Our integrated arts program is developed on the foundational belief that the skills and knowledge gained through active participation in the arts are essential to helping children form a strong foundation of self-identity.
Visual Arts Program - examples:
Practicing Observation Skills
The 4 and 5 year old group practiced their observation skills through drawing some ordinary objects, such as spoons, mugs, simple house plants and toys.
Contour Drawing
Students had lots of fun with some blind contour drawing, which involves only looking at the object and not the page; a good way to train the eyes to observe carefully and to relax one’s inhibitions about drawing.
Texture and Colour
Students learned about texture and colour while making recycled paper, a fun project which also involved learning about measurements (our guest Isky helped us to measure out and assemble a paper-making screen), about patience (paper pulp takes a long time to dry!), persistence (a lot of the sheets fell apart before we finally figured out how thick the sheets need to be, which really helped us to relate to the various inventors of paper-making history) and last, but not least – the feeling of accomplishment at having learned a new and valuable skill as well as value for all the paper we use daily (the children were amazed to discover just how many paper products they see and use every day).
Exploring Lines
Whether cooking up our own home-made glue paste and assembling a collage of string lines, painting with textured paints and with natural dyes such as tea and beet juice, or making their very own clay bowls – the 3-4 year old children continued to explore and relate to the world around them. And best of all – having lots of fun doing so!
Getting to Know Canadian Artists
Students read the story of a Canadian folk artist, Maud Lewis. The children enjoyed hearing about the artist's life and examining printed copies of her artwork, followed by creating oil paintings of their own, (we used non-toxic, water soluble oil paints). The children enjoyed learning how to successfully work with paint they had never used before and by the end of the first session they all seemed to be little professionals, confident in their abilities.
Exploring Color and Symmetry
Students explored colour and symmetry through various techniques of printmaking and learned about the work of Kenojuak, an Inuit printmaker. Symmetry was also explored through seeking it out in nature, making beautiful leaf rubbing window hangings and paper collage, and bead wall hangings. The 4-5 year old children have built toy vehicles while exploring shape and colour, and ventured into some basic woodworking while creating wooden Jack-O-Lantern decorations.
Basics of Weaving
Grades 1-3 learnt about weaving through the prism of their lump learning on Rhythm as well as Pioneer Life. The children learned about old fashioned process of cloth production, and looked at books on Acadian Pioneers and their textile arts. They started out by creating simple paper weaves and progressed to making their own cardboard looms and trying out basic weaving techniques. They learned some of the basic weaving terminology and looked at how colour and texture is used to create Rhythm in the art of cloth production.
Illustrations for a Story
The Swallows and Hoopoes, ages 5 and 6, created illustrations for a story they wrote together with the help of their teacher back in the fall as part of the Lump Learning on “Stories of Recall”. They studied the illustrations of Barbara Reid, who works with Plasticine, and after learning a few basic techniques set to work on their own illustrations.The illustrations have now been photographed and are being assembled into a book format.
Papier Mâché Puppets
As part of the Lump Learning on Medieval Life, grades 2-4 created puppets of medieval characters using papier mâché and cloth of their choice. The class read a book about medieval occupations for inspiration, and discovered amongst other things, that being a princess may not have been as fun and full of glamour as fairytales sometimes make it out to be. The children also looked and discussed many images of medieval artwork, particularly illuminated manuscripts. Then they all beautifully illustrated the first letter of their name, complete with gold paint as faux gold leaf.
The 4 and 5 year old group practiced their observation skills through drawing some ordinary objects, such as spoons, mugs, simple house plants and toys.
Contour Drawing
Students had lots of fun with some blind contour drawing, which involves only looking at the object and not the page; a good way to train the eyes to observe carefully and to relax one’s inhibitions about drawing.
Texture and Colour
Students learned about texture and colour while making recycled paper, a fun project which also involved learning about measurements (our guest Isky helped us to measure out and assemble a paper-making screen), about patience (paper pulp takes a long time to dry!), persistence (a lot of the sheets fell apart before we finally figured out how thick the sheets need to be, which really helped us to relate to the various inventors of paper-making history) and last, but not least – the feeling of accomplishment at having learned a new and valuable skill as well as value for all the paper we use daily (the children were amazed to discover just how many paper products they see and use every day).
Exploring Lines
Whether cooking up our own home-made glue paste and assembling a collage of string lines, painting with textured paints and with natural dyes such as tea and beet juice, or making their very own clay bowls – the 3-4 year old children continued to explore and relate to the world around them. And best of all – having lots of fun doing so!
Getting to Know Canadian Artists
Students read the story of a Canadian folk artist, Maud Lewis. The children enjoyed hearing about the artist's life and examining printed copies of her artwork, followed by creating oil paintings of their own, (we used non-toxic, water soluble oil paints). The children enjoyed learning how to successfully work with paint they had never used before and by the end of the first session they all seemed to be little professionals, confident in their abilities.
Exploring Color and Symmetry
Students explored colour and symmetry through various techniques of printmaking and learned about the work of Kenojuak, an Inuit printmaker. Symmetry was also explored through seeking it out in nature, making beautiful leaf rubbing window hangings and paper collage, and bead wall hangings. The 4-5 year old children have built toy vehicles while exploring shape and colour, and ventured into some basic woodworking while creating wooden Jack-O-Lantern decorations.
Basics of Weaving
Grades 1-3 learnt about weaving through the prism of their lump learning on Rhythm as well as Pioneer Life. The children learned about old fashioned process of cloth production, and looked at books on Acadian Pioneers and their textile arts. They started out by creating simple paper weaves and progressed to making their own cardboard looms and trying out basic weaving techniques. They learned some of the basic weaving terminology and looked at how colour and texture is used to create Rhythm in the art of cloth production.
Illustrations for a Story
The Swallows and Hoopoes, ages 5 and 6, created illustrations for a story they wrote together with the help of their teacher back in the fall as part of the Lump Learning on “Stories of Recall”. They studied the illustrations of Barbara Reid, who works with Plasticine, and after learning a few basic techniques set to work on their own illustrations.The illustrations have now been photographed and are being assembled into a book format.
Papier Mâché Puppets
As part of the Lump Learning on Medieval Life, grades 2-4 created puppets of medieval characters using papier mâché and cloth of their choice. The class read a book about medieval occupations for inspiration, and discovered amongst other things, that being a princess may not have been as fun and full of glamour as fairytales sometimes make it out to be. The children also looked and discussed many images of medieval artwork, particularly illuminated manuscripts. Then they all beautifully illustrated the first letter of their name, complete with gold paint as faux gold leaf.
Music, Dance and Theatre Program - examples:
Different disciplines such as dance, music and visual arts are incorporated into lessons. This engages the child’s creativity and imagination. For example: we use dance to teach geometry; children use their bodies and large, body-sized elastics to create shapes, work in pairs and teams and develop an understanding of geometry.
Swallow and Hoopoe Music and Theatre
Swallow and Hoopoe groups, ages 5 and 6, spent their time with a game “guess the scene”. The game is a lot like the game of Charades; two children leave the classroom whilst the rest use costumes, posture and speech to quickly ‘set the scene’. When the children enter back into the classroom they watch and listen for the clues that will show them which scene is outplayed before their eyes. Great fun and hoots of laughter build as we all stretch our minds and creative thinking in this fun exploration.
Musically, the class spent time learning a little bit more about orchestras – with our annual trip to the symphony, we found out more about different instruments, about some of the great composers - working as a team and being in the wash of music.
Swallow and Hoopoe Music and Theatre
Swallow and Hoopoe groups, ages 5 and 6, spent their time with a game “guess the scene”. The game is a lot like the game of Charades; two children leave the classroom whilst the rest use costumes, posture and speech to quickly ‘set the scene’. When the children enter back into the classroom they watch and listen for the clues that will show them which scene is outplayed before their eyes. Great fun and hoots of laughter build as we all stretch our minds and creative thinking in this fun exploration.
Musically, the class spent time learning a little bit more about orchestras – with our annual trip to the symphony, we found out more about different instruments, about some of the great composers - working as a team and being in the wash of music.
