January 10: Sweet Cherie at the Sheridan School
A large swath of the Sheridan School learned from co-founding Teach the Beat teaching artist “Sweet” Cherie during their series with her! To help engagingly ease students back into their school routine following the winter break, we conducted a “minimester” course that allowed them to explore their interests with experiential learning through less structured school days. The school hosted three distinct visits that day, and Cherie tailored these visits to bring powerful and engaging workshops for many students from kindergarten through eighth grade.
The school’s youngest students gathered in the gymnasium for an assembly-style introduction to the elements and historical origins of go-go. Sweet Cherie seamlessly oscillated between up-on-your-feet interactive elements in this assembly, to having the undivided attentive listening of dozens of K - third grade students.
The fourth grade classes tickled Sweet Cherie’s keys. Unbeknownst to their teachers, most of these classes of students are talented piano players and able to play complex pieces without their sheet music.
Middle school music students demonstrated their own musical skills, too, and played a song they wrote with the go-go bands they created.
Ms. Hutt-Sierra, one of the middle school music teachers, beamed:
It was such a fun time! I loved how much information Cherie was able to share with the students while keeping them fully engaged with all of the movement and interactive elements. Just watching Cherie's talent on the keyboard was also amazing! A quote that sticks came from our quietest kid, who said, "I can't wait to tell my mom about this tonight."