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Why Your School Should Have This Creative Enhancement Program
Children are born explorers and creators. They are drawn to touch, smell, taste, sight and sound. They familiarize themselves with their environments through their senses and by exploring their creative abilities to manipulate their environments.
This program will provide young, fertile minds
- an escape from their mundane, everyday routine and introduce them to an environment that is imaginative, stimulating and disciplined
- distinct, academic objectives through active and fun forms of learning in creative and developmental areas and skills:
- music composition and lyrics
- language
- writing
- symbolic thinking
- self-awareness and self-worth
- socialization
- self-discipline
- physical conditioning and coordination
- creation of their own works of art, with developmental milestones that recognize and celebrate their achievements.
The learning goals, lessons, activities and creative works will be tailored for specific age groups, as described in the following program outline.
PROGRAM OUTLINE
Kindergarten:
The learning goals:
- To move expressively through music.
- To recognize loud, soft, fast, and slow music and motions.
- To understand counting through rhythm by playing and singing to various beats.
- To develop confidence and a positive self-concept by engaging in the creative process.
- To build positive personal characteristics by contributing to song stories a and musical dramatizations.
An example of an activity that helps the children achieve these goals is "Instrument I Am." In this activity, children become "instruments" by using their voices, bodies, sounds and imaginations. They gain knowledge about communication, teamwork, rhythmic sounds and movement. Another activity is "I'm a Star!." The focus of this activity is on the development of the children's personal characteristics through theatrical performance. In a series of short skits, the children become comfortable performing for an audience, thus enhancing their self-esteem. In addition, the children learn to empathize with the emotions of others by portraying the fictional characters' personality traits.
School-Age:
Children in the school-age program vary in age, from six through eleven years. Therefore, both individual developmental levels and grade levels will be considered when group goals are designed. The following learning goals and activities, however, are generally applicable for the different grade levels.
First through third grades:
The learning goals:
- To grow in knowledge of music.
- To perform music in singing games, action songs, simple structural dances, and dramatizations.
- To participate in musical activities of diverse cultures.
- To create new lyrics for familiar songs.
One activity that will meet some of these goals is "Dramatic Dancing." The children learn about the dance of different cultures, and they learn how to express themselves through original, artistic dance. The learning of cultural dancing will also correlate with celebrations of various heritages and holidays, and the children will perform at some of these celebrations.
Fourth through fifth grades:
The learning goals:
- To respond to music in a variety of instrumental and vocal styles through listening, moving, singing, and playing instruments.
- To create and participate in the planning, design, and performance of large-scale theatrical productions.
- To learn and practice the basic principles and techniques of recording and engineering music.
- To understand and explain how and why various art forms may inspire musical compositions.
One activity is "Imagine That." The children work together to create an original story that is then recorded digitally with special effects. Each child takes part in choosing the sounds and music for the background of the story, and each learns how to remix music and sounds with speech.
BENEFITS OF HAVING A CREATIVE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM:
A creative enhancement program would serve as a learning forum, fostering positive growth, a sense of accomplishment, and would help to recognize talents, skills, and the unique capabilities possessed by each individual child.
The program would be given in the form of a workshop, on specific dates designated by the provider of this program and school officials (dates and times can be flexible).
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