Students at ACGC Elementary don’t just work hard in their general education classrooms, they get to step into different experiences with their specials classes. Thanks to longtime ACGC staff member and music teacher Heidi Thoma, students are getting an early introduction to not just musical concepts but a whole new world. 

Thoma taught band and choir at the high school level for 11 years before transitioning to the elementary level where she has been teaching music for the last 12 years. While she used to also have other topics to teach, she has been able to focus solely on music for the past few years.

“I really wanted kids to have a well-rounded elementary music experience because sometimes teachers forget about the overall experience with music,” said Thoma. “Music is very important for brain development and we try to gain as much knowledge as possible so we study all different types of music.” 

It’s not just singing or learning concepts in class, there’s a ton of movement including some theater and dance standards while also watching videos or listening to songs from every musical genre under the sun. 

“I try to get an instrument in student’s hands every other day if possible and there are days that they leave here sweatier than they are in PE,” said Thoma. “Music is multitasking with a lot of brain and body movement happening at the same time!”

Students are able to play games while also learning the fundamentals of reading music thanks to color-coded notes, rhythm exercises and a selection of instruments. In addition to hand bells, recorders, and bucket drums, students especially love Boomwhackers, which are lightweight, hollow, color-coded plastic tubes tuned to specific musical pitches based on their lengths and played by hitting them against the floor. There will also be the addition of piano starting in second grade with instruments continuing throughout the elementary experience along with special instruments for different occasions.

“We have a lot of different hand drums and world drums that we got with a grant and we also do a Native American unit with indigenous instruments,” said Thoma. “We love watching videos of different musicians and styles whether it’s classical instruments playing modern music or other genres. We even did a unit on electronic music and learned beatboxing!”

Music class isn’t just a great way to learn new things and move around, it is also a great way to prepare for performances that are held throughout the year. While there used to just be a holiday program, students now have different performances throughout the year based on grade levels. Kindergartners share their learning in their performance while other grades do full programs with speaking parts, singing, and instruments.

“If a child wants to have a speaking part and we don’t have enough parts, I write them a part,” said Thoma. “If they want to speak in front of a crowd, I want them up because that is such a fear for some people so I want to get them up there as much as possible when they want to.”

Students prepare for their performances with some extra time in music classes and the crowd reactions speak for themselves. There have been different productions including a patriotic pageant, St. Patrick’s Day program, and a Pajama Party themed program. Programs will be switched out on an every other year cycle to give students the chance to perform some crowd favorites.  

“Our kids are amazing and the third and fourth grade singers this year were as good as any junior high choir I have ever had,” said Thoma. “If things aren’t fun for me it won’t be fun for them so I keep it fresh because they are so inquisitive and curious.”

The performances have become points of pride and passion not just for the students, but for families, staff, and community members who have attended. While Thoma loves sparking a love of performance in students, she also wants them to gain confidence, try new things, and experience the joy and developmental strengths of loving music. 

“They won’t all end up doing band or choir but when they leave me, they will have a background in all different types of music,” said Thoma. “My biggest thing was just wanting kids to have experience with different ideas and gain experience in performing and being creative together while having a love for music.”