About the Amani Project

Amani Project is a family of local organizations that provide young people with the tools needed to make their voices heard. We accomplish this through music-making, emotional learning, and community engagement. Amani believes that empowered individuals can help build a healthier, more just world. Our work proves that even in challenging circumstances, when young people have the emotional resources they need to thrive, they can be their own best agents for equity, social empathy, and structural change.

The Power Of Music In Social And Emotional Development

Music strikes a chord in every young person’s emotional development. It sparks creative expression. It also builds the kind of confidence to lead in and on all of life’s stages. When young people create music together, connections are forged between each young person and their full potential, their peers, and ultimately their communities. 

Our programs are designed for young people ages 8-14 years old, but we know adults and families have fun and learn something too! While things might feel scarier and more uncertain than ever before, we have spent years developing programs specifically to prepare young people for this moment in history. What we want most is for young people (and their families) to have the space to explore their feelings, to sing, to beat a drum, to connect, to dance. Even if those things need to happen virtually, for now. So come along with us each week as we make music together!

Click here to read more about our method and subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates from around the world and tips for how to complete activities.

AMANI @ HOME ACTIVITIES

What is this: Each illustration below is a downloadable activity from our Amani Project curriculum. The activities build on one another, so we recommend completing them in the order we’ve created. The activities are free, but as a nonprofit organization, we rely on your donations to keep us going. If you download a lesson, please consider making a donation to Amani Project.

How to use it: Each downloadable activity includes detailed objectives, rubrics, and instructions that an adult can facilitate with a younger person or an older student may be able to follow on their own. All the activities can be completed without purchasing additional materials. If you can, print out the “Badge Card” and “Badges” below. Each time you complete an activity you can paste or tape a badge onto your card. When you complete your Badge Card send a photo of your completed card to hello@amaniproject.org to receive a certificate of completion!

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First, download and print the Journey Card and Badge Sheet below

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Then, download the first 7 Activity Instruction Cards.

ACTIVITY 1: Make An Instrument

ACTIVITY 2: Teach the 5 Elements of Music

ACTIVITY 3: Teach the Mood Meter

ACTIVITY 4: HARMONY BREAK! Mood Meter Floor Board

ACTIVITY 5: HARMONY BREAK! Mood Shifting

ACTIVITY 6: HARMONY BREAK! Finding Emotions with Music

ACTIVITY 7: Write a CoronaKindness Song

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Coming soon:

ACTIVITY 8: Write a Poem to Your Future Self

ACTIVITY 9: HARMONY BREAK! Where’s the Volume?

ACTIVITY 10: HARMONY BREAK! Guess the Emotion

ACTIVITY 11: Make 3 Instruments

ACTIVITY 12: HARMONY BREAK! Instrument Circle

ACTIVITY 13: Write an Empathy Story

ACTIVITY 14: Perform for Your Community: Empathy Song

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Now…HAVE FUN! Be sure to check out our resources below!

Resources

We’ve included here a few items you might need to use along with a particular instruction card.  The instruction card will let you know if you need to download a resource from this section to complete a certain activity.

 

Donating=Connecting

We can see now more than ever the importance of music to connect us during times of crisis and the ability of music to be a strong healing force. This is exactly what we do at Amani Project. Amani Project combines music, do-it-yourself instrument-making, and social-emotional learning in clubs for young people ages 8-14. Our programs exist specifically to prepare young people to be more resilient during times like these, as well as how to make sense and contextualize their emotions with what’s happening in their local communities. We need your support to continue offering our programs and resources at no cost. We know that many of you are also experiencing economic upheaval in addition to this public health crisis, but please consider donating the money you might have used to see a movie or purchase a concert ticket or to visit a museum in the next few weeks.

Monthly Donation

♥ $3 / month
♥ $5 / month
♥ $15 / month
♥ $30 / month

One-Time Donation

Don’t want to make a monthly donation, no problem! We greatly appreciate a one-time donation in any amount!

Do you have a Donor Advised Fund (DAF)?

We love Donor Advised Funds, do you have one? Since we are a nonprofit, you can easily give to us through your DAF platform by searching for us by name “Amani Project” (we are the one registered in Los Angeles) or by our Tax ID number 81-3907959. For more information about how to use your DAF to donate to us, please contact bree@amaniproject.org

 

Don’t go! One more thing! Are you looking for activities for a younger crowd? Our partner organization Think Equal has an online curriculum created for ages 3-6 years old. It’s a great accompaniment to our Amani Project @ Home activities.