Art Stars to be recognized….

October will start recognition of our ART STARS. Parents will be notified when their child’s outstanding art work is selected for display in our building. Upon receiving the note, we hope that you will find the time to praise your child for this achievement. When you are at the school, please enjoy the artworks on display!

Fall is just around the corner and the Art department is warming up for Fall related art activities!! In the K – 3 classes, art students will learn about artists: Leonardo da Vince, Gustave Courbet, and Vincent Van Gogh. K – 2 students will explore math concepts of line, shape and symmetry as they create still-life paintings of Sunflowers, Black-eyed Susans, apples and pumpkins.  Art lessons for Third grade students relate to their current science unit on plants. Art from the journals of artist / botanist Leonardo da Vinci will encourage students to stretch their art skills as they observe a plant and create a drawing using scientific observation. Third grade will then create an abstract painting of a flowerhead in the style of artist Georgia O’Keefe. Fourth grades’ lesson also connects to the Science unit they are studying. As Fourth grade explores the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates in Science, they will during art class create “X-ray” drawings of animals in the style of the Australian Aborigines. As you can see our students are off to brisk “art start” this Fall!!!

I hope you had a wonderful summer and that everyone is excited to return to school and ready to “Reach for the Stars” in the Art class. But…..

Why Art??

Art is perhaps one of the few subjects in school that most children look forward to. It provides a change from the regular classroom environment and it is fun! It is a time for students when there is no absolute–no right or wrong answers. Students are encouraged to solve art-related problems in their own unique way, and almost any solution is welcome! In addition to promoting student awareness of art history, art criticism / analysis, aesthetic awareness, and art production, the Art classroom also provides students with experiences in:

Cooperative and Collaborative Learning

Cross -Curricular Connections

Multi-cultural Awareness

Responsibility and other positive character traits

Whole-Brain Development

This year as we study famous artists (“Famous Art Stars”), K-4 students will be encouraged to “Reach for the Stars” as they become Willard Central Elementary Art Stars.