Allen School Information

The art program at Allen School is designed to meet the state Core Curriculum Standards, as well as, to fulfill our district's own art curriculum. We provide a variety of art experiences to help children develop their fine motor skills, aesthetic awareness and their ability to think critically. We also give students the opportunity to work in cooperative groups, problem solve and to think imaginatively. Our goal is to increase student awareness of all the different kinds of art. Art is drawing, painting, pasting, and sculpting. It's sewing and building, coloring and folding. It is expressing and observing. Art is taking what's inside you and bringing it to the outside. Art gives children the experience of relating to our culture and historical past. Every grade level, Kindergarten through Fifth, spends time looking at and discussing art of other cultures and other time periods. The children here at Allen look at art that has been done throughout our history, from cave painting to Pop Art. The thought processes that are required to do art transfer to many other academic settings that children encounter. Art can also help to make our children better students in other areas of study. Although the visual arts are just that, primarily visual, children are often asked to verbalize their opinions and impressions when looking at an artist's work, paintings in a museum or even their own work. This enhances the child's ability to verbalize clearly and think critically. We also have a 4 th Grade Art Night in the fall, a Student Art Show in the spring, and from time to time artists visit classes to share their work with the students. The art program at Allen School offers a broad range of experiences and activities for our children that involve parents, the community and regional resources.