Melody in Ottawa, Canada

Mrs. Sullivan's Grade 4/5 Class

Our Lady of Fatima School in Ottawa Ontario

Canada

Ottawa

(Melody #041B0414)

Melody participated on our school-wide Play Day! She was able to play some of the games however others she could not. Melody immensely enjoyed eating the cotton candy.

We learned that we need a ramp for our second floor so Melody can go to the washroom. We also learned that we need handicap washroom on the second floor. We do have an elevator that can get Melody to the first floor and we have ramps.

Melody in Orange, Texas

Mrs. Diamond's 5th Grade Class

Little Cypress Intermediate

United States

Orange, Texas

(Melody #028B0114)

Melody arrived on our last school day...after dismissal. :( BUT we did some things to celebrate her as if she were here while school was still in session; and Mrs. Diamond showed Melody around our school. We have a very accessible school and are even in the process of a project called "Stay and Play"- a playground that will specifically meet the needs of those with special needs, but is open to all. Our class felt like everyone deserves a place to play, and the part in the book where Melody wasn't able to play with others on the playground touched us. We wanted to change that for students at our own school. We think Melody would be proud!

We learned to include everyone regardless of differences and to look for what makes us similar... in the end it is to just feel accepted and loved.

Melody in Tokyo, Japan

5th Grade Classroom

Christian Academy in Japan

Japan

Tokyo

(Melody #031B0114)

When Melody arrived in our 5th grade classroom at the Christian Academy in Japan, (CAJ), we thought she might like to go up into the reading loft. It’s a great place to relax, lean against the giant fuzzy gorilla, and read a good book. All of us read “Out of My Mind” and we know that this is a good place to read.

Melody is really smart and, of course, she likes to read, so we wanted her to join us in the loft. Since she couldn’t climb the ladder, we had to figure out a way to help her up. We couldn’t throw her up there! Even though she might think that was fun, it might not be safe. We didn’t have enough space in our classroom to build a ramp since the loft is so high. We decided that we would build a pulley system right next to the loft to lift Melody straight up to the platform. We study tools and inventions in 5th grade, so we could put what we learned to the test.

To make it easier to pull Melody up to the loft, we would use a series of pulleys, not just one, so that the work would be less. Here is a link that helps explain what we have in mind: http://www.ropebook.com/information/pulley-systems 

CAJ was the last stop on Melody’s tour of Japan. We hope she had a good time and we will now send her on her way back to the White Rock 4th grade in southwest Missouri.

Sayonara!
From the 5th Grade class at CAJ in Tokyo, Japan

Melody in Kaneohe, Hawaii

Le Jardin Academy's 5th Grade

Le Jardin Academy

United States

Kaneohe, Hawaii

(Melody #005A1113)

Melody arrived the last few days of school. She attended our Moving Up Ceremony with us. She received a lot of lei and they add a little touch of aloha! She also participated (as much as she could) in our Splash Into Summer end of year celebration. We all our good byes a few days ago and look forward to hearing about her next adventure!

We learned that Melody couldn't fully participate in the end of year events at our school. She was able to join us for some dancing and we helped her get into the pool but she had to sit and watch most of the activities. This made us think about how hard it would be to not be able to fully participate and how we could ensure that everyone has opportunities to have fun...

Melody in Poway, California

Scholar University

Tierra Bonita Elementary School

United States

Poway, California

(Melody #043B0414)

Melody was able to experience our fourth grade Maker Town Faire. Fourth graders were working on creating a project from scratch, designing, measuring, creating, constructing, and "selling" it with their peers. It was quite an exciting adventure. She is pictured with the group that got the most tokens from the visitors at the Faire. Visitors each received one token which they could "vote" for which product they would like to really buy if it were in a store. The winner was this "Confetti Bomb." Recycled from a small water bottle, it was covered with Duct tape and had a little shelf that could be raised to let torn paper, confetti, rise to the top.

We learned that during the Faire and Melody's visit, we needed to account for enough space for her to get around and maneuver throughout her time. She would be able to see everything from her angle and I think she would have appreciated all the ingenuity of the Maker's Faire.