Our PreK art program blends structured projects with open-ended exploration, encouraging creativity through drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, paper sculpting, and upcycling. Children respond artistically to various curriculum themes while developing fine motor skills and creative thinking. With a strong commitment to sustainability, students learn to reuse materials, turning everyday items into imaginative, meaningful works of art. Pre-K students finish the year with a strong identity as creators and artists.
Art education in kindergarten focuses on introducing the students to many of the elements and principles of design, specifically, line, color, shape, texture, and pattern. Students explore their own creative ideas, while inspiration is found in artists, books, and a variety of media. Through drawing, painting, collage, and sculpture, the primary desire is to cultivate joy through creation.
Art education in the first grade continues to expand student knowledge and experience with the elements and principles of art, reinforcing previous models and adding more. We practice many of the media introduced in kindergarten and additional ones are added, as we enhance skills and techniques with each one. Students experience Vincent Van Gogh’s sunflowers, Henri Rousseau’s jungles, and Jackson Pollock’s action paintings. They become more familiar with both 2D and 3D media, always striving to learn, see connections, form good work habits, and feel good about expressing their creative ideas.
Art education in the second grade continues the process of repetition and building upon concepts, media, skills, and techniques as well as historical and cultural foundations. Students explore imagination in greater depth and new skills and media are explored, such as an introduction to perspective, story quilt collages, creating seed pots, and collagraph printmaking. Students create self portraits and are introduced to gesture drawing. Artists such as Salvador Dali, Edgar Degas, and Faith Ringgold are studied. Students begin to understand how close observation and critical thinking can enhance what they create, and they continue to work on craftsmanship and taking pride in their works of art.
Art education in the third grade builds upon what has come before as students become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses and take more ownership of their productions. Media and processes become more involved as do the multi-steps needed to complete a particular artwork. Students get a better understanding of abstract and realistic forms of art and the range of differences between them. Artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Andy Goldsworthy, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Claude Monet are studied.
Fourth grade students utilize a variety of skills, techniques, and knowledge from previous years in order to see and do things in new and exciting ways. Throughout the year, students will explore diverse artists, cultures, and time periods. Artists studied include Katsushika Hokusai, Roy Lichtenstein, Heather Galler, and Wayne Thiebaud. Projects will include making an Amate painting, designing and cutting a Mola design, and creating a self portrait. Students are honing their skills and techniques, learning to use better craftsmanship, and striving to attain excellence in their work.
Art education in the fifth grade strives to challenge students to go beyond common solutions for creative problems and encourages them to think in new, more imaginative ways. A higher degree of finesse and maturity with the varied media is expected as well as the self-driven desire for personal excellence and craftsmanship. Throughout the year, students use a sketchbook for note taking and sketching. Projects include printmaking, blue dog paintings, fantasy treehouse drawings, and a folk art project which combines ceramics and weaving.
