SWEET HOME — Katie Kinney hits the ground singing.

“Hel-lo-o third-grade!” the high school senior sings, to the tune of “Rain, Rain, Go Away,” as she sweeps into Carla Alexander’s class at Hawthorne Elementary School.

“Hel-lo Ms. Kin-ney! And Mis-ter Wa-les!” the children chorus back, grinning at Kinney and her co-teacher, junior Justin Wales.

“Let’s warm up really quick,” Kinney says, slipping behind the classroom piano. She thumps out “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” as Wales pens “do, re, fa, ti” on the whiteboard for a call-and-response game.

Minutes later, the two are leading a group of second-graders in a wild dance of musical statues. They wrap up with tic-tac-toe, awarding X’s and O’s for each correct guess as to an instrument’s “family.”

They’re the type of lessons Superintendent Larry Horton has always wanted to bring to Sweet Home students. A new music mentoring program at Hawthorne and Oak Heights is helping to make it possible.

Funding for specialists is scarce in Sweet Home, a 2,350-student district with a general fund of approximately $20 million. At the elementary level, music and movement is largely left up to individual classroom teachers.

Many teachers make music a priority, Horton said. At Crawfordsville, for instance, fourth-grade teacher Dan Swanson gives lessons on tonettes, which are similar to recorders.

The district also has hired Tegan Johnson as a part-time P.E specialist focusing on music and rhythm at Oak Heights. Johnson is working this year with Kinney and Wales and with a student music teacher from the University of Oregon.

Horton said he’s long wanted to make music a more regular part of the schedule. In discussing the issue last spring with the district’s band and choir directors, Kinney happened to walk by and wave.

Horton recognized Kinney, who plays multiple instruments, from previous musical performances. He thought about the district’s cadet teacher program, which brings high school students into elementary classrooms to explore teaching as a career.

“I thought, how do we get that student right there down in the elementary grades?” he recalled.

The answer, he found: ask.

The experience has been exciting for both teachers and students. Kinney, whose goal is to teach music, says she loves the chance to practice with a real class. “They’re so fast at learning, it’s insane,” she said.

Wales, who wants to major in both music and ministry, said it’s important to get children started on music fundamentals early to be prepared for band and other classes later.

“It’s really fun to actually be able to get involved with these kids,” he said.

So far, Kinney and Wales are the only musically-inclined high school students with afternoon time to spare to lead an elementary class. Horton hopes for more, and would welcome any local musicians who want to share their time and instrumental knowledge.

“Research shows, academically, kids who participate in music do better,” he said.