Art Within Reach’s children’s museum tours and art classes focus on art history, art education and culture, but their objectives include a wide range of inter-disciplinary approaches. This series of blogs will examine how these early childhood classes support the curriculum standards of DC area public schools.

DCPS – Kindergarten Learning Standards

Art

Art Within Reach’s curricula touches on most of the components in DCPS’ Visual Arts Standards for Kindergarten. Here are just a few examples;

Develop perceptual skills, analyze elements of art and the principles of design.
The ABC’s of Art introduces students to materials, spatial relationships, 2 and 3-dimensional objects, lines, shapes and patterns.

Skills, Processes, Materials, and Tools
Children have the opportunity to handle artist’s tools and discuss how artists make paintings, wood and bronze sculptures. Take-home activities with easy instructions and materials are provided for children participating in museum tours. All of the art classes include the activity in the classroom component. Children then get to experience the tools and processes firsthand.

Meaning and Informed Judgments
The AWR curriculum is based on learning to look and talk about art. Kids get to practice their observation skills every week.

Historical Development, Role and Cultural Diversity of the Visual Art
Each series in the AWR repertoire explores individual works of art within a historical and cultural context. In particular, World of Wonder introduces children to art from all over the world and highlights its cultural importance. While What Does It Mean?, takes a different approach and investigates the meaning or function of the work of art.

Social Studies and Language Development

K.1. Students demonstrate an understanding of the concept of location.
K.LD-Q.2. Share information, opinions, and questions, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.
K.LD-Q.3. Describe people, places, thing, location, size, color, shape, and action
Students are asked to describe them in every lesson. They will be asked and expected to respond to such questions as;
• What do you see?
• What do you think is going on in the picture?
• Why do you think that?
• What do you think that person is feeling?
• Where do you see that?
• Do you like this picture, why or why not?

Social Studies

K.1. Students demonstrate an understanding of the concept of location
At the beginning of each World of Wonder lesson, children look at a map of the world and locate the area to be discussed during that lesson.
Children learn about the American and the community in which they live during the lesson, This Land is Your Land.

K.2 Students describe the way people lived in earlier times and how their lives would be different today
Students travel back in time and explore what life was like over a century ago while learning about genre painting in Now and Then.

Math

K.G.2 Describe attributes of two dimensional shapes
In the series, ABC’s of Art, discuss and identify shapes within works of art.

K.G.3 Identify and compare three-dimensional objects.
Flat as a Pancake introduces children to common 2 or 3-dimensional objects. Then the children get to hunt for art objects and see if they can label them as 2 or 3-dimensional then applies those principals to works of art.

K.M.3 Use standard and nonstandard units to measure length
In our lesson, Near and Far; Tall and Small, children have fun seeing if Curious George changes size when he is closer to them or farther away. Then they measure objects in Aelbert Cuyp’s Lady and Gentleman on Horseback to see how artists trick us in making things looking farther away on a flat piece of paper.

Science

K.3.2. Investigate and compare physical proprieties of objects
K.1.3. Gather information about objects through the use of one or more of the senses
K.3.1. Recognize that objects are made of materials with particular properties
Children are introduced to a variety of art materials in the ABC’s of Art and asked to describe their physical properties usually through the sense of touch. For example, we feel the difference between canvas, wood and bronze. Once we understand these properties, children locate them in other works of art.

K.4.1. Compare the position of an object in relationship to another object.
Children explore perspective in a painting by understanding how objects change appearance when they move their position.