This semester our Community Arts class is working with the Alabama Blues Project doing art programs at Matthews. The Alabama Blues Project is a non-profit that seeks to preserve the Blues music as a traditional and contemporary art form through interactive programs that educate and entertain. For the last three weeks, we have had the artist Ron Morris working with the 4th graders. The children got to work with clay in order to make gong like instrument. The first week they made clay stamps, the second week they used the stamps to decorate the clay gongs and glaze them, and on the third week, the children decorated their sticks and played their gongs. The next few weeks the 4th graders will be split into groups with singing, dancing, and art on Thursdays. The 5th graders are split into groups doing vocals, guitars, drums and harmonicas on Fridays. Our Community Arts class will be assisting the Alabama Blues Project by helping with art and theater lessons. The program will end with a final performance where all the children will come together and perform with their instruments and have speaking parts about Blue history as well as displaying a student made backdrop. Our class is super excited to be partnering with the Alabama Blues Project this semester! Visit their website at alabamablues.org.

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