The Arts

Art (Visual Art)

Lower Grades: Art in the lower grades (K and 1) focuses on coloring skills: coloring inside the lines, and not leaving white spaces, cutting skills: holding a scissor correctly, and following directions. Children learn about different artists and do projects in the style of these artists. They also learn about primary colors (red, yellow and blue), secondary colors (orange, green and purple), different shapes, and lines.

Children have many choices when they are in the art room. They learn basic skills and learn how to work independently. Parents should encourage this at home as well. They should also practice coloring and cutting with their children daily.

Upper Grades: We use the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Visual Arts. This provides benchmarks for what children should know, understand, and be able to do in visual arts at critical junctures in their intellectual, physical, and emotional development. The children will also be exposed to many different artists, art styles and different mediums throughout their years at PS7. We also offer art enrichment clubs and paint night opportunities for the students to participate in to enhance their skills. 

Music

Through a non-profit organization called Music and the Brain, our students benefit from keyboard instruction. This neuroscience-based program was designed to help students develop critical thinking and tune their fine motor skills. Students meet for music class every week where they experience and interact with music through singing, dancing, playing keyboards, and reading musical notation. While we use this fun curriculum, we enjoy getting creative with different ways to learn music!