The document outlines an arts curriculum to help children develop creativity, expression, appreciation of art and culture through experiences in visual art, music, creative movement, and aesthetics using standards from the National Arts Standards and California Visual and Performing Arts Framework. The curriculum provides examples of kindergarten music standards focusing on artistic perception, creative expression, historical and cultural context, aesthetic valuing, and connections across subjects.

1. The Arts Curriculum
Prepared by Dr. Carla Piper
“Who Am I in the Lives of Children?”
Feeny, Christensen, Moravcik

2. Creative Arts Curriculum
 Help children:
 Recognize and express their feelings
 Communicate ideas in new forms
 Develop their senses
 Develop creativity and originality
 Arts are a vehicle for all kinds of learning:
 Art
 Music
 Creative Movement
 Aesthetics

3. Arts Experiences
Help children:
 Feel good about themselves as individuals
 Develop ability to observe and respond
sensitively
 Develop skill, creativity, imagination
 Develop beginning understanding of the arts
 Become appreciative of music, art, and dance
from their own and other cultures, times, and
places.

4. Art
 Purpose to enhance artistic and
creative development
 Develop motor control and
perceptual discrimination
 Use language and learn vocabulary
 Develop problem-solving strategies
 Enhance social skills
 Develop aesthetic awareness and
appreciation for arts

5. Art Curriculum
Allow for child's own creative expression!
 Studio Art
 Children explore and create
 Use different art media
 Use processes – drawing, painting, print making,
collage, construction, modeling, sculpting.
 Discipline-based Art
 Children encounter, discuss, and think about art
 Children understand and appreciate how art is
created
 Exposed to artists from their own and other
cultures and times
 Avoid pattern books

6. Music
 Sounds of the city – traffic, footsteps, voices
 Sound of the country – birds, wind, water
 Before we are born – music of the heartbeat
 Called the universal language
 Powerful link to emotions – happy, sad,
excited, calm, patriotic, love, empathy
 Sharing music shares culture
 Music provides a path to other kinds of
learning – problem-solving, language, memory

7. Music Curriculum
 Singing
 Short songs with distinct rhythm
 Need repertoire of songs with different moods, subjects,
tempos, styles
 Playing instruments
 Start with rhythm instruments
 Composing and improvising – creating music
 Listening to and appreciating all kinds of
music
 Performing
 Provide a creative climate where music is
always present.

8. Creative Movement
Children:
 Interpret and follow suggestions
 Find their own personal, creative, and innovative
ways of moving
 Express ideas with their bodies
 Develop a repertoire of movement possibilities
 Develop imagination and positive self-concept
 Learn to move with respect to the group
 Begin to appreciate the creativity of others

9. Aesthetics – Love of Beauty
 Develop sensitivity to beauty and
the heritage of the arts
 View works of fine artists
 Listen to beautiful music of all
kinds
 Create an artistic environment
 Display art, flowers, sculpture
 Discuss children’s literature
illustrations
 Reflect on patterns, colors, textures
in nature and all around you

10. The National Standards for the Arts
What students should know and be able
to do in the arts....
 develop and present basic analyses of works of art
from structural, historical, and cultural perspectives,
and from combinations of those perspectives.
 have an informed acquaintance with exemplary
works of art from a variety of cultures and historical
periods, and a basic understanding of historical
development in the arts disciplines, across the arts as
a whole, and within cultures.
 relate various types of arts knowledge and skills
within and across the arts disciplines.

11. National MENC Beliefs for Music
Education of All Children
1. All children have musical potential
2. Children bring their own unique interests and
abilities to the music learning environment
3. Very young children are capable of
developing critical thinking skills through
musical ideas
4. Children come to early-childhood music
experiences from diverse backgrounds
5. Children should experience exemplary
musical sounds, activities, and materials

12. National MENC Beliefs for Music
Education of All Children
6. Children should not be encumbered with the
need to meet performance goals
7. Children's play is their work
8. Children learn best in pleasant physical and
social environments
9. Diverse learning environments are needed to
serve the developmental needs of many
individual children
10. Children need effective adult models

13. California Standards for Visual
and Performing Arts
 Aesthetic Perception
 Creative Expression
 Historical and Cultural Context
 Aesthetic Valuing
 Connections, Relationships , Applications
Standards - http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/pn/fd/documents/visperfmarts-stnd-comp.pdf

14. Standards Online
 Visual and Performing Arts: Dance -
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/damain.asp
 Visual and Performing Arts: Music -
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/mumain.asp
 Visual and Performing Arts: Theatre -
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/thmain.asp
 Visual and Performing Arts: Visual Arts -
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/vamain.asp

15. Kindergarten Music Example
 Visual and Performing Arts Standards – Pre k
through 12th grade
 Example of kindergarten expectations in
music
 Many adults would find these standards
challenging
 Previous teacher training programs
included extensive visual and performing
arts instruction and practicum
 http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/mukindergarten.asp

16. 1.0 Artistic Perception
 Processing, Analyzing, and Responding to
Sensory Information Through the Language
and Skills Unique to Music
 Students read, notate, listen to, analyze, and
describe music and other aural information,
using the terminology of music.
ff ppp

17. 1.0 Artistic Perception
 Read and Notate Music
1.1 Use icons or invented symbols to represent
beat.
 Listen to, Analyze, and Describe Music
1.2 Identify and describe basic elements in
music (e.g., high/low, fast/slow, loud/soft, beat).

18. 2.0 Creative Expression
 Creating, Performing, and Participating in Music
 Students apply vocal and instrumental musical
skills in performing a varied repertoire of music.
They compose and arrange music and
improvise melodies, variations, and
accompaniments, using digital/electronic
technology when appropriate.

19. 2.0 Creative Expression
 Apply Vocal and Instrumental Skills
2.1 Use the singing voice to echo short
melodic patterns.
2.2 Sing age-appropriate songs from memory.
2.3 Play instruments and move or verbalize to
demonstrate awareness of beat, tempo,
dynamics, and melodic direction.
 Compose, Arrange, and Improvise
2.4 Create accompaniments, using the voice
or a variety of classroom instruments.

20. 3.0 Historical and Cultural
Context
 Understanding the Historical
Contributions and Cultural Dimensions
of Music
 Students analyze the role of music in
past and present cultures throughout
the world, noting cultural diversity as it
relates to music, musicians, and
composers.

21. 3.0 Historical and Cultural
Context
 Diversity of Music
3.2 Sing and play simple singing games from
various cultures.
3.3 Use a personal vocabulary to describe
voices and instruments from diverse cultures.
3.4 Use developmentally appropriate
movements in responding to music from
various genres and styles (rhythm, melody).

22. 4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
 Responding to, Analyzing, and Making
Judgments About Works of Music
 Students critically assess and derive meaning
from works of music and the performance of
musicians according to the elements of music,
aesthetic qualities, and human responses.

23. 4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
 Derive Meaning
4.1 Create movements that correspond to
specific music.
4.2 Identify, talk about, sing, or play music
written for specific purposes (e.g., work song,
lullaby).

24. 5.0 Connections, Relationships,
Applications
 Connecting and Applying What Is Learned in
Music to Learning in Other Art Forms and
Subject Areas and to Careers
 Students apply what they learn in music
across subject areas. They develop
competencies and creative skills in problem
solving, communication, and management of
time and resources that contribute to lifelong
learning and career skills. They learn about
careers in and related to music.

25. 5.0 Connections, Relationships,
Applications
 Connections and Applications
5.1 Use music, together with dance, theatre,
and the visual arts, for storytelling.
 Careers and Career-Related Skills
5.2 Identify and talk about the reasons artists
have for creating dances, music, theatre
pieces, and works of visual art.