Pre-Kindergarten
After one year of piloting Pre-Kindergarten Art in an Enrichment Program it was brought into the regular weekly curriculum. Developmentally, Pre-Kindergartners learn best through exploration and experimentation. Therefore, process-oriented, open-ended art experiences are provided. The emphasis is on PROCESS rather than PRODUCT.
Working both two- and three-dimensionally, students paint with watercolors and tempera paint, cut and past collages, make rubbings, stamp objects, build structures, and play with clay. All of these activities help develop the students' fine motor skills, so critical for school readiness.
Kindergarten
Kindergarteners continue to create a lot of process-oriented art, but begin to learn the tools artists use to intentionally develop a work of art. These "tools" are called our "Elements of Art"
Line
Shape
Color
Texture
Value
Form
Space
The focus is often on an Element in conjunction with drawing inspiration from a picture book or learning about an artist. Some of the artists we have studied include Piet Mondrian, Wassily Kandinsky, Claude Monet, Jasper Johns, and Andy Warhol. Media explored in Kindergarten includes watercolor, tempera paint, clay, collage, printmaking, pastels, and paper construction.
First and Second Grade