The goal of our art education program is to educate the students in the making, the appreciation and the relevancy of art. Our art program starts in Kindergarten and continues through the fifth grade, exposing our children to a wide variety of mediums and allowing them to explore and create with a range of art materials. They study form and learn about artists and their lives through art history. They acquire skills in drawing, painting, printing, pottery, color and design. Most importantly, they are encouraged to be individuals and to seek out the artistic media that inspire them. In addition, the students enjoy periodic visits from local artists who share their methodologies and philosophies about their work with the children.
2nd Grade Art Project: Example of Holistic Approach to Art Education
Project: Students produce works of art inspired by famous artists they have studied while learning more about the following topics:
Biographical Research: Students begin with a biography and supplement with a variety of sources to thoroughly research their artist.
Association: Students study their artist’s unique style, as well as the factors that contributed to this style as it emerged.
Geography: Students research where the artist was born and studied, and follow his/her travels in order to understand how they impacted the artist’s life and artworks.
Judaic Studies: Guest presenters introduce students to Jewish artists and their histories and relevancy within the art community.
Artistic Expression: Under the guidance of a visiting artist, students are encouraged to create their own interpretation of art in the style of the artist whom they have studied.
Music and Drama are integral aspects of the KJDS curriculum, teaching the children valuable skills through fun and disciplined activities.
Students learn about music from different time periods and geographies of the world. Specifically, KJDS utilizes the MIE, Music In Education, system. MIE uses a classroom of state-of-the-art keyboards as the learning interface. In addition to singing, moving and discussing music students are now able to play and compose. The curriculum is concept-based, teaching the same musical concepts (note reading, melody, harmony, rhythm, form, texture etc) as would normally be taught in general music programs plus.
In Drama class, students learn to be in control of their movement, expression, and voice. They learn how to follow the director’s instructions, and work together on all aspects of a production. Bi-annual performances give the children an opportunity to put all they’ve learned in class into action.
Our most recent performance was a production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Every one of the kids, from Kindergarten up, had a role in the play. Months of hard work and training were evident in the children’s acting, singing and dancing and each child was glowing with pride the next day at the cast party.