Art
In addition to the art that the teachers offer to accompany the curriculum, Arbor Bay School offers 'Art in Action', an art curriculum designed around the works of the great masters. The curriculum includes 12 lessons for each of nine Program Levels from kindergarten through eighth grade. Each lesson introduces concepts, vocabulary, and techniques appropriate for that lesson and skill level.
Art in Action highlights the following benefits that children receive from its curriculum:
- It reminds us that the limits of our language do not define the limits of our thinking. Art teaches critical thinking rather than getting the right answer.
- Through art children learn that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer.
- Art teaches students about subtleties.
- Art celebrates multiple perspectives and different ways to see and interpret the world.
- Art empowers children to say what cannot be said.
- Arts education fosters brain development, especially of the creative and intuitive right brain functions.
- Skills developed through art lead to better learning in other areas.
Adapted from Eisner, E. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind, Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach and How It Shows. Yale University Press. Available from NAEA Publications.
Art in Action is a parent-run/teacher-supported program.
Music
Arbor Bay School offers each of its classes the services of a music specialist weekly. We are adept at helping children express themselves musically and have a philosophy that music should be a fun experience that the children truly enjoy.
Arbor Bay School understands that learning about music comes naturally to children and that this is the time to expose them to as many methods as possible. Students have an opportunity to engage their mind and body through a mixture of singing, movement, and the use of percussion instruments and Tubanos (stand-up drums).
Arbor Bay School uses a combination of techniques from music methods including Orff-Shulwerk and Kodaly.
We view Music as an important part of our well-rounded curriculum.