Art

The Lower School Art curriculum provides students with the tools to use a variety of visual media to communicate what they understand. Guided by national standards, students are introduced to the basic elements of art including line, shape, color, texture, and pattern. Projects engage students with

  • Drawing
  • Collage
  • Sculpture
  • Print making
  • Architectural models
  • Mixed media

Integration of art with Judaic and General Studies allows students to draw connections across traditional disciplines. Participation in the Minneapolis Institute of Art’s Art Adventures program introduces students to different cultures and work across time periods.

Throughout their Lower School experience students are encouraged to take risks as they incorporate new techniques and avenues for creative expression.

Kindergarten

Concepts and Skills introduced include:

  • Drawing organic and geometric lines and shapes
  • Combining two or more geometric forms in drawing and construction
  • Drawing people and animals
  • Recognizing and applying Elements of Design (lines, shapes, texture, space, color, value).

Projects and Media include:

  • Printmaking: Sukkot leaf painting; sponge painting with shapes/ patterning
  • Drawing: exploring lines, shape exercises
  • Intro to painting: color wheel-mixing primary to secondary colors, winter trees painting, paint a kippah, watercolor self expression inspired by music, Passover painted pillowcases.
  • Collage: Fabric and paper collage, Creating fabric, feather and glitter glue decoration on self-portraits, Tissue paper, glue, sequin decoration on Tubish’vat trees
  • Observation: drawn self-portraits, collage self-portraits, TubisSh’vat tree drawings, landscape drawing
  • 3-D introduction: ceramics: Clay Menorahs, paper animal sculpture and habitats, wood sculptures

“Through the HMJDS art program, my children have been able to express themselves in entirely new and creative ways. My daughter’s particular interest in visual arts has been carefully nurtured, helping her blossom as both an artist and an individual.” – HMJDS Parent

First and Second Grades

Concepts and Skills include:

  • Creating works of art inspired by spoken and written stories and poems.
  • Recognizing that there are various solutions to a single art problem.
  • Using clay to create 3-D, representational form.
  • Understanding and working with prints.
  • Recognizing and applying Elements of Design; (lines, shapes, texture, space, color, value).

Projects and Media include:

  • Drawing: portraits & facial expressions, still life and life drawing, and landscapes, gesture and contour drawing.
  • Painting: color wheel, color families, mono chromatic mood paintings, mixing primary and secondary colors, introduction to tints and shade, self-expression, illustrating a musical story with scenery and characters
  • Collage/cutting: shape story collages, fabric matzah or haggadah covers, Purim puppets or masks
  • Sculpture: science integrated curriculum on animals and their habitats, frogs, insects or butterflies in clay, found object sculptures of animals, creating Elijah’s goblets or Miriam’s bowls for Passover
  • Architecture: Intro to architecture, meet an architect, read plans, build models
  • Printmaking: Hanukkah greeting cards, Sukkot blessings decorated with crayon leaf texture rubbings
  • Art history and appreciation: Art Adventure program from MIA
  • Art portfolios: review, reflect and share art work, give positive feedback to classmates

Third Grade

Concepts and Skills include:

  • Recognizing and applying Principles of Design (contrast, rhythm, repetition, pattern, proportions, balance).
  • Recognizing that artists apply innovative solutions to solve visual problems.
  • Creating a 2-D artwork that demonstrates an understanding of depth (foreground, middle ground, background).
  • Creating a work of art based upon an interpretation of a sensory experience.
  • Use of sketch books to develop observation and drawing skills.
  • Create works of art inspired by spoken and written stories and poems.

Projects and Media include:

  • Observation Unit: rubber duck drawing, Leonardo da Vinci video
  • Nature Studies: nature study drawings, clay, tree drawing, still life
  • Painting: weather painting, night drawing/painting project, painting on sculpture.
  • Literature and Illustration Unit: illustration game, poem illustration, Weather poem and illustration, Haiku/sumi-e painting, Art Question of the Week, sketchbook written reflections.
  • Graphic Design Unit: sketchbook cover, color theory/intermediate color wheel, Picasso face.
  • Drawing: contour drawing, life drawing, 1 point perspective, Shrek Faces, sketchbook assignments
  • Sculpture: Portrait mask project and or clay project.
  • Geometry in Art: Organic and geometric shapes, symmetry / asymmetry / unity, movement, rhythm

Fourth Grade

Concepts and Skills include:

  • Maintaining a sketchbook for both assignments and personal explorations in art.
  • Creating a contour line drawing using a variety of drawing materials and tools.
  • Developing building techniques to create 3-D artwork.
  • Creating 3-D work from @-D drawings.
  • Utilizing a variety of brushstrokes when painting
  • Comparing and contrasting artwork of different times and places.
  • Using historical and cultural themes as a basis for creating art.
  • Using art vocabulary and terminology to describe artworks.

Projects and Media include:

  • Design: sketchbook cover.
  • Drawing: shoe contour drawing, upside down drawing, sketchbook assignments, gradation, defining shapes and shadows, charcoal still life, cartoon unit, body proportions
  • Sculpture: Clay monsters and clay whistles.
  • Literature and Illustration Unit: Fantasy / Science fiction: monster drawing, fairy drawing, cartoon unit, origami: paper cranes.
  • Art from the Earth: (social studies and science integration) making different paints from scratch, clay whistles (3-D)
  • Astronomy: (science integration) moon drawing.
  • Art History & Appreciation: Art Adventures from the MIA