. More positive behavior reinforcement systems discussed.

Part III (2 to 3 hours): How to develop a conflict resolution system for a school age program. Examples presented from K-6th grade programs. Participant role-plays to demonstrate mediation systems. Peer mediation introduced.

Links to Learning for School Age providers (2 hours)

This training comes out of an OCCS/BostNET collaborative effort to connect schools better with school age programs through the lens of the Massachussetts Learning Standards. Find out why the Standards are a good starting point for connecting to school learning, increasing the quality of your programming, and communicating with families. Discover how much you are already doing that connects easily with Mass. Standards.