SmARTies: Art & Science uses tailor made curriculums that combine art and science around various subject matters into an engaging and salient experience for students ages Kinder- Sixth Grades. Past curriculum themes: 

The Human Body, The Vikings, Oceans, Rainforests, Weather, Color & Light, Mythic Creatures, Greek Mythology, Deserts, Cartoons & Animation, Drawing, Jewlery Making, Disney, Palace of Versailles, and Aboriginal Myths and Art. 

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Monte Vista Curriculum 2023-2024 Overview:

TK & Kinder will spend their year in an introductory to elementary art learning about art tools, vocabulary, rules & expectations, learn how to create individual and collaborative artwork, share and present their artwork, learn how to reflect and discuss artwork. They will also learn about the "elements of art": color, shapes, form, value, texture, space, & lines. This year they will also be working on a yearlong art journal that they will take home at the end of the year, as well as their regular take home projects. The goal of TK/K art is for students to familiarize themselves with the building blocks of art in the classroom and how students will use them in their academic career. We will do a lot of creating and sharing artwork this year - practicing how to share & discuss, their individual artwork and give feedback in a positive and productive way in a classroom environment. 

 

First grade will be a combo of review from Kinder and a progression into more advanced concepts and art history. This will cover an intro to the artists and "movements" through history: Leonardo Di Vinci, Salvado Dali, Keith Haring, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Wassily Kandinsky, Yayoi Kusama, Henri Matisse, Michelangelo, Claud Monet, Georgia O'Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Henri Rousseau, George Seurat, Alma Thomas, Andy Warhol, and Lorna Simpson. We will review the "art elements: from Kinder: art: color, shapes, form, value, texture, space, & lines and learn about the "elements of design": balance, unity, variety, emphasis, movement, pattern, and proportion. The students will start connecting how artists use art & design key elements to create their works of art and the artists impact historically and culturally. The goal of the year will be understanding the connection between art & culture and building a broader base of tools for creating and analyzing artwork. 

 

Grades 2-6 will be focusing on illustration, cartoons and animation. Each grade will be slightly tailored in learning materials and concepts based on age. Within those focus areas we will use a variety of materials and have a heavy focus on drawing (which is way more than just pencil and paper). We will be learning about the history of cartoons and animation and top artists of the industries. Within this framework we create projects derived from artists & studios/characters: Lilian Friedman & Max Fleischer (Popeye the Sailor), Matt Groeing (Simpsons), Brad Bird & John Lasseter (Pixar), William Hanna & Joseph Barbera (Hanna Barbera), Chuck Jones (Looney Toons), Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli), Charles Schulz (Peanuts), Martin Goodman & Stan Lee (Marvel), Lotte Reinige (1st Female Animator), Tim Burton ( The Nightmare Before Christmas), Walt Disney & Mary Blair (Disney)- as well as a focus on female artists at Disney (Retta Scott, Retta Davidson, & Sylvia Holland).  We will be learning about and creating comic strips, flip books, character design (3D and 2D), backgrounds/foregrounds, playing with and understanding the chemistry of color, stop motion, Claymation and illustrating from the written word and music. Learning about character design and storytelling will open up for individual imagination, personal reflection and connection with others and their community.  We will also review the key elements of art & design: color, chape, form, value, texture, space, lines, balance, unity, variety, emphasis, movement, pattern and proportion.  We will also play games and have plenty of time for sharing, reflecting on, and discussing personal and professional works of art. And of course, 6th grade will be spending the spring making Egyptian Masks.