Welcome to Our Specials Classes

Preschool Age 3:
Children will explore their creativity through drama, dance, music, and visual arts. They will engage in dramatic play, express themselves through movement and music, create visual art using various tools and materials, and develop an appreciation for different art forms and cultural expressions.

Preschool Age 4:
Children develop their creative expression through drama, dance, music, and visual arts. They will explore roles in dramatic play, express emotions and ideas through movement and music, create art using various materials, and gain an appreciation for different forms of artistic expression.

Kindergarten:
Students engage with music, theater, dance, and visual art. They use the arts to explore emotions, cultures, and celebrations. 

First Grade:
Students create, perform, and respond to dance, drama, music, and visual arts, emphasizing connecting these arts to personal life, culture, and other subjects. 

Second Grade:
Students use movement, expression, and imagination to explore and convey ideas. They also describe the elements of various art forms and connect their artistic experiences to culture and emotions.

Third Grade:
Students use movement, expression, and imagination to explore and convey ideas. They also describe the elements of various art forms and connect their artistic experiences to culture and emotions.

Fourth Grade:
Students engage more deeply with theatre, visual art, music, and dance. Students create and perform using multicultural references, express complex ideas and emotions, and use instruments and tools with greater insight. 

Fifth Grade:
Students will improvise, edit, and fix choreography, develop theatrical drama involving characters, moods, and conflicts, interpret ideas and emotions in music, and create detailed art based on other cultures.

Sixth Grade:
Students will use intentional choices to enhance their performances/creations. They will connect art to personal experiences, identify the connections between art and the contexts in which they were created, and create and analyze detailed pieces.

Preschool Age 3:

• Encourage conversation to help children express their ideas, emotions, and understanding in a variety of ways. 
• Encourage children to observe, interpret, and understand how others express themselves. 

Preschool Age 4:

• Support children’s self-awareness by providing opportunities for children to display, perform, and discuss their creative works.
• Engage and follow the children’s lead in creative processes.

Kindergarten:

• Provide materials for children to explore creating art (ex., collages, costumes, or simple instruments) in a space where some mess is okay.
• Use music and dance for parties and celebrations.
• Engage in various arts activities together (ex., Attend a live performance, make sculptures out of food, or make music together).

First Grade:

• Provide creative materials, such as old clothes for playmaking, simple musical instruments, and art supplies for drawing or crafting.
• Attend live performances (music, dance, drama), create and perform arts at home, and engage in hands-on activities like making puppets or sculptures.

Second Grade:

• Set up an "art area" with materials like crayons, markers, old magazines, and scrap paper to encourage creative exploration through drawing, collage-making, or sculpture.
• Host a mini performance at home where your child can create and perform their dance, play, or music using props like old clothes, hats, and simple musical instruments.
• Take your child to local arts events such as live performances, museums, or theater productions to expose them to different art forms and inspire their creativity.

Third Grade:

• Set up a designated area in your home using old sheets or open space for children to perform dance, drama, or music. Provide old clothes, hats, and props for imaginative play, allowing them to create and perform their shows.
• Encourage children to explore their creativity in a designated "art area" where messes are allowed. Provide tools for this area, like crayons, markers, scrap paper, old magazines, or cardboard from cereal boxes.

Fourth Grade:

• Go to live arts, music, dance, and drama performances.
• Make puppets using materials around the house, such as sticks, pinecones, old socks, and lunch sacks.

Fifth Grade:

• Gather art supplies and make a mural together.
• Have your child create and perform dance, drama, or music performances.

Sixth Grade:

• Organize a friend group to meet for arts activities or experiences.
• Take children to live dance, music, and theatre productions.

Kindergarten:
Students will use computers and/or tablets to develop beginning keyboarding skills, complete tasks, and learn how information is shared. They will also create and identify patterns in data.

First Grade:
Students will learn to operate various digital devices, explore hardware and software functions, and collect and present visual data. They will practice creating simple programs, break tasks into sequential steps, and develop problem-solving skills.

Second Grade:
Students will learn how to operate devices, troubleshoot basic hardware and software issues, and use passwords to keep their information secure. They will also collect and present visual data, use simple algorithms, and discuss the impact of technology on society.

Third Grade:
Students will learn how computing devices connect to form systems, protect personal information, and influence society and culture. They will also develop digital safety habits and collaborate with peers to create, modify, test, and debug original coding.

Fourth Grade:
Students will learn how computer hardware and software work together, how information travels through networks, and how to organize and present data. They will also create programs, explore the impact of technology on society, and suggest ways to make technology more accessible for everyone.

Fifth Grade:
Students will demonstrate proper keyboarding techniques, troubleshoot common hardware and software problems, and learn about technology accessibility for diverse users. They will also explain how information travels across networks, organize data, and develop programs using algorithms.

Sixth Grade:
Students will recognize issues of bias and accessibility in technology and learn to protect personal data from security threats. They will also design algorithms, create programs using meaningful variables, and utilize multiple methods to organize and present data.

Preschool Age 3:
Children develop gross motor skills by participating in activities that improve balance and coordination. They also strengthen fine motor skills by manipulating small objects and practicing pre-writing activities.

Preschool Age 4:
Children develop coordination, control, and balance in large-motor activities. They also enhance fine motor skills by learning to manipulate small objects with greater precision, using a pincer grasp for holding writing tools, and creating simple handwriting strokes.

Kindergarten:
Students practice balance, coordination, and moving in different directions and speeds. They also learn about the importance of physical activity, nutrition, and cooperative play.

First Grade:
Students develop motor skills and understand the benefits of exercise.

Second Grade:
Students will build confidence and challenge their motor skills through cooperative games. They will also discuss the importance of physical activity, nutrition, and hydration.

Third Grade:
Students will practice combining large-motor and movement skills using direction, force, and timing. They will also develop cooperative skills and discuss the value of physical activity for personal growth and social interaction.

Fourth Grade:
Students will focus on control and coordination in various athletic activities, apply basic offensive and defensive strategies, identify essential components of physical fitness, and listen to and offer constructive criticism.

Fifth Grade:
Students will design personal fitness plans, attain efficient movement and performance goals, and express the value of physical activity. They will also play cooperatively with others of higher and lower athletic levels.

Sixth Grade:
Students develop friendships, reduce stress, and demonstrate movement-skills competencies using small group games such as basketball, volleyball, speedball, and flag football. They will use equipment and facilities responsibly, develop fitness plans, and engage in positive self-talk.

Preschool Age 3:

• Provide play-based opportunities for children to run, gallop, throw, catch, hop, kick, dance, jump, climb, pull, carry, stretch, bend, twist, and move isolated body parts. 
• Help your child practice building with large and small blocks, molding clay, using scissors or tongs, stringing beads, placing pegs in holes, assembling puzzles, using a computer mouse, and using a variety of writing utensils (pencils, crayons, markers, etc.) and art mediums (paint, clay, stamps, etc.).

Preschool Age 4:

• Participate in fine and gross motor activities alongside the children.
• Teach, model, and maintain proper safety rules. 
• Provide opportunities for both organized and spontaneous play.

Kindergarten:

• Engage in various physical activities with your child that encourage cooperation,  teamwork, and moving their bodies in different ways.
• Involve them in planning healthy meals that support an active lifestyle.

First Grade:

• Engage in physical activities together that promote skills like throwing, catching, jumping, and dribbling.
• Practice social play and promote sportsmanship by inviting others to join cooperative games.

Second Grade:

• Practice and play a variety of physical activities together that encourage skipping, running, throwing, and catching.
• Let your child help plan a healthy meal and discuss how the meal supports an active lifestyle.
• Practice cooperation and sportsmanship by inviting other children of all ability levels to participate in games and activities.

Third Grade:

• Practice and play a variety of physical activities together that encourage throwing, catching, and kicking in various directions, speeds, and levels. 
• Stress the importance of balancing nutrition, hydration, and exercise for a healthy body.
• Tell positive stories about participation in physical activities, including friendships that resulted from that participation.

Fourth Grade:

• Practice activities that require offensive and defensive strategy.
• Encourage the acceptance of corrective feedback and praise the performance of others.

Fifth Grade:

• Invite other children to participate in games and activities of all ability levels, practicing cooperation and sportsmanship.
• Talk about games, sports, and activities you enjoy and teach your child how to play or participate in them.

Sixth Grade:

• Stress the importance of using fitness equipment safely and respecting recreational facilities such as parks and playgrounds. Reinforce positive fitness behaviors.
• Describe how physical activity has reduced personal stress and promoted healthy friendships.