The Arts

Visual Arts

 

Each year, all of our students have an in-depth study of the most influential master artists, including Da Vinci, Frida Kahlo, and Katshusika Hokusai.  Students learn about the artist, their culture, the art techniques they utilize and their most famous works.  Students learn vocabulary specific to the artist and genre. Students also enjoy a virtual museum through the use of technology.  Teachers assist children in practicing the techniques of the great masters.  Once students understand the inspiration and techniques of each master, the classroom is transformed into an art studio and students create their own great works.

 

Music 

Music is integrated with all academic content areas at Sycamore Academy.  Studies show that music has a variety of positive effects on developing brains.  The most important of these positive effects are the use of both sides of the brain when learning new academic content as well as inspiring creativity in our students.  Orff Schulwerk is the adopted music curriculum. The Orff method of teaching and learning music and is based on things children like to do such as singing, chanting, rhyming, clapping, dancing, and percussion!  

First, students listen to and make music, then they are introduced to reading and writing music,  as their skills and knowledge develop.  Music at Sycamore Academy is not taught in isolation but rather integrated into the daily curriculum.

 

Performing Arts

Why limit performing to the winter and spring performances?  At Sycamore Academy,  drama is frequently integrated with social studies, science, math, and language arts. Students are frequently asked to present evidence of their learning to their peers as a performance. Additionally, students are given the opportunity to demonstrate learning through dramatic performances.  Our students have the chance to become talented public speakers from presenting regular weekly homework to large projects or new academic vocabulary words.